North Macedonia national football team

In 1994, the Republic of Macedonia became a single member of FIFA, and UEFA after the independence and split of the Yugoslavia. The national team began its football journey with a 4–1 victory against Slovenia in a friendly on 13 October 1993 under coach Andon Dončevski.[3]

They went on to win their next two friendlies against Slovenia and Estonia. The inaugural Macedonian side featured Darko Pančev, who played for Inter Milan in Italy.

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.[4] In this qualifying stage, Macedonia suffered one of its worst defeats when they lost 0–5 to Belgium at home on 7 June 1995.[5] They failed to qualify for Euro 96, finishing fourth in the group with seven points.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10]

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 the 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 equaliser in the second half.[11] Macedonia lost to England 2–1 at home in the return leg, which took place in September 2003.[12] 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.[13]

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,[14] 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.[15] Also in this tournament, Macedonia set a new team record for most goals conceded in a game when they lost 6–1 away to the 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.[16]

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.[17]

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 lost the final against Paraguay 0–1. Macedonia was the only nation in this friendly tournament not to have qualified for the 2006 World Cup.

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 nation, and a week later, followed that up with a 1–0 win against Turkey.

Macedonia opened its UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a 0–1 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 0–1 after Peter Crouch scored for the away side in the 46th minute. This was the first time that Macedonia failed to score against England.[18]

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.[19] 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.[20]

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, causing the biggest upset of Group A; it was also a first win for Macedonia over a side that was ranked in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings.[21] Despite some surprising results, Macedonia once again failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 Finals after finishing fifth in the group with 14 points.[22]

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.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25]

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.[26] 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.

On 7 February 2010, Macedonia was placed in Group B for the Euro 2012 qualifiers alongside Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Armenia and Andorra.[27] 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.

However, the qualifications did not go as well. Instead, Macedonia finished in a disappointing fifth position in the group with only two wins against minnows Andorra and two draws, against Armenia and Slovakia, both at home. Due to the poor results in the qualifications, the manager Mirsad Jonuz was dismissed on 18 June 2011[28] and replaced by John Toshack,[29] who led Macedonia in the last four matches to one win, one draw and two losses.

Macedonia's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign saw them grouped with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Wales.[30] In August 2012, prior to the qualifications, John Toshack would leave as manager[31] and would be replaced by Čedomir Janevski.[32] 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.[33] 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[34] and would be replaced by Zoran Stratev for the last two matches.[35] The national team would suffer a disastrous finish to their qualification campaign with away losses to Wales and Serbia. They would finish last in their group.

After the unsuccessful 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.[36] In November 2013, Boško Gjurovski would be appointed the new national team manager.[37]

On 23 February 2014, Macedonia was placed in Group C for the Euro 2016 qualifiers alongside Spain, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus and Luxembourg.[38] However, the national team had a disastrous start against Spain in Valencia with a 1–5 loss. The only win they collected was against Luxembourg in Skopje.

After that match, Macedonia was brought into disastrous run of a four losses. Due to the poor results in the qualifications, manager Boško Gjurovski was dismissed on 7 April 2015[39] and replaced by Ljubinko Drulović.[40] The miserable run, however, continued with the losses against Slovakia and surprisingly Luxembourg by late goal of Sébastien Thill, after a missed penalty kick of Besart Abdurahimi. Their disappointing performances was continued against Spain in Skopje, beside their good game, and against, Ukraine also home.

In the last match against Belarus in Barysaw, Macedonia played a draw that broke the black streak of seven losses. The team still ended the qualifications at the last place of the group with a worse head-to-head scoring with Luxembourg.

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, with the rival Albania and with Israel and Liechtenstein.[41]

In October 2015, Drulović left the national team to join Serbian club Partizan[42] and the manager place was taken over by the former manager of Rabotnički, and former assistant coach of the national team Igor Angelovski.[43] In the same month, the Macedonian football superstar Goran Pandev came back to the national team after the two years of absence.[44]

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 very bad weather conditions.[45][46] Later on they also lost to Israel at home by missing a penalty kick by Adis Jahović in the last moments of the game.[47] After that, the national team also lost to Italy beside their 2–1 lead with the goals scored by Ilija Nestorovski and Ferhan Hasani.[48] At the end of another forgettable year Macedonia was outclassed by Spain in Granada (4–0)[49] and after four rounds Macedonia had not scored a single point which was the worst qualifying start in the history of the national team.[50]

Finally, in March 2017, Macedonia recorded their first win in the qualifying against Liechtenstein (3–0).[51] Then again, expectantly, lost to Spain in Skopje (1–2).[52] They also defeated Israel away through the lone goal by Goran Pandev, which was also a first ever win against Israel.[53] However, in the next round Macedonia missed a good opportunity to collect yet another win, this time against Albania in Strumica, but the game ended with a draw (1–1).[54]

In the first edition of the UEFA Nations League, Macedonia played in League D, the fourth and lowest division of that competition.[55] Macedonia were drawn in Group 4 with Armenia, Liechtenstein and Gibraltar.[56] 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.[57]

For the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying North Macedonia were placed in Group G, along with Austria, Israel, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia.[58] North Macedonia managed two first impressive results, drawing Slovenia 1–1 away[59] and before that, defeated Latvia 3–1 at home,[60] to put their hope high to qualify for the first ever UEFA Euro. However, North Macedonia would soon face setbacks when they faced off stronger sides, with the team fell 0–1 to Poland[61] and 1–4 to Austria, both games were played in Skopje.[62] The situation got some improvement, with the team achieved a successful 1–1 away draw to Israel,[63] and more importantly, a 2–1 win over Slovenia at home soil that gave North Macedonia some chances to reach top two, and, indirectly helped to relieve pressure for Poland.[64] Yet, it was Poland that killed off North Macedonia's hope to achieve a top-two finish when North Macedonia lost 0–2 away to Poland.[65] With the hope dented, North Macedonia lost 1–2 away to Austria and had to finish in third place, the highest position achieved in North Macedonian football history.[66]

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, thus increased the chance to make a historic Euro debut for North Macedonia when they faced Georgia in the final of Path D's play-offs on 13 November. In the Path D play-off final, North Macedonia defeated Georgia 1–0 in away fixture due to Goran Pandev's goal, with the result securing a historic first major tournament qualification for the Macedonians.[67]

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.[68]

The nation was proud for the debut appearance at the EURO 2020. The team played very good and on a higher level against much stronger opponents comparing the ones from the Nations league including play-offs.However the three group stage matches were lost, scoring a total of two goals in two different matches and conceding eight. The scorers were Goran Pandev and Ezgjan Alioski. The team was the second debutante including Finland that showed good performance at the tournament.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands (H)	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	Advance to knockout phase
2	Austria	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
3	Ukraine	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3
4	North Macedonia	3	0	0	3	2	8	−6	0

• 13 June 2021 at National Arena Bucharest: Austria 3–1 North Macedonia
• 17 June 2021 at National Arena Bucharest:Ukraine 2–1 North Macedonia
• 21 June 2021 at Johan Cruiff Arena: North Macedonia 0–3 Netherlands[69]

For the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, North Macedonia was drawn in Group J with Germany, Romania, Iceland, Armenia and Liechtenstein.[71] On matchday 3, North Macedonia inflicted a historic 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.[72][73] In the last two games against Armenia and Iceland the national team won twice. First 0-5 away victory against Armenia showing great form. Then 3-1 home victory against Iceland ,put them on 2nd spot in group J and qualified for the play-offs.

Stadiums which have hosted North Macedonia international football matches:

• 
• 
  Mladost

• The following is the squad called for the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Armenia and Iceland on 11 and 14 November 2021.[80]
• Caps, goals and player numbers are correct as of 14 November 2021, after the match against Iceland.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Stole Dimitrievski	(1993-12-25) 25 December 1993	52	0	Rayo Vallecano
22	1GK	Damjan Shishkovski	(1995-03-18) 18 March 1995	6	0	Doxa
12	1GK	Risto Jankov	(1998-09-05) 5 September 1998	0	0	Rabotnichki
13	2DF	Stefan Ristovski (captain)	(1992-02-12) 12 February 1992	74	2	Dinamo Zagreb
8	2DF	Ezgjan Alioski	(1992-02-12) 12 February 1992	54	12	Al-Ahli
4	2DF	Kire Ristevski	(1990-10-22) 22 October 1990	53	0	AEL
6	2DF	Visar Musliu	(1994-11-13) 13 November 1994	40	1	Fehérvár
14	2DF	Darko Velkovski	(1995-06-21) 21 June 1995	38	3	Rijeka
15	2DF	Gjoko Zajkov	(1995-02-10) 10 February 1995	19	1	Levski
3	2DF	Stefan Ashkovski	(1992-02-24) 24 February 1992	10	0	Sepsi OSK
2	2DF	Todor Todoroski	(1999-02-26) 26 February 1999	1	0	Radnički Niš
5	2DF	Nikola Serafimov	(1999-08-11) 11 August 1999	0	0	ZTE
20	3MF	Stefan Spirovski	(1990-08-23) 23 August 1990	48	1	Mariupol
10	3MF	Enis Bardhi (vice captain)	(1995-07-02) 2 July 1995	42	9	Levante
7	3MF	Elif Elmas	(1999-09-24) 24 September 1999	37	9	Napoli
21	3MF	Tihomir Kostadinov	(1996-03-04) 4 March 1996	18	0	Ružomberok
11	3MF	Darko Churlinov	(2000-07-11) 11 July 2000	12	2	Schalke 04
	3MF	Ennur Totre	(1996-10-29) 29 October 1996	2	0	Tirana
16	3MF	Jani Atanasov	(1999-10-31) 31 October 1999	1	0	Hajduk
17	3MF	Valon Ethemi	(1997-10-03) 3 October 1997	0	0	İstanbulspor
9	4FW	Aleksandar Trajkovski	(1992-09-05) 5 September 1992	74	19	Aalborg BK
19	4FW	Milan Ristovski	(1998-04-08) 8 April 1998	8	2	Spartak
23	4FW	Bojan Miovski	(1999-06-24) 24 June 1999	4	0	MTK
18	4FW	Dorian Babunski	(1996-08-29) 29 August 1996	0	0	Botev Vratsa

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	Dejan Iliev INJ	(1995-02-25) 25 February 1995	0	0	Sereď	v.  Germany, 11 October 2021
GK	Martin Bogatinov	(1986-04-26) 26 April 1986	18	0	Ethnikos	v.  Germany, 31 March 2021
DF	Egzon Bejtulai	(1994-01-07) 7 January 1994	22	0	Shkëndija	UEFA Euro 2020, 13–21 June 2021
MF	Erdal Rakip INJ	(1996-02-13) 13 February 1996	2	0	Malmö	v.  Armenia, 11 November 2021
MF	Boban Nikolov INJ	(1994-07-28) 28 July 1994	40	3	Sheriff	v.  Germany, 11 October 2021
MF	Arijan Ademi INJ	(1991-05-29) 29 May 1991	26	4	Dinamo Zagreb	v.  Germany, 11 October 2021
MF	Nikola Gjorgjev	(1997-08-22) 22 August 1997	5	0	Grasshoppers	v.  Germany, 11 October 2021
MF	Daniel Avramovski	(1995-02-20) 20 February 1995	8	0	Unattached	v.  Romania, 8 September 2021
MF	Ferhan Hasani	(1990-06-18) 18 June 1990	42	2	Unattached	UEFA Euro 2020, 13–21 June 2021
MF	Marjan Radeski	(1995-02-10) 10 February 1995	17	1	Shkupi	UEFA Euro 2020, 13–21 June 2021
MF	Agim Ibraimi	(1988-08-29) 29 August 1988	40	7	Dinamo	v.  Germany, 31 March 2021
FW	Adis Jahović INJ	(1987-03-18) 18 March 1987	19	3	Göztepe	v.  Armenia, 11 November 2021
FW	Kire Markoski	(1995-02-20) 20 February 1995	5	1	Shkupi	v.  Romania, 8 September 2021
FW	Goran Pandev RET	(1983-07-27) 27 July 1983	122	38	Genoa	UEFA Euro 2020, 13–21 June 2021
FW	Ivan Trichkovski RET	(1987-04-18) 18 April 1987	67	7	AEK	UEFA Euro 2020, 13–21 June 2021
FW	Krste Velkoski RET	(1988-02-20) 20 February 1988	15	0	Sarajevo	UEFA Euro 2020, 13–21 June 2021
FW	Vlatko Stojanovski	(1997-04-23) 23 April 1997	9	2	Gorica	UEFA Euro 2020, 13–21 June 2021
FW	Ilija Nestorovski	(1990-03-12) 12 March 1990	46	10	Udinese	v.  Germany, 31 March 2021
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.

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

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 Enis Bardhi (1; 2021).

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Position
1930 to 1990	Within  Yugoslavia 1930,1950,1954,1958,1962,1974,1982,1990									Within  Yugoslavia 3,5,7,5,4,7,16,5
1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1998	Did not qualify									10	4	1	5	22	18	4/6
2002										10	1	4	5	11	18	4/6
2006										12	2	3	7	11	24	5/7
2010										8	2	1	5	5	11	4/5
2014										10	2	1	7	7	16	6/6
2018										10	3	2	5	15	15	5/6
2022	To be determined									10	5	3	2	23	11	2/6
2026										To be determined
Total		0/6	–	–	–	–	–	–		70	19	15	36	94	113	—

North 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), North Macedonia (then the Republic of Macedonia) remained in contention to qualify until the final group game, which North Macedonia lost 2–1 away to Norway, although Norway would be the only runners-up to not make the play-offs that year.

• Yugoslav Football Tournament
  • 5th place: 1945

Within Yugoslavia

1920(12),1924(21),1928(10),1948(2),1952(2),1956(2),1960(1), 1964 (6),1980(4),1984(3),1988(10),1992 banned

• • From 1996 Macedonia under-23 national football team : Did not qualify