NORTH MACEDONIA
FIFA World Ranking: 62
Previous Best: Tournament Debut
Last 5 Euros (Latest first): DNQ-DNQ-DNQ-DNQ-DNQ
How Qualified: Play-off Winners
Qualifying Record: P10 W4 D2 L4 F12 A13 GD-1 Pts14
Play-off: North Macedonia 2-1 Kosovo Georgia 0-1 North Macedonia
Tournament Odds: 500/1
Squad
Goalkeepers: Stole Dimitrievski (Rayo Vallecano), Risto Jankov (Rabotnicki), Damjan Siskovski (Doxa Katokopia)
Defenders: Ezgjan Alioski (Leeds), Egzon Bejtulai (Shkëndija), Visar Musliu (Fehérvár), Kire Ristevski Újpest), Stefan Ristovski (Dinamo Zagreb), Darko Velkovski (Rijeka), Gjoko Zajkov (Charleroi)
Midfielders: Arijan Ademi (Dinamo Zagreb), Enis Bardi (Levante), Darko Churlinov (Stuttgart), Eljif Elmas (Napoli), Ferhan Hasani (Partizani), Tihomir Kostadinov (Ružomberok), Boban Nikolov (Lecce), Milan Ristovski (Spartak Trnava), Stefan Spirovski (AEK Larnaca)
Forwards: Daniel Avramovski (Kayserispor), Goran Pandev (Genoa), Marjan Radeski (Akademija Pandev), Vlatko Stojanovski (Chambly), Aleksandar Trajkovski (Mallorca), Ivan Tričkovski (AEK Larnaca), Krste Velkoski (Sarajevo)
Group Fixtures
June 13 vs Austria (5pm – Bucharest)
June 17 vs Ukraine (2pm – Bucharest)
June 21 vs Netherlands (5pm – Amsterdam)
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History
North Macedonia have made history in this tournament, qualifying for the first time. They have only been a standalone nation since 1996 and this is comfortably the best they have done in qualifying. Now that they are here they will be looking to emulate Iceland of Euro 2016 and going as deep as they can. On the face of it they have the draw to do a bit of damage and with little to lose and a nation to entertain North Macedonia are almost guaranteed to be one of the stories of the competition regardless of how their fare.
Qualifying
North Macedonia went into their qualifying group knowing full well that if they didn’t maximise their potential in it they had already guaranteed themselves a play-off spot courtesy of going so well in the first Nations League competition and it was through that route they qualified after coming behind Poland and Austria in Group G, a section they weren’t exactly outclassed in. Under pressure in the play-offs they saw off a competitive Kosovo side and went to Georgia and won to book their place in these finals. Napoli midfielder Elif Elmas top scored in qualifying with four strikes.
Pandemic Effect
Other than the fact that their talisman Goran Pandev is another year older, there doesn’t look to have been too much harm done for North Macedonia in terms of the 12 month delay. If anything they will head here even more confident than they might have done after that amazing result in World Cup qualifying when they went to Germany and beat them 2-1. Ezgjan Alioski has had a season in the Premier League too so North Macedonia probably don’t mind the delay too much.
Strengths
This is a North Macedonia side that despite not having the biggest talent pool to choose from seem to score regularly in their matches and that is very much to their credit. They are a team who have a wonderful spirit about them and like a lot of lower ranked sides these days, they love nothing more than to bloody the noses of more seasoned opponents, as we saw with that win over Germany and the scenes that followed it.
Weaknesses
North Macedonia are extremely ill disciplined. No team picked up more bookings than them in qualifying and that is something they will need to watch here because they don’t have a strong enough squad for players to be missing matches because of suspension, be it through an accumulation of yellow cards or by being sent off. They are also a team who could be a little too reliant on Goran Pandev, who at 37 should be past his best.
Manager
Igor Angelovski is in his sixth year in his post as the manager of North Macedonia. There is no doubt he has done a remarkable job with this side, taking them from being beaten regularly to a competitive side and now one capable of qualifying for major tournaments. There has always been a bit of a club feel about his squads which is to his credit and that means they believe in everything he tries to do with them. A team united and behind its coach can often be a strong combination. His record in charge reads: P50 W23 D11 L16.
Key Players
When you look down the squad list of the North Macedonia outfit Goran Pandev stands out a country mile. The Genoa forward still has the potential to light this level up and if he has a good tournament North Macedonia might bloody a few noses along the way. Stole Dimitrievski in goal is likely to be a busy man for as long as North Macedonia remain in the competition so the Rayo Vallecano stopper is another key man for the lowest ranked side in the tournament.
Team Bets
It will be interesting to see just how North Macedonia fare in this tournament. I don’t think they’ll be a disaster by any means and that World Cup qualifying win over Germany offers up hope that they will bring plenty to the competition, which is all we can really ask of a debutant as a neutral. The market I like here is their top team goalscorer one where Goran Pandev is the favourite but he plays more withdrawn of the two up front so is worth taking on after a long season.
Ezgjan Alioski is on penalties for this side and he plays further up the pitch for Macedonia than he does for his club side Leeds United but preference is for the Mallorca forward Aleksandar Trajkovski who has been in decent enough form for his country in recent times and who is likely to get the other spot up front alongside the veteran Pandev. He has only featured nine times for Mallorca this season so he might be fresher than many at these finals which could be a big thing. 7/1 for the striker nearest the goal to top score in a market where one has a chance and two every chance feels a little big to me. I’ll play those odds.
Tips
Back A.Trajkovski Top North Macedonia Team Goalscorer for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with Bet365
