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North Macedonia national football team

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Maklion19 (talk | contribs) at 02:11, 12 October 2014 (To 193.92.231.186, where in the world did you see that Stojkov is the captain? Stop making wrong edits. Pacovski is the captain.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Macedonia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)
  • Црвени Рисови
    Crveni Risovi (Red Lynxes)
  • Црвени Лавови
    Crveni Lavovi (Red Lions)
AssociationФудбалска Федерација на МакедонијаFudbalska Federacija na Makedonija (ФФМ/FFM)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachBoško Gjurovski
CaptainTome Pačovski
Most capsGoce Sedloski (100)
Top scorerGoran Pandev (26)
Home stadiumPhilip II Arena
FIFA codeMKD
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current112 Decrease 36 (18 September 2014)
Highest46 (October 2008)
Lowest147 (May 1994)
First international
 Slovenia 1–4 North Macedonia 
(Kranj, Slovenia; 13 October 1993)
Biggest win
 Liechtenstein 1–11 North Macedonia 
(EschenMauren, Liechtenstein; 9 November 1996)
Biggest defeat
 North Macedonia 0–5 Belgium 
(Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; 7 June 1995)
 North Macedonia 0–5 Slovakia 
(Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; 7 October 2001)
 Hungary 5–0 North Macedonia 
(Budapest, Hungary; 14 November 2001)
 Czech Republic 6–1 North Macedonia 
(Teplice, Czech Republic; 8 June 2005)

The Macedonia national football team (Template:Lang-mk, Fudbalska reprezentacija na Makedonija) is the national football team of the Republic of Macedonia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Macedonia. Due to an ongoing name dispute, it enters international competitions under its country's provisional appellation as "FYR Macedonia". The venue for home games is the Philip II Arena in Skopje.

On 12 August 2009, as part of the 100-year anniversary of football in Macedonia, the national team played a friendly match against the current European champions Spain. Star player Goran Pandev scored two goals in the first half to give Macedonia a 2–0 lead before Spain scored three goals in the second half to record the 3–2 victory in front of a record crowd of 30,000 at the renovated Philip II Arena.[1]

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1990 Was part of Yugoslavia
1994 to 2014 Did not qualify
Russia 2018 To be determined
Qatar 2022
Total 0/20

The Macedonia national football team has yet to qualify for a World Cup Finals tournament. In their attempt at qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, they finished fourth in Group 9 with seven points. Surprisingly, due to the closeness of the group throughout the campaign (only five teams in the group) Macedonia remained in contention to qualify until the final group game, which Macedonia lost 2–1 away to Norway.

European Championship record

European Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1960 to 1988 Was part of Yugoslavia
1992 to 2012 Did not qualify
France 2016 To be determined
European Union 2020
Total 0/14

As with their World Cup campaigns, Macedonia has yet to qualify for a European Championship after three qualifying campaigns. They beat Estonia 1–0 on 16 August 2006 in the first game of the qualification campaign for Euro 2008. They drew 0–0 with England on 7 October 2006, marking one of their best results to date. Another surprising game was a 2–0 win over a strong Croatian side on 17 November 2007.

Summer Olympics record

Barcelona 1992 - London 2012: Did not Qualify

History

The beginning

In 1994, Macedonia became a member of FIFA and UEFA after the break-up of SFR Yugoslavia. The team began its football journey with a 4–1 win against Slovenia in a friendly on 13 October 1993 under coach Andon Dončevski. They went on to win their next two friendlies against Slovenia and Estonia before suffering their first loss against Turkey on 31 August 1994 (before this they lost to Club Atlético Peñarol 0–4 in Montevideo in February 1994). The inaugural Macedonian side featured Darko Pančev, who won the European Champions League with Red Star Belgrade in 1991 and also played for Internazionale in Italy.

Euro 1996 qualifiers

The Euro 96 Qualifiers was the first major qualifying tournament that Macedonia participated in as an independent nation and they were grouped with Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Cyprus, and Armenia. In their opening game, which was also their first ever official match, Macedonia was drawn against the reigning European Champions Denmark. The game was played in Skopje on 7 September 1994 and it finished 1–1 with Macedonia leading for most of the game after scoring in the fourth minute. In this qualifying stage, Macedonia suffered one of its worst defeats when they lost 5–0 to Belgium at home on 7 June 1995. They failed to qualify for Euro 96, finishing fourth in the group with seven points.

1998 World Cup qualifiers

Macedonia's first qualifying attempt for the World Cup saw them grouped with Romania, Ireland, Lithuania, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. The tournament began on 24 April 1996 with a 3–0 win at home against Liechtenstein. On 9 November 1996, Macedonia recorded their biggest win ever, an 11–1 thrashing of Liechtenstein. Half of the goals Macedonia scored in the entire campaign were scored in this match alone. Macedonia failed again to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France, finishing fourth in the group on 13 points.

Euro 2000 qualifiers

Macedonia's journey to qualify for the Euro 2000 tournament in the Netherlands and Belgium saw them grouped with SR Yugoslavia, Ireland, Croatia, and Malta. They once again opened their qualifying campaign with a win after beating Malta 4–0 at home on 6 September 1998. However, they failed to qualify again, finishing fourth in the group with eight points.

2002 World Cup qualifiers

Macedonia's 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign saw them grouped with Sweden, Turkey, Slovakia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan. They were unsuccessful in their opening match, going down to Slovakia 2–0 in Slovakia on 3 September 2000. The Macedonians once again failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, which was held in Japan and South Korea, as they finished fourth in the group with seven points.

Euro 2004 qualifiers

The Euro 2004 Qualifiers saw Macedonia grouped alongside England, Turkey, Slovakia, and Liechtenstein. Despite Macedonia failing to win its first four games of the campaign, they managed to record one of its most memorable results of its short history. On 16 October 2002, Macedonia played former world champions England in Southampton, which was England's first home game in Southampton in almost 100 years. Macedonia grabbed the lead early in the first half after Artim Šakiri scored directly from a corner kick, leaving English goalkeeper David Seaman stunned. England soon leveled the game, but not before Macedonia managed to take the lead once again. However, the game ended 2–2 after England managed to score a second equalizer in the second half. Macedonia lost to England 2–1 at home in the return leg, which took place in September 2003. Macedonia's only win of the campaign came on 7 June 2003, when they beat Liechtenstein 3–1 at home. Macedonia did not qualify for the Euro 2004 tournament, which was held in Portugal, finishing fourth in the group with six points, their worst final points tally to date.

2006 World Cup qualifiers

Macedonia was drawn in Group 1 and was grouped with the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Finland, Armenia, and Andorra. They managed to open their campaign with a comfortable 3–0 win at home against Armenia on 18 August 2004. Macedonia did not win another home game for more than three years. On 9 October 2004, Macedonia managed to hold the Netherlands to a surprise 2–2 draw in Skopje in front of a crowd of 17,000 at the Skopje City Stadium, but in their next game, just four days later, they suffered one of its most embarrassing defeats, a 1–0 loss away to Andorra, one of the world's weakest teams. Also in this tournament, Macedonia set a new team record for most goals conceded in a game when they lost 6–1 away to Czech Republic on 8 June 2005. Macedonia went on to concede a further eight goals in the next two qualifying games, both against Finland. On 23 August 2005, coach Slobodan Santrač resigned as coach of Macedonia after just five months on the job due to personal problems, with former player Boban Babunski temporarily taking over as coach. The resignation came just days after they were beaten 3–0 by Finland in Skopje. Despite their poor performance during the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, Macedonia managed to end the campaign on a high with a 0–0 draw against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. This result meant that Macedonia, with the two draws against the Netherlands, was the only team in the group not to have been defeated by the Netherlands. The Netherlands won 10 of their 12 games in the 2006 World Cup campaign. Macedonia failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, finishing fifth in the group with nine points.

Iran tournament

Following the completion of the 2006 World Cup qualifying tournament, in November 2005, Macedonia took part in a friendly tournament in Iran consisting of four teams, each team from a different continent. The teams were Macedonia, Iran, Paraguay, and Togo. In their opening match, they won 2–1 against host nation Iran, booking a spot in the final against Paraguay. They won the final against Paraguay 1–0. Macedonia was the only nation in this friendly tournament not to have qualified for the 2006 World Cup.

Euro 2008 qualifiers

On 27 January 2006 in Switzerland, Macedonia was placed in Group E for the Euro 2008 qualifiers alongside England, Croatia, Russia, Israel, Estonia, and Andorra. On 17 February 2006, former Slovenian national team coach Srečko Katanec was appointed as the head coach and was given a two-year contract. In the lead-up to the beginning of the qualifiers for Euro 2008, Macedonia managed two results against sides in friendly matches. They beat Ecuador 2–1 in Madrid, their first ever win against a South American side, and a week later, followed that up with a 1–0 win against Turkey. Macedonia opened their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a 1–0 win away to Estonia on 16 August 2006. Goce Sedloski scored for Macedonia in the 73rd minute, which meant that Macedonia was the first team to score a goal in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Macedonia hosted England on 6 September 2006 in their second game of the qualifiers. England went on to win 1–0 after Peter Crouch scored for the away side in the 46th minute. This was the first time that Macedonia failed to score against England. A month later, on 7 October 2006, the two teams met once again in Manchester, where England was held to a 0–0 draw in front of 72,062 people. On 17 October 2007, Macedonia recorded their first win on home soil since August 2004 when they easily defeated Andorra 3–0 in Skopje in an emotional game as it was the day after the death of pop icon Toše Proeski. Macedonia then recorded one of their most impressive wins to date[citation needed] when they picked up a 2–0 victory over eventual group winners Croatia on 17 November 2007 causing the biggest upset of Group A[citation needed] and it was a milestone as this was the first win for Macedonia over a side that was ranked in the top 10 of the FIFA rankings. Despite some surprising[citation needed] results, Macedonia once again failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 Finals after finishing 5th in the group with 14 points.

2010 World Cup qualifiers

On 25 November 2007, just days after Macedonia completed its qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, the groups for European qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup were held in Durban, South Africa where Macedonia was seeded in Pot 4 and grouped along with the Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, and Iceland. Manager Srečko Katanec received a two-year extension on 21 December 2007 which meant he would be under contract through the end of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. In the lead up to the campaign, Macedonia played three friendlies against Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Poland which all ended in draws. Macedonia opened their campaign with a 1–0 home win against Scotland on 6 September 2008 when Ilčo Naumoski scored on a rebound after a well taken free kick by Goce Sedloski. Following these impressive results, Macedonia moved up 10 places to 46 in the FIFA World Rankings list for October 2008 which was their highest ever position on the rankings list. Srečko Katanec left the team following a 4–0 loss to the Netherlands in Amsterdam in April 2009 for allegedly getting into an argument with star player Goran Pandev. Soon afterwards, the manager of the under-21 squad, Mirsad Jonuz, became the new coach of the Macedonia national football team and was signed until the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign. On 5 September, Macedonia lost 2–0 to Scotland and then suffered another loss to Norway which meant that Macedonia once again did not qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.

Macedonia logo until 2014

Euro 2012 qualifiers

On 7 February 2010, Macedonia was placed in Group B for the Euro 2012 qualifiers alongside Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Armenia and Andorra. In the lead up to the qualifiers, an under strength Macedonia side played friendlies against Azerbaijan, Romania and Malta, winning the first two of them with 3–1 and 1–0 respectively, and tied 1-1 against Malta later the summer. However, the qualifications did not go as well. Instead, Macedonia finished in a disappointing fifth position in the group with only 2 wins against the outsider Andorra and 2 draws - against Armenia and Slovakia, both at home in Skopje. Due to the poor results in the qualifications, manager Mirsad Jonuz was dismissed on 18 June 2011 and he was replaced by John Toshack who led the Macedonia national team in the last 4 matches where he collected 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses.

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Macedonia competed in Group A in the qualifications for 2014 FIFA World Cup, together with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland, and Wales, and finished in the last place with 2 wins, 1 draw and 7 losses.

Euro 2016 qualifiers


Kit

Kit providers

The official kit provider is currently manufactured by German sports apparel company Jako which has signed a deal with the FFM since the starting of August 2014. Previous kit providers include Puma, Adidas, Lotto and Gems.

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

2013

6 February 2013 Friendly North Macedonia  3 – 0  Denmark Skopje, Macedonia
19:30 GMT Goran Pandev 9'
Agim Ibraimi 17'
Nikolče Noveski 24'
Report Stadium: Philip II Arena
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Nikola Dabanović
3 June 2013 Friendly Sweden  1 – 0  North Macedonia Malmö, Sweden
18:00 GMT Alexander Kačaniklić 38' Report Stadium: Swedbank Stadion
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Pavel Královec
11 June 2013 Friendly Norway  2 – 0  North Macedonia Oslo, Norway
18:00 GMT Per Ciljan Skjelbred 9'
Daniel Braaten 79'
Report Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion
Attendance: 8,756
Referee: Liran Liany
14 August 2013 Friendly North Macedonia  2 – 0  Bulgaria Skopje, Macedonia
19:45 GMT Agim Ibraimi 83' (pen.)
Aleksandar Trajkovski 87'
Report Stadium: Philip II Arena
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Milenko Vukadinović
11 October 2013 2014 FIFA World Cup Q Wales  1 – 0  North Macedonia Cardiff, Wales
19:45 GMT Simon Church 67' Report Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 11,257
Referee: Suren Baliyan

2014

5 March 2014 Friendly North Macedonia  2 – 1  Latvia Skopje, Macedonia
19:00 UTC +1 Jovan Kostovski 29'
Agim Ibraimi 72' (pen.)
Report Daniel Georgievski 65' (o.g.) Stadium: Philip II Arena
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Albania Lorens Jemini
26 May 2014 Friendly Cameroon  2 – 0  North Macedonia Kufstein, Austria
19:00 UTC +1 Pierre Webó 52'
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 84'
Report Stadium: Kufstein Arena
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Austria Robert Schörgenhofer
18 June 2014 Friendly China  2 – 0  North Macedonia Shenyang, China
13:45 UTC +1 Yu Hanchao 57'
Gao Di 89'
Report Stadium: Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium
Attendance: 15,265
Referee: Hong Kong Tong Kui Sum

2015

8 September 2015 UEFA Euro 2016 Q North Macedonia  v  Spain
19:45 GMT

Squad

Current squad

Squad named for the Euro 2016 qualifying games against  Luxembourg and  Ukraine on 9 and 12 October 2014.
Caps and goals as of 9 October 2014.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Tome Pačovski (Captain) (1982-06-28) 28 June 1982 (age 42) 39 0 Belgium Mechelen
22 1GK Andreja Efremov (1992-09-02) 2 September 1992 (age 32) 2 0 North Macedonia Metalurg
12 1GK Darko Tofiloski (1986-01-13) 13 January 1986 (age 38) 1 0 Slovakia Košice

6 2DF Vanče Šikov (1985-07-19) 19 July 1985 (age 39) 35 3 Austria Austria Wien
5 2DF Daniel Mojsov (1987-12-25) 25 December 1987 (age 36) 26 0 Norway Brann
13 2DF Stefan Ristovski (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 (age 32) 13 0 Italy Parma
4 2DF Ardian Cuculi (1987-07-19) 19 July 1987 (age 37) 6 0 Albania Partizani
2 2DF Ezgjan Alioski (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 (age 32) 4 0 Switzerland Schaffhausen
3 2DF Aleksandar Damčevski (1992-11-21) 21 November 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Netherlands NAC Breda
2DF Goran Siljanovski (1990-07-01) 1 July 1990 (age 34) 2 0 North Macedonia Rabotnički

10 3MF Agim Ibraimi Injured (1988-08-29) 29 August 1988 (age 36) 29 7 Slovenia Maribor
8 3MF Muhamed Demiri Injured (1985-11-20) 20 November 1985 (age 39) 24 0 Switzerland St. Gallen
7 3MF Aleksandar Trajkovski (1992-09-05) 5 September 1992 (age 32) 18 3 Belgium Zulte Waregem
16 3MF Nikola Gligorov (1983-08-15) 15 August 1983 (age 41) 18 0 North Macedonia Vardar
20 3MF Stefan Spirovski (1990-08-23) 23 August 1990 (age 34) 8 0 Bulgaria Beroe
14 3MF Muarem Muarem (1988-10-22) 22 October 1988 (age 36) 6 0 Azerbaijan Qarabağ
19 3MF Besart Abdurahimi (1990-07-31) 31 July 1990 (age 34) 4 1 Belgium Lokeren
17 3MF Marjan Radeski (1995-02-10) 10 February 1995 (age 29) 3 0 North Macedonia Metalurg
18 3MF Darko Velkovski (1995-06-21) 21 June 1995 (age 29) 2 0 North Macedonia Rabotnički
15 3MF Arijan Ademi (1991-05-29) 29 May 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb

4FW Aco Stojkov (1983-04-29) 29 April 1983 (age 41) 41 5 North Macedonia Rabotnički
21 4FW Mirko Ivanovski (1989-10-31) 31 October 1989 (age 35) 21 1 Romania CFR Cluj
9 4FW Adis Jahović (1987-03-18) 18 March 1987 (age 37) 11 3 Russia Krylia Sovetov
23 4FW Jovan Kostovski (1987-04-19) 19 April 1987 (age 37) 9 2 Belgium OH Leuven
11 4FW Krste Velkoski (1988-02-20) 20 February 1988 (age 36) 4 0 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo

Recent call-ups

The following players are also eligible for the Macedonian squad and have received a call up within the past 12 months:

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Martin Bogatinov (1986-04-26) 26 April 1986 (age 38) 15 0 Cyprus Ermis v.  Spain, 8 September 2014
GK Kristijan Naumovski (1988-09-17) 17 September 1988 (age 36) 5 0 Bulgaria Levski v.  Spain, 8 September 2014

DF Aleksandar Todorovski (1984-02-26) 26 February 1984 (age 40) 15 0 Austria Sturm Graz v.  Spain, 8 September 2014
DF Kire Ristevski (1990-10-22) 22 October 1990 (age 34) 3 0 Bulgaria Slavia Sofia v.  Spain, 8 September 2014
DF Darko Glišić Injured (1991-09-23) 23 September 1991 (age 33) 2 0 North Macedonia Vardar v.  Spain, 8 September 2014
DF Xhelil Abdulla (1991-09-25) 25 September 1991 (age 33) 2 0 North Macedonia Shkëndija v.  China, 22 June 2014
DF Vladica Brdarovski (1990-02-07) 7 February 1990 (age 34) 2 0 North Macedonia Pelister v.  China, 22 June 2014
DF Boban Grnčarov (1982-08-12) 12 August 1982 (age 42) 34 1 North Macedonia Vardar v.  Qatar, 30 May 2014
DF Daniel Georgievski (1988-02-17) 17 February 1988 (age 36) 20 0 Australia Melbourne Victory v.  Qatar, 30 May 2014
DF Goran Popov (1984-10-02) 2 October 1984 (age 40) 46 2 North Macedonia Vardar v.  Cameroon, 26 May 2014

MF Ferhan Hasani Injured (1990-06-18) 18 June 1990 (age 34) 19 1 Denmark Brøndby v.  Spain, 8 September 2014
MF Blagoja Ljamčevski (1987-04-07) 7 April 1987 (age 37) 3 0 North Macedonia Vardar v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF Daniel Avramovski Injured (1995-02-20) 20 February 1995 (age 29) 2 0 Serbia Red Star Belgrade v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF Besmir Bojku (1995-01-03) 3 January 1995 (age 29) 2 0 North Macedonia Shkëndija v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF Nijaz Lena (1986-06-25) 25 June 1986 (age 38) 2 0 Albania Flamurtari v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF Kire Markoski (1995-02-20) 20 February 1995 (age 29) 2 0 North Macedonia Rabotnički v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF Riste Markoski (1986-04-30) 30 April 1986 (age 38) 2 0 North Macedonia Bregalnica v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF Bojan Najdenov (1991-08-27) 27 August 1991 (age 33) 2 0 North Macedonia Horizont Turnovo v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF Blaže Todorovski (1985-06-11) 11 June 1985 (age 39) 2 0 North Macedonia Rabotnički v.  China, 22 June 2014
MF David Babunski (1994-03-01) 1 March 1994 (age 30) 5 0 Spain Barcelona B v.  Qatar, 30 May 2014
MF Tauljant Sulejmanov (1996-11-15) 15 November 1996 (age 28) 2 0 North Macedonia Rabotnički v.  Qatar, 30 May 2014
MF Ostoja Stjepanović Injured (1985-02-17) 17 February 1985 (age 39) 9 0 Poland Wisła Kraków v.  Latvia, 5 March 2014
MF Dejan Blaževski (1985-12-06) 6 December 1985 (age 39) 2 1 Azerbaijan Khazar Lankaran v.  Latvia, 5 March 2014

FW Baže Ilijoski (1984-07-09) 9 July 1984 (age 40) 10 1 Thailand Bangkok Glass v.  China, 22 June 2014
FW Marko Simonovski (1992-01-02) 2 January 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Russia Amkar v.  China, 22 June 2014
FW Ivan Tričkovski (1987-04-18) 18 April 1987 (age 37) 34 4 United Arab Emirates Al-Nasr v.  Qatar, 30 May 2014
FW Borče Manevski (1985-07-05) 5 July 1985 (age 39) 3 0 Thailand Chainat v.  Qatar, 30 May 2014
FW Besart Ibraimi (1986-12-11) 11 December 1986 (age 37) 8 0 Cyprus Ermis v.  Latvia, 5 March 2014

All-time team record

The following table shows Macedonia's all-time international record, correct as of 9 October 2014.

Statistics

See all-time players list.

Coaching history

2

Interim coaches

2

See also

Notes

  1. ^ FFM withdraws tickets for football match with Spain, to replace them with new ones MIA – Macedonian Information Agency, 7 August 2009