UEFA EURO 2020 contenders in focus: North Macedonia

EURO pedigree

Final tournaments: 0
EURO best: N/A

UEFA EURO 2020 will be North Macedonia’s first appearance at a major finals event.

Key players

Goran Pandev (114 caps, 36 goals)
North Macedonia's captain scored the play-off final winner against Georgia to cement his status as a national hero. A team leader as well as a creative and hard-working left-footed forward, the 37-year-old has great technique and can create goals as well as score them. The Genoa man is both his country's most-capped player and their all-time leading marksman.

Enis Bardhi (31 caps, 5 goals)
The Levante midfielder provides good passing, creativity and a goalscoring threat, not least from his set pieces; according to the statistics, he is the joint-best free-kick taker in the Spanish Liga, alongside Lionel Messi. Having featured at the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland, he also possesses final tournament experience.

Memorable EURO goals

North Macedonia's first EURO qualifying goal was scored on 7 September 1994 by Mitko Stojkovski, against Denmark in Skopje; however, Pandev's unanswered 56th-minute strike in the play-off final against Georgia in Tbilisi is without question the most important goal in North Macedonian football history.

Memorable moments

Since North Macedonia made their international debut with a 4-1 win against Slovenia on 13 October 1993 – Zoran Boskovski getting their first goal – there have been some bright moments. Artim Šakiri scoring straight from a corner against England in EURO 2004 qualifying was one; the 11-1 victory over Liechtenstein in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in 1996 was another highlight.

Did you know?

• Goalkeeper Blagoje Vidinić was the only player of North Macedonian origin to have played at a EURO, having figured in the Yugoslavia side that took on the Soviet Union in the inaugural final in Paris in 1960.

• Current boss Igor Angelovski has been in charge of more North Macedonia matches than any other coach. His record after 45 games is: W20 D10 L15.

• Angelovski is the 17th coach to have managed the national team since 1993 (including four interim bosses). Only four of those coaches have been foreigners: Slobodan Santrač (SRB, 2005), Srečko Katanec (SVN, 2006–09), John Toshack (WAL, 2011–12) and Ljubinko Drulović (SRB, 2015).