North Macedonia national football team

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North Macedonia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)
  • Рисови
    Risovi (Lynxes)
  • Лавови
    Lavovi (Lions)
Association Football Federation of Macedonia
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Blagoja Milevski
Captain Stefan Ristovski
Most caps Goran Pandev (122)
Top scorer Goran Pandev (38)
Home stadium Toše Proeski Arena
FIFA code MKD
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current Template:FIFA World Rankings
Highest 46 (October 2008)
Lowest 166 (March 2017)
First international
 Slovenia 1–4 Macedonia 
(Kranj, Slovenia; 13 October 1993)
European Championship
Appearances 1 (First in 2020)
Best result Group Stage (2020)
Website ffm.mk

The North Macedonia national football team (Macedonian: Фудбалска репрезентација на Северна Македонија) represents North Macedonia in men's international football, and is administered by the Football Federation of Macedonia. The team play their home matches at the Toše Proeski National Arena in Skopje.

North Macedonia have been rising in football in recent years, reaching Euro 2020 (their first major tournament) and the European qualifying play-off final of the 2022 World Cup (after defeating Italy in Palermo).[1]

History

The National team was represented within the Federal team since 1919. Between 1945 and 1992, SR Macedonia was ineligible to play as a team for official matches. The team had mostly played exhibition matches against teams from other republics of SFR Yugoslavia and was represented by Macedonian players under the traditional red, yellow and white colors. As an independent team, it started to compete on international level after the split of the federation in 1991.

Early years (1993–96)

The squad on the first official international match against Slovenia on 13 October 1993[2]

In 1994, the Republic of Macedonia became a single member of FIFA and UEFA after the independence and split of the Yugoslavia. They recorded their first match as a 4–1 victory against Slovenia in a friendly on 13 October 1993 under coach Andon Dončevski.[2]

They went on to win their next two friendlies against Slovenia and Estonia.

Euro 1996 qualifiers

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The Euro '96 qualifiers was the first major qualifying tournament that Macedonia participated in as an independent nation, grouped with Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Cyprus and Armenia. In their opening game, which was also their first ever official match, Macedonia played the reigning European champions Denmark, finishing 1–1 after Macedonia led for most of the game.[3] In Euro '96 qualifying, Macedonia suffered one of its worst-ever defeats, 5–0 to Belgium on 7 June 1995.[4] They failed to qualify for Euro '96, finishing fourth in the group with seven points.[5]

Hadžievski, Kanatlarovski and Jovanovski's era (1996–2001)

1998 World Cup qualifiers

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Macedonia's first qualifying attempt for the World Cup saw them grouped with Romania, Republic of 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 ever, an 11–1 thrashing of Liechtenstein.[6] Macedonia defeated the Republic of Ireland 3–2 at home, their first win over a major European team, but failed again to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France, finishing fourth in the group on 13 points.[7]

Euro 2000 qualifiers

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Macedonia's journey to qualify for the Euro 2000 tournament in the Netherlands and Belgium saw them grouped with FR Yugoslavia, Republic of 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. Their most notable result in the campaign was a 1–1 draw against Croatia in June 1999, with an equalizer of Gjorgji Hristov 10 minutes before the end of the game. They helped Yugoslavia to qualify directly and eliminate Croatia because they drew 1–1 against the Republic of Ireland with a last-minute equalizer of Goran Stavrevski. However, they failed to qualify again, finishing fourth in the group with eight points.[8]

2002 World Cup qualifiers

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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 Bratislava on 3 September 2000. The Macedonians once again failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup as they finished fourth in the group with seven points.[9]

Ups and downs (2001–06)

Euro 2004 qualifiers

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The Euro 2004 Qualifiers saw Macedonia grouped alongside England, Turkey, Slovakia, and Liechtenstein. Macedonia played England in Southampton, 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. England soon leveled the game, before Macedonia led again. The game eventually ended 2–2.[10] Macedonia lost to England 2–1 at home in the return leg, which took place in September 2003.[11] Macedonia's only win of the campaign came on 7 June 2003, when they beat Liechtenstein 3–1 at home.

2006 World Cup qualifiers

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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,[12] but just four days later, they suffered a 1–0 loss away to Andorra.[13] Macedonia then set a new team record for most goals conceded in a game when they lost 6–1 away to the Czech Republic in 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 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 failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, Macedonia was the only team in the group to not lose against the Netherlands.

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: 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, where they lost 1–0.

Srečko Katanec's era and best FIFA ranking (2006–10)

Euro 2008 qualifiers

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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 wins in friendlies, against Ecuador 2–1 in Madrid, and 1–0 Turkey. Macedonia was placed in Group E for the Euro 2008 qualifiers alongside England, Croatia, Russia, Israel, Estonia, and Andorra.

Macedonia opened its UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a 1–0 win away to Estonia on 16 August 2006. Macedonia hosted England on 6 September in their second game of the qualifiers. England went on to win 1–0; this was the first time that Macedonia failed to score against England.[14]

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.[15] On 17 October 2007, Macedonia recorded their first win on home soil since August 2004 when they defeated Andorra 3–0 in Skopje.[16]

Macedonia then recorded one of their most impressive wins to date when they picked up a 2–0 victory over eventual group winners Croatia on 17 November 2007; it was also a first win for Macedonia over a side that was ranked in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings.[17] Despite this, Macedonia failed to qualify for Euro 2008 after finishing fifth in the group with 14 points.[18]

2010 World Cup qualifiers

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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.[19] 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.[20] 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 missed 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 ranking. 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 Goran Pandev.[21]

Soon afterward, the manager of the under-21 squad, Mirsad Jonuz, became the new coach of the Macedonian senior team and was signed until the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign.[22] On 12 August 2009, a friendly match against Spain was held at the newly built City Park Stadium in Skopje. The defending European champions won 3–2 after being 2–0 down at halftime.[23] In September, Macedonia lost 2–0 to Scotland and then to Norway; Macedonia missed the World Cup again.

Fall and resurgence (2010–2018)

Euro 2012 qualifiers

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On 7 February 2010, Macedonia was placed in Group B for the Euro 2012 qualifiers alongside Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Armenia and Andorra.[24] In the lead up to the qualifiers, an under-strength Macedonia side played friendlies against Azerbaijan, Romania, and Malta, winning the first two 3–1 and 1–0 respectively, and tied 1–1 against Malta later the summer.

Macedonia finished in fifth in the group with only two wins against minnows Andorra and two draws, against Armenia and Slovakia, both at home. Manager Mirsad Jonuz was dismissed on 18 June 2011[25] and replaced by John Toshack.[26]

2014 World Cup qualifiers

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Macedonia's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign saw them grouped with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Wales.[27] In August 2012, prior to the qualifications, John Toshack would leave as manager[28] and would be replaced by Čedomir Janevski.[29] The national team would begin the qualification round with a loss to Croatia in Zagreb and would go on to draw against Scotland in Glasgow. They lost again to Croatia and won against Serbia in Skopje after a penalty kick taken by Agim Ibraimi.[30] Later in qualification, the national team would go on to lose twice to the eventual group winners Belgium.

Macedonia would win against Wales and lose against Scotland at home. Around the end of September 2013, Janevski would leave the team for Belgian club R.A.E.C. Mons[31] and would be replaced by Zoran Stratev for the last two matches.[32] Away losses to Wales and Serbia meant they would finish last in their group.

After the qualification run, Goran Pandev, Nikolče Noveski, Veliče Šumulikoski and others would retire from the national team due to turbulent relations with the Football Federation of Macedonia.[33] In November 2013, Boško Gjurovski would be appointed the new national team manager.[34]

Euro 2016 qualifiers

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On 23 February 2014, Macedonia was placed in Group C for the Euro 2016 qualifiers alongside Spain, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus and Luxembourg.[35] With 5–1 loss to Spain in Valencia, the only win they collected was against Luxembourg in Skopje.

After that match, Macedonia was brought into a run of a four losses; manager Boško Gjurovski was dismissed on 7 April 2015[36] and replaced by Ljubinko Drulović.[37] Further losses ensued against Slovakia and surprisingly Luxembourg by late goal of Sébastien Thill.

In the last match against Belarus in Barysaw, Macedonia played a draw that broke the streak of seven losses. The team still ended qualification last of the group.

2018 World Cup qualifiers

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On 25 July 2015, in the middle of the Euro 2016 qualifying, the group draws for European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup were held in Saint Petersburg. Macedonia was seeded in Pot 5 and grouped along with Spain again, for the first time with Italy, along with Albania, Israel and Liechtenstein.[38]

In October 2015, Drulović left the national team to join Serbian club Partizan[39] and the manager place was taken over by the former manager of Rabotnički, Igor Angelovski.[40] That same month, 2010 UEFA Champions League champion Goran Pandev came back to the national team after two years of absence.[41]

Macedonia started with another disappointing performance with a loss to Albania in Shkodër, with a goal scored by Bekim Balaj in the last moments of the game, in a match that was played over two days because of interruption in the 76th minute due to weather.[42][43] Later on they also lost to Israel at home after missing a penalty kick by Adis Jahović.[44] After that, the national team also lost to Italy beside their 2–1 lead with the goals scored by Ilija Nestorovski and Ferhan Hasani.[45] At the end of 2016, Macedonia was outclassed by Spain in Granada 4–0;[46] Macedonia had not scored a single point, the worst qualifying start in the history of the national team.[47]

Finally, in March 2017, Macedonia recorded their first win in qualifying against Liechtenstein, 3–0.[48] Then they lost to Spain in Skopje 2–1.[49] They also defeated Israel away through the lone goal by Goran Pandev, which was also a first ever win against Israel.[50] Macedonia later tied Albania in Strumica 1–1.[51]

2018–present

2018–19 UEFA Nations League D

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In the first edition of the UEFA Nations League, Macedonia played in League D, the lowest division.[52] Macedonia were drawn in Group 4 with Armenia, Liechtenstein and Gibraltar.[53] The national team won the group with five wins and one loss, and were promoted to the League C for the next edition of the Nations League. North Macedonia were assured of a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs place.[54]

Euro 2020 qualifiers

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For UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying North Macedonia were placed in Group G, along with Austria, Israel, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia.[55] North Macedonia managed two first impressive results, drawing Slovenia 1–1 away[56] and before that, defeated Latvia 3–1 at home,.[57] However, North Macedonia would soon fall 1–0 to Poland[58] and 4–1 to Austria.[59] Then, the recently renamed country recorded a 1–1 away draw to Israel,[60] and a 2–1 win over Slovenia at home.[61] North Macedonia then lost 2–0 away to Poland,[62] and 2–1 away to Austria, ending up in third place.[63]

However, due to having successfully taken first place in the UEFA Nations League earlier, North Macedonia was able to reach the country's first ever competitive playoff in history and was scheduled against Kosovo. Eventually, in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs first game, North Macedonia overcame Kosovo 2–1 at home. Then they faced Georgia in the final of Path D's play-offs on 13 November, winning 1–0.[64]

2020–21 UEFA Nations League C

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After winning the League D group in the first edition of the UEFA Nations League, North Macedonia were promoted to the third division of the competition, League C. North Macedonia was drawn in Group 2 together with Armenia, Estonia and Georgia.[65]

UEFA Euro 2020

North Macedonia made their Euros debut in 2020, postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All three Group C matches ended up in a loss, to Austria, Ukraine and the Netherlands; Goran Pandev equalized against Austria in the 28th minute and Ezgjan Alioski scored against Ukraine. North Macedonia was the second debutant, after Finland.

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2022 World Cup qualifiers

For the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, North Macedonia was drawn in Group J with Germany, Romania, Iceland, Armenia and Liechtenstein.[67] On matchday 3, North Macedonia inflicted a 2–1 defeat on Germany in Duisburg, which was Germany's first World Cup qualification defeat since 2001 and only the third in their history.[68][69] In the last two games against Armenia and Iceland, North Macedonia won both (5–0 away against Armenia, 3–1 against Iceland) to put them in 2nd in Group J. Qualifying for the play-offs, they defeated reigning European champions Italy in Palermo on 24 March 2022, and faced Portugal in the play-off final on 29 March where they lost 2-0.[70][71]

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Source: FIFA, UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

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Semi-finals Final
 
           
 
24 March 2022 – Porto
 
 
 Portugal 3
 
29 March 2022 – Porto
 
 Turkey 1
 
 Portugal 2
 
24 March 2022 – Palermo
 
 Macedonia 0
 
 Italy 0
 
 
 Macedonia 1
 

2022–23 UEFA Nations League C

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North Macedonia had played in the UEFA Nations League against Bulgaria, Gibraltar, and Georgia, and ended up in third place.

Team image

Stadiums

Number of
matches
Stadium First international Last international
117 Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje[72] 23 March 1994 20 November 2022
5 Stadion Goce Delčev, Prilep[73] 27 March 1996 15 November 2011
4 Stadion Mladost, Strumica[74] 12 April 1995 9 October 2017
1 Gradski stadion, Tetovo[75] 14 May 1994 14 May 1994
1 Gradski stadion, Kumanovo[76] 29 September 1998 29 September 1998

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier Period
Germany Adidas 1992–1993
Italy Gems 1994–1998
Germany Puma 1998–2014
Germany Jako 2015–present

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

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2022

2023

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Finland and Azerbaijan on 17 and 20 November 2022.[77]

Caps and goals are correct as of 20 Azerbaijan 2022, after the match against Finland.[78][79]

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Stole Dimitrievski (1993-12-25) 25 December 1993 (age 30) 59 0 Spain Rayo Vallecano
22 1GK Damjan Shishkovski (1995-03-18) 18 March 1995 (age 29) 8 0 Cyprus Doxa
12 1GK Kristijan Naumovski (1988-09-17) 17 September 1988 (age 35) 7 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkupi
26 1GK Igor Aleksovski (1995-02-24) 24 February 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Rabotnichki

13 2DF Stefan Ristovski (captain) (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 (age 32) 78 2 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
8 2DF Ezgjan Alioski (1992-02-12) 12 February 1992 (age 32) 63 12 Turkey Fenerbahçe
4 2DF Kire Ristevski (1990-10-22) 22 October 1990 (age 33) 57 0 Armenia Pyunik
6 2DF Visar Musliu (1994-11-13) 13 November 1994 (age 29) 49 1 Germany Ingolstadt 04
14 2DF Darko Velkovski (1995-06-21) 21 June 1995 (age 29) 45 3 Saudi Arabia Al-Ettifaq
15 2DF Egzon Bejtulai (1994-01-07) 7 January 1994 (age 30) 26 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkëndija
3 2DF Stefan Ashkovski (1992-02-24) 24 February 1992 (age 32) 18 0 Greece Lamia
2 2DF Todor Todoroski (1999-02-26) 26 February 1999 (age 25) 6 0 Azerbaijan Sumgayit
5 2DF Nikola Serafimov (1999-08-11) 11 August 1999 (age 24) 5 0 Hungary Fehérvár
25 2DF Bojan Dimoski (2001-11-23) 23 November 2001 (age 22) 3 0 Republic of Macedonia Akademija Pandev

20 3MF Stefan Spirovski (1990-08-23) 23 August 1990 (age 33) 55 1 Armenia Pyunik
10 3MF Enis Bardhi (1995-07-02) 2 July 1995 (age 29) 52 13 Turkey Trabzonspor
16 3MF Boban Nikolov (1994-07-28) 28 July 1994 (age 30) 48 4 Romania FCSB
7 3MF Elif Elmas (1999-09-24) 24 September 1999 (age 24) 46 9 Italy Napoli
8 3MF David Babunski (1994-03-01) 1 March 1994 (age 30) 13 0 Hungary Mezőkövesd
11 3MF Jani Atanasov (1999-10-31) 31 October 1999 (age 24) 4 0 Poland Cracovia
17 3MF Valon Ethemi (1997-10-03) 3 October 1997 (age 26) 3 0 Turkey İstanbulspor
18 3MF Agon Elezi (2001-03-01) 1 March 2001 (age 23) 2 0 Croatia Varaždin

23 4FW Ilija Nestorovski (1990-03-12) 12 March 1990 (age 34) 48 10 Italy Udinese
9 4FW Bojan Miovski (1999-06-24) 24 June 1999 (age 25) 13 1 Scotland Aberdeen
24 4FW Ljupcho Doriev (1995-09-13) 13 September 1995 (age 28) 7 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkëndija
19 4FW Dorian Babunski (1996-08-29) 29 August 1996 (age 27) 5 0 Hungary Debrecen
21 4FW Martin Mirchevski (1997-02-11) 11 February 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Serbia TSC

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Kostadin Zahov (1987-11-08) 8 November 1987 (age 36) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkëndija v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
GK Dejan Iliev INJ (1995-02-25) 25 February 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Unattached v.  Gibraltar, 12 June 2022

DF Kristijan Toshevski (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 (age 30) 9 0 Albania Tirana v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
DF Vladica Brdarovski (1990-02-07) 7 February 1990 (age 34) 8 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkupi v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
DF Mario Mladenovski (2000-09-16) 16 September 2000 (age 23) 2 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkupi v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
DF Bojan Ilievski (1999-09-01) 1 September 1999 (age 24) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Makedonija G.P. v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
DF Zija Merxhani (1995-10-22) 22 October 1995 (age 28) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Struga v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
DF Gjoko Zajkov (1995-02-10) 10 February 1995 (age 29) 22 1 Romania Universitatea Craiova v.  Bulgaria, 26 September 2022

MF Ferhan Hasani (1990-06-18) 18 June 1990 (age 34) 43 2 Republic of Macedonia Shkëndija v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
MF Ali Adem (2000-06-01) 1 June 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkupi v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
MF Ivan Nikolov U21 (2002-02-17) 17 February 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Bregalnica v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
MF Bunjamin Shabani (1990-01-30) 30 January 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Struga v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
MF Enis Fazlagikj (2000-03-27) 27 March 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Slovakia DAC 1904 v.  Bulgaria, 26 September 2022
MF Arijan Ademi INJ (1991-05-29) 29 May 1991 (age 33) 28 4 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb v.  Georgia, 23 September 2022 WD
MF Darko Churlinov INJ (2000-07-11) 11 July 2000 (age 24) 17 3 England Burnley v.  Georgia, 23 September 2022 WD
MF Tomche Grozdanovski INJ (2000-03-14) 14 March 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Slovakia ViOn v.  Gibraltar, 12 June 2022
MF Erdal Rakip (1996-02-13) 13 February 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Turkey Antalyaspor v.  Bulgaria, 2 June 2022 WD
MF Tihomir Kostadinov INJ (1996-03-04) 4 March 1996 (age 28) 19 0 Poland Piast Gliwice v.  Portugal, 29 March 2022

FW Aleksandar Trajkovski INJ (1992-09-05) 5 September 1992 (age 31) 81 20 Saudi Arabia Al-Fayha v.  Finland, 17 November 2022 WD
FW Milan Ristovski INJ (1998-04-08) 8 April 1998 (age 26) 15 3 Slovakia Spartak Trnava v.  Finland, 17 November 2022 WD
FW Besart Ibraimi (1986-12-17) 17 December 1986 (age 37) 16 0 Republic of Macedonia Struga v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
FW Vlatko Stojanovski (1997-04-23) 23 April 1997 (age 27) 10 2 Republic of Macedonia Shkëndija v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
FW Metodi Maksimov U21 (2002-08-20) 20 August 2002 (age 21) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkëndija v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
FW Kristijan Trapanovski (1999-08-14) 14 August 1999 (age 24) 1 0 Republic of Macedonia Shkupi v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022
FW Martin Stojanov INJ (1999-05-03) 3 May 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Bulgaria Septemvri Sofia v.  Saudi Arabia, 22 October 2022 WD
FW Erdon Daci INJ (1998-07-04) 4 July 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Belgium Westerlo v.  Portugal, 29 March 2022
FW Adis Jahović RET (1987-03-18) 18 March 1987 (age 37) 19 3 Turkey Bodrumspor v.  Italy, 24 March 2022

Notes
  • INJ = Withdrew due to injury
  • PRE = Preliminary squad / standby
  • RET = Retired from the national team
  • SUS = Serving suspension
  • U21 = Player called up to the U21 squad.
  • COV = The player is not part of the current squad due to being tested positive for COVID-19
  • WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

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Statistics

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As of 20 November 2022[80]
Players in bold are still active with Macedonia.

Captains

This is a list of Macedonian captains for five or more official and friendly matches.

Player Period Games as captain (Total caps) Major tournaments as captain (Games)
Darko Pančev 1993–1995 6 (6)
Toni Micevski 1996–2001 12 (44)
Artim Šakiri 2002–2005 10 (72)
Goce Sedloski 2004–2009 43 (100)
Veliče Šumulikoski 2009–2012 11 (84)
Goran Pandev 2010–2013 22 (75)
Tome Pachovski 2014–2015 10 (46)
Goran Pandev 2016–2021 69 (122) UEFA Euro 2020 (3)
Stefan Ristovski 2019– 12 (78)
Enis Bardhi 2021– 7 (51)

Note: Some of the other players to have captained the team include: Dragi Kanatlarovski (1 cap; 1993), Ilija Najdoski (3; 1994), Dančo Celeski (2; 1995), Ljupčo Markovski (4; 1995 to 1997), Mitko Stojkovski (2; 1998), Boban Babunski (2; 1996 and 1999), Gjorgji Hristov (2; 2002 to 2003), Petar Miloševski (2; 2004 and 2008), Ilcho Naumoski (1; 2008), Igor Mitreski (4; 2007 to 2010), Aleksandar Lazevski (1; 2010), Nikolče Noveski (4; 2011 to 2013), Daniel Mojsov (1; 2012), Boban Grncharov (3; 2012 to 2014), Blazhe Ilijoski (1; 2014), Blagoja Todorovski (1; 2014), Vanche Shikov (4; 2015), Ivan Trichkovski (4; 2018 to 2020), Ilija Nestorovski (1; 2019) and Darko Velkovski (1; 2022).

Coaching history

Updated on 17 November 2022[81]

Name First game Last game P W D L GF GA GD Win % Achievements
Republic of Macedonia Republic of Macedonia Andon Dončevski 13 October 1993 15 November 1995 17 5 5 7 23 23 +0 29.41
Republic of Macedonia Gjoko Hadžievski 27 March 1996 9 June 1999 28 10 7 11 42 37 +5 35.71
Republic of Macedonia Dragi Kanatlarovski 5 September 1999 13 February 2005 31 8 8 15 32 37 −5 25.81
Republic of Macedonia Gjore Jovanovski 2 June 2001 10 January 2002 13 0 6 7 9 27 −18 00.00
Republic of Macedonia Nikola Ilievski 27 March 2002 11 June 2003 13 3 4 6 23 24 −1 23.08
Serbia and Montenegro Slobodan Santrač 30 March 2005 17 August 2005 4 1 0 3 4 12 −8 25.00
Republic of Macedonia Boban Babunski (caretaker) 7 September 2005 10 August 2011 4 2 1 1 4 6 −2 50.00
Slovenia Srečko Katanec 1 March 2006 1 April 2009 27 9 7 11 28 29 −1 33.33
Republic of Macedonia Mirsad Jonuz 6 June 2009 4 June 2011 20 7 4 9 21 19 +2 35.00
Republic of Macedonia Vlatko Kostov (caretaker) 7 September 2010 7 September 2010 1 0 1 0 2 2 +0 00.00
Wales John Toshack 2 September 2011 29 May 2012 8 1 4 3 4 8 −4 12.50
Republic of Macedonia Goce Sedloski (caretaker) 15 August 2012 15 August 2012 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.000
Republic of Macedonia Čedomir Janevski 7 September 2012 10 September 2013 14 5 1 8 15 19 −4 35.71
Republic of Macedonia Zoran Stratev (caretaker) 11 October 2013 15 October 2013 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5 00.00
Republic of Macedonia Boško Gjurovski 5 March 2014 30 March 2015 11 2 3 6 7 12 −5 18.18
Serbia Ljubinko Drulović 14 June 2015 12 October 2015 5 0 1 4 1 6 −5 00.00
Republic of Macedonia Igor Angelovski 12 November 2015 21 June 2021 52 23 11 18 83 62 +21 44.23 UEFA Euro 2020 group stage
Republic of Macedonia Blagoja Milevski 2 September 2021 17 6 5 6 23 18 +5 35.29
Total 265 83 68 114 318 345 −27 31.32

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
Uruguay 1930 to Italy 1990 Within  Yugoslavia
1930,1950,1954,1958,1962,1974,1982,1990
Within  Yugoslavia
3,5,7,5,4,7,16,5
United States 1994 did not enter did not enter
France 1998 did not qualify 10 4 1 5 22 18 4/6
South Korea Japan 2002 10 1 4 5 11 18 4/6
Germany 2006 12 2 3 7 11 24 5/7
South Africa 2010 8 2 1 5 5 11 4/5
Brazil 2014 10 2 1 7 7 16 6/6
Russia 2018 10 3 2 5 15 15 5/6
Qatar 2022 12 6 3 3 24 13 2/6 play-offs
Canada Mexico United States 2026 to be determined to be determined
Total 0/7 72 20 15 37 95 115

UEFA European Championship

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UEFA European Championship record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Position
France 1960 to Sweden 1992 Within  Yugoslavia
1960,1968,1972,1976,1984,1992
Within  Yugoslavia
2,2,8,4,8,banned
England 1996 did not qualify 10 1 4 5 9 18 4/6
Belgium Netherlands 2000 8 2 2 4 13 14 4/5
Portugal 2004 8 1 3 4 11 14 4/5
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 4 2 6 12 12 5/7
Poland Ukraine 2012 10 2 2 6 8 14 5/6
France 2016 10 1 1 8 6 18 6/6
Europe 2020 Group stage 23rd 3 0 0 3 2 8 12 6 2 4 15 14 3/6 (PO winners)
Germany 2024 to be determined to be determined
Total Group stage 1/7 3 0 0 3 2 8 70 17 16 37 74 103

Olympic Record

  • Within Yugoslavia Team

1920 Round 1, 1924 Preliminary, 1928 Preliminary, 1948(2nd), 1952(2nd), 1956 (2nd), 1960 Champion, 1964 1/4 finals, 1980(4th), 1984(3rd),1988 group

  • Since 1996 under 21 team plays at Olympics
  • 1996 couldn't participate
  • 2000-2020 didn't qualify

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA GD P/R RK
2018–19 D 4 6 5 0 1 14 5 +9 Rise 41st
2020–21 C 2 6 2 3 1 9 8 +1 Equals-sign-blue.gif 40th
2022–23 C 4 6 2 1 3 7 7 0 Equals-sign-blue.gif 42nd
2024–25 C Future event
Total 18 9 4 5 30 20 +10 40th

Minor tournaments

Socialist Republic of Macedonia Team Macedonia
Rustenov, Bogojevski, Vidovik, Martinovski, Petrovski, Davidovski, Janevski, Adamovski, Atanaskov, Balevski, Gerov. Manager: Illes Spitz

Head-to-head record

As of 20 November 2022, after the match against Azerbaijan.
Macedonia all-time head-to-head record
Against Region Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % First match Last match
 Albania UEFA 10 4 4 2 12 7 +5 40% 14 May 1994 5 September 2017
 Andorra UEFA 6 4 1 1 9 1 +8 66.67% 13 October 2004 6 September 2011
 Angola CAF 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0% 29 May 2012
 Armenia UEFA 12 5 3 4 20 17 +3 41.67% 10 May 1995 11 November 2021
 Australia AFC 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 0% 12 March 1997 30 March 2015
 Austria UEFA 3 0 0 3 3 9 −6 0% 10 June 2019 13 June 2021
 Azerbaijan UEFA 8 5 2 1 15 8 +7 62.5% 26 July 2000 20 November 2022
 Bahrain AFC 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0% 7 January 2001
 Belarus UEFA 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 33.33% 27 March 2015 28 March 2017
 Belgium UEFA 4 0 1 3 1 9 −8 0% 16 November 1994 26 March 2013
 Bosnia and Herzegovina UEFA 5 1 3 1 8 8 0 20% 3 June 1998 26 March 2008
 Bulgaria UEFA 9 2 2 5 4 9 −5 22.22% 12 April 1995 26 September 2022
 Cameroon CAF 2 0 0 2 0 3 −3 0% 9 February 2011 26 May 2014
 Canada CONCACAF 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 50% 18 May 1998 14 November 2009
 China PR AFC 5 0 2 3 0 4 −4 0% 27 January 2004 22 June 2014
 Croatia UEFA 8 1 2 5 9 12 −3 12.5% 14 October 1998 12 October 2012
 Cyprus UEFA 2 1 1 0 4 1 +3 50% 17 December 1994 11 October 1995
 Czech Republic UEFA 3 0 1 2 2 9 −7 0% 28 February 2001 8 June 2005
 Denmark UEFA 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2 33.33% 7 September 1994 6 February 2013
 Ecuador CONMEBOL 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100% 28 May 2006
 Egypt CAF 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0% 29 September 1998
 England UEFA 4 0 2 2 3 5 −2 0% 16 October 2002 7 October 2006
 Estonia UEFA 6 4 2 0 13 7 +6 66.67% 1 June 1994 15 November 2020
 Finland UEFA 6 1 2 3 3 12 −9 16.67% 10 January 2002 17 November 2022
 Yugoslavia UEFA 3 0 0 3 4 9 –5 0% 5 September 1999 23 February 2000
 Georgia UEFA 5 1 2 2 3 7 –4 20% 8 September 2020 23 September 2022
 Germany UEFA 2 1 0 1 2 5 −3 50% 31 March 2021 11 October 2021
 Gibraltar UEFA 4 4 0 0 12 0 +12 100% 6 September 2018 12 June 2022
 Hungary UEFA 2 0 1 1 0 5 −5 0% 22 April 1998 14 November 2001
 Iceland UEFA 6 3 2 1 9 5 +4 50% 1 June 1996 14 November 2021
 Iran AFC 3 0 1 2 3 7 −4 0% 9 June 2000 2 June 2016
 Israel UEFA 7 2 1 4 7 9 −2 28.57% 20 November 2002 6 September 2019
 Italy UEFA 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 33.33% 9 October 2016 24 March 2022
 Jamaica CONCACAF 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100% 20 April 1998
 Kazakhstan UEFA 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100% 4 June 2021
 Kosovo UEFA 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 100% 8 October 2020
 Latvia UEFA 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 100% 5 March 2014 9 September 2019
 Lebanon AFC 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0% 17 November 2015
 Liechtenstein UEFA 11 10 1 0 42 5 +37 90.91% 24 April 1996 8 October 2021
 Lithuania UEFA 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 33.33% 6 September 1997 15 August 2012
 Luxembourg UEFA 4 2 0 2 8 6 +2 50% 20 August 2008 5 September 2015
 Malta UEFA 6 5 1 0 15 2 +13 83.33% 27 March 1996 11 August 2010
 Moldova UEFA 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 0% 11 October 2000 11 February 2009
 Montenegro UEFA 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 66.67% 19 November 2008 15 August 2012
 Netherlands UEFA 5 0 2 3 3 11 −8 0% 9 October 2004 21 June 2021
 Nigeria CAF 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0% 22 August 2007
 Norway UEFA 4 1 1 2 3 4 −1 25% 6 June 2009 11 November 2017
 Oman AFC 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0% 30 December 2001
 Poland UEFA 5 0 1 4 2 11 −9 0% 14 February 2003 13 October 2019
 Portugal UEFA 3 0 1 2 0 3 −3 0% 2 April 2003 29 March 2022
 Qatar AFC 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 33.33% 25 July 2001 30 May 2014
 Republic of Ireland UEFA 6 1 1 4 5 11 −6 16.67% 9 October 1996 4 June 2011
 Romania UEFA 7 1 1 5 7 14 −7 14.29% 14 December 1996 8 September 2021
 Russia UEFA 4 0 0 4 0 7 −7 0% 15 November 2006 2 September 2011
 Saudi Arabia AFC 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 0% 1 August 2001 22 October 2022
 Scotland UEFA 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 25% 6 September 2008 10 September 2013
 Serbia UEFA 3 1 1 1 3 6 −3 33.33% 6 February 2008 15 October 2013
 Slovakia UEFA 8 0 2 6 3 16 −13 0% 3 September 2000 14 June 2015
 Slovenia UEFA 7 4 2 1 13 7 +6 57.14% 13 October 1993 1 June 2021
 South Korea AFC 2 0 1 1 3 4 −1 0% 18 April 1998 7 June 2000
 Spain UEFA 7 0 0 7 4 20 −16 0% 12 October 1994 11 June 2017
 Sweden UEFA 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3 0% 24 March 2001 3 June 2013
 Turkey UEFA 8 1 2 5 9 14 −5 12.5% 31 August 1994 5 June 2017
 Ukraine UEFA 5 1 1 3 2 5 −3 25% 11 October 2003 17 June 2021
 United States CONCACAF 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0% 16 May 1998
 Wales UEFA 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 50% 6 September 2013 11 October 2013
Total 66 nations 270 83 68 119 324 361 −37 30.74%

FIFA ranking history

FIFA-ranking yearly averages for North Macedonia. The country reached 46th in October 2008, and 166th in March 2017. As of 25 March 2022, they sit in 66th.[82]

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
x 90 94 86 92 59 68 76 89 85
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
92 92 87 54 58 56 65 76 103 81
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
83 100 136 162 76 68 68 65 67

See also

Notes

References

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External links

Template:North Macedonia national football team Template:Football in North Macedonia Template:National sports teams of North Macedonia

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