Republic of Macedonia national football team
Encyclopedia
The Macedonia national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

 and is controlled by the Football Federation of Macedonia
Football Federation of Macedonia
The Football Federation of Macedonia is the governing body of football in the Republic of Macedonia. It organizes the First Macedonian Football League, the Macedonian Cup and the Republic of Macedonia national football team. It is based in Skopje....

. Due to an ongoing name dispute, it enters international competitions under its country's provisional appellation as "FYR Macedonia
Macedonia naming dispute
A diplomatic dispute over the use of the name Macedonia has been an ongoing issue in the bilateral relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia since the latter became independent from former Yugoslavia in 1991...

". The current venue for the home games is the Philip II Arena in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

, while the manager position is held by John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...

 who was hired on 7 August 2011. Toshack replaced the fired Mirsad Jonuz, who was let go on 18 June 2011 due to poor results.

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
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

. Star player Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev , is a Macedonian footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club Napoli on loan from Internazionale. He is also considered a key player for the Macedonian national team.-Early career:...

 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.

World Cup record

The Macedonian national football team has yet to qualify for a World Cup Finals tournament. In their attempt at qualifying for the 2010 World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

, 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.
  • 1930
    1930 FIFA World Cup
    The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930...

     – 1990
    1990 FIFA World Cup
    The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

     – was part of Yugoslavia
    Yugoslavia national football team
    The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...

  • 1994
    1994 FIFA World Cup
    The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

     – Did not enter
  • 1998
    1998 FIFA World Cup
    The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

     – 2010
    2010 FIFA World Cup
    The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

     – Did not qualify

European Championship record

As with their World Cup campaigns, Macedonia has yet to qualify for a European Championship after three qualifying campaigns. They beat Estonia
Estonia national football team
The Estonia national football team represents Estonia in international association football. Team members are selected by the head coach of Estonian Football Association . Estonia play their home matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....

 1–0 on 16 August 2006 in the first game of the qualification campaign for Euro 2008. They drew 0–0 with England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 on 7 October 2006, marking one of their best results to date. Another surprising game was a 2–0 win over a strong Croatian
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

 side on 17 November 2007.
  • 1960 – 1992 – was part of Yugoslavia
    Yugoslavia national football team
    The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...

  • 1996 – 2012 – Did not qualify

The beginning

In 1994, Macedonia became a member of FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 and UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 after the break-up of SFR Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

. The team began its football journey with a 4–1 win against Slovenia
Slovenia national football team
The Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. The team played their first match in 1992 after the split of Yugoslavia in 1991....

 in a friendly on 13 October 1993 under coach Andon Dončevski
Andon Doncevski
Andon Dončevski is a former football player for FK Vardar, in the Republic of Macedonia. In his career he represented the Yugoslavian national team, as well as scoring a record 217 goals for Vardar...

. They went on to win their next two friendlies against Slovenia and Estonia before suffering their first loss against Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

 on 31 August 1994 (before this they lost to Club Atlético Peñarol
C.A. Peñarol
Club Atlético Peñarol also known as Carboneros, Aurinegros and familiarly as Manya, is an Uruguayan sports club based in the Peñarol barrio, Montevideo, best known for its professional football team. The team plays their home matches in Estadio Centenario, the largest stadium in the country, but...

 0–4 in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

 in February 1994). The inaugural Macedonian side featured Darko Pančev
Darko Pancev
Darko Pančev is a retired Yugoslav and Macedonian footballer, and winner of the Golden Boot award in 1991.-Club career:Pančev was the highest scorer in top-division European football in the 1990–91 season with 34 goals, and should have won the European Golden Boot award...

, who won the European Champions League with Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...

 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
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

, Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...

, Belgium, Cyprus
Cyprus national football team
The Cyprus national football team represents Cyprus in association football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association, the governing body for football in Cyprus. Cyprus' home ground is the GSP Stadium in Nicosia and the current coach is Nikos Nioplias...

, and Armenia
Armenia national football team
The Armenia national football team represents Armenia in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia, the governing body for football in 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
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

 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
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

, Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

, Lithuania
Lithuania national football team
The national football team of Lithuania is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on...

, Iceland
Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team is the national football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition....

, and Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein national football team
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...

. 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 to qualify for the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

 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
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...

, Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

, Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

, and Malta
Malta national football team
The Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. Malta played its first international game in February 1957, and began competing for qualification to major tournaments in 1962. The side's first competitive victory came in...

. 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
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

 qualifying campaign saw them grouped with Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...

, Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

, Slovakia
Slovakia national football team
The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...

, Moldova
Moldova national football team
The Moldova national football team represents Moldova in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Moldova, the governing body for football in Moldova. Moldova's home ground is Zimbru Stadium in Chişinău and their head coach is Gavril Balint...

, and Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan national football team
The Azerbaijan national football team is the national football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan...

. They were unsuccessful in their opening match, going down to Slovakia 2–0 in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 on 3 September 2000. The Macedonians once again failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, which was held in Japan and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, as they finished fourth in the group with seven points.

Euro 2004 qualifiers

The Euro 2004 Qualifiers saw Macedonia grouped alongside England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

, Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

, Slovakia
Slovakia national football team
The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...

, and Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein national football team
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...

. 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
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

, which was England's first home game in Southampton in almost 100 years. Macedonia grabbed the lead early in the first half after Artim Sakiri
Artim Šakiri
Artim Šakiri is a football midfielder from the Republic of Macedonia of Albanian ethnicity, who most recently played for FK Karabakh in Azerbijan.-Club career:...

 scored directly from a corner kick, leaving English goalkeeper David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...

 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
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

, Czech Republic
Czech Republic national football team
The Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...

, Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

, Finland
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....

, Armenia
Armenia national football team
The Armenia national football team represents Armenia in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia, the governing body for football in Armenia...

, and Andorra
Andorra national football team
The Andorra national football team represents Andorra in association football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very little success due to the Principality's tiny population, the fourth smallest of any UEFA...

. 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
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

 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 tournaments, 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 Santrac
Slobodan Santrac
Slobodan Santrač is a retired Serbian football player and currently manager of Chinese Super League side Shaanxi Renhe Commercial Chanba F.C.....

 resigned as coach of Macedonia after just five months on the job due to personal problems, with former player Boban Babunski
Boban Babunski
Boban Babunski is a former Yugoslav and Macedonian football central defender, and also a coach...

 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
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

. 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
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 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
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 consisting of four teams, each team from a different continent. The teams were Macedonia, Iran
Iran national football team
The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...

, Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...

, and Togo
Togo national football team
The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks, is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.They played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their team bus...

. 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 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
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

, Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

, Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...

, Israel
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team is the national football team of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association .Israel National Football is the direct successor of the Eretz Yisrael National Team during British Mandate...

, Estonia
Estonia national football team
The Estonia national football team represents Estonia in international association football. Team members are selected by the head coach of Estonian Football Association . Estonia play their home matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....

, and Andorra
Andorra national football team
The Andorra national football team represents Andorra in association football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very little success due to the Principality's tiny population, the fourth smallest of any UEFA...

. On 17 February 2006, former Slovenian national team coach Srečko Katanec
Srecko Katanec
Srečko Katanec is a Slovenian football manager and a former player capped for Yugoslavia and Slovenia. His last position was as the manager of the United Arab Emirates national football team.-Career:...

 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
Ecuador national football team
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...

 2–1 in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, their first ever win against a South American side, and a week later, followed that up with a 1–0 win against Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

. Macedonia opened their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with a 1–0 win away to Estonia on 16 August 2006. Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski is a Macedonian footballer who is currently assistant coach in Austrian side SV Mattersburg, after joining them in 2006. He also plays for the Macedonia national football team....

 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
Peter Crouch
Peter James Crouch is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the England national team.Crouch started his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur...

 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
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, 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
Andorra national football team
The Andorra national football team represents Andorra in association football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very little success due to the Principality's tiny population, the fourth smallest of any UEFA...

 3–0 in Skopje in an emotional game as it was the day after the death of pop icon Toše Proeski
Toše Proeski
Todor Toše Proeski was a Macedonian multi-genre singer, songwriter and actor. He was popular across the entire Balkan area and all around Eastern Europe, and locally he was considered a top act of the Macedonian music scene...

. Macedonia then recorded one of their most impressive wins to date when they picked up a 2–0 victory over eventual group winners Croatia
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

 on 17 November 2007 causing the biggest upset of Group A 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 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
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...

 were held in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 where Macedonia was seeded in Pot 4 and grouped along with the Netherlands
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

, Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

, Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

, and Iceland
Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team is the national football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition....

. 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
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team is the national football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

, and Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in 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
Ilco Naumoski
Ilčo Naumoski is a Macedonian football player who currently plays as a striker for SV Mattersburg in Austria...

 scored on a rebound after a well taken free kick by Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski is a Macedonian footballer who is currently assistant coach in Austrian side SV Mattersburg, after joining them in 2006. He also plays for the Macedonia national football team....

. Following these impressive results, Macedonia moved up 10 places to 46 in the FIFA World Rankings
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...

 list for October 2008 which was their highest ever position on the rankings list. Srečko Katanec
Srecko Katanec
Srečko Katanec is a Slovenian football manager and a former player capped for Yugoslavia and Slovenia. His last position was as the manager of the United Arab Emirates national football team.-Career:...

 left the team following a 4–0 loss to the Netherlands in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 in April 2009 for allegedly getting into an argument with star player Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev , is a Macedonian footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club Napoli on loan from Internazionale. He is also considered a key player for the Macedonian national team.-Early career:...

. Soon afterwards, the manager of the under-21 squad, Mirsad Jonuz
Mirsad Jonuz
Mirsad Jonuz is a former Macedonian football goalkeeper and head coach.-Club career:...

, became the new coach of the Macedonian national football team and was signed until the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign. On 5 September, Macedonia lost 2–0 to Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 and then suffered another loss to Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...

 which meant that Macedonia once again did not qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.

Euro 2012 qualifiers

On 7 February 2010, Macedonia was placed in Group B for the Euro 2012 qualifiers alongside Russia
Russia national football team
The Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...

, Slovakia
Slovakia national football team
The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...

, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....

, Armenia
Armenia national football team
The Armenia national football team represents Armenia in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia, the governing body for football in Armenia...

 and Andorra
Andorra national football team
The Andorra national football team represents Andorra in association football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very little success due to the Principality's tiny population, the fourth smallest of any UEFA...

. In the lead up to the qualifiers, an under strength Macedonian side played friendlies against Azerbaijan and Romania, winning both of them 3–1 and 1–0 respectively.

Current squad

Squad named for the friendly match against Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...

 on 15 November 2011.

Caps and goals as of 15 November 2011

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  • * withdrew from squad

Other recent callups

The following players have also been called up to the Macedonia squad within the last twelve months.

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All-time team record

The following table shows Macedonia's all-time international record, correct as of 15 November 2011.
Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
8 4 3 1 10 4 +6
6 4 1 1 9 1 +8
6 2 2 2 11 11 0
1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
5 4 1 0 10 3 +7
1 0 1 0 1 1 0
2 0 1 1 1 6 −5
5 1 3 1 8 8 0
5 1 1 3 1 5 −4
1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
2 1 0 1 3 1 +2
3 0 1 2 0 2 −2
6 1 2 3 8 9 −1
2 1 1 0 4 1 +3
3 0 1 2 2 9 −7
2 0 1 1 1 2 −1
1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
1 0 1 0 2 2 0
4 0 2 2 3 5 −2
4 3 1 0 8 3 +5
4 1 0 3 2 11 −9
2 0 1 1 0 5 −5
4 2 1 1 4 2 +2
3 1 1 1 4 5 −1
6 1 1 4 5 11 −6
3 0 0 3 3 6 −3
1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
2 0 1 1 3 4 −1
5 4 1 0 20 4 +16
2 0 0 2 1 4 −3
1 1 0 0 4 1 +3
6 5 1 0 15 2 +13
3 0 3 0 3 3 0
2 1 0 1 3 3 0
4 0 2 2 3 8 −5
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
2 0 1 1 1 2 −1
1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
2 0 1 1 1 4 −3
1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
5 1 0 4 5 11 −6
4 0 0 4 0 7 −6
1 0 1 0 1 1 0
2 1 0 1 1 2 −1
1 0 1 0 1 1 0
3 0 0 3 4 9 −5
6 0 2 4 2 12 −10
2 2 0 0 6 1 +5
3 0 0 3 2 8 −6
2 0 0 2 1 3 −2
7 1 1 5 9 14 −5
2 1 1 0 1 0 +1
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Total 165 47 45 73 193 227 −34

Most appearances

Rank Name NT Career Caps
1 Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski is a Macedonian footballer who is currently assistant coach in Austrian side SV Mattersburg, after joining them in 2006. He also plays for the Macedonia national football team....

1996–2010 100
2 Veliče Šumulikoski
Velice Šumulikoski
Veliče Šumulikoski is a Macedonian football midfielder who plays for FC Sibir Novosibirsk...

2002 – 78
3 Artim Šakiri
Artim Šakiri
Artim Šakiri is a football midfielder from the Republic of Macedonia of Albanian ethnicity, who most recently played for FK Karabakh in Azerbijan.-Club career:...

1996–2009 72
4 Igor Mitreski 2001-2011 70
5 Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev , is a Macedonian footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club Napoli on loan from Internazionale. He is also considered a key player for the Macedonian national team.-Early career:...

2001 – 61
6 Petar Miloševski
Petar Miloševski
Petar Miloševski is a football goalkeeper from Macedonia who, as at June 2006, plays for Enosis Neon Paralimni.Miloševski made his debut for the Macedonia football team in 1998, and currently has 56 caps....

1998–2009 59
7 Vlatko Grozdanoski
Vlatko Grozdanoski
Vlatko Grozdanoski is a Macedonian footballer who plays for FK Vardar and the Macedonia national team.-Club career:He began his career in 1999, playing for Cementarnica 55 Skopje...

2001 – 50
8 Nikolče Noveski
Nikolce Noveski
Nikolče Noveski is a Macedonian footballer. He plays as a defender for German Bundesliga outfit 1. FSV Mainz 05....

2004 – 48
9 Gjorgji Hristov 1995–2003 47
10 Ilčo Naumoski
Ilco Naumoski
Ilčo Naumoski is a Macedonian football player who currently plays as a striker for SV Mattersburg in Austria...

2003 – 44

|width=50% valign=top|

Top goalscorers

Rank Name NT Career Goals
1 Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev , is a Macedonian footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie A club Napoli on loan from Internazionale. He is also considered a key player for the Macedonian national team.-Early career:...

2001 – 24
2 Gjorgji Hristov 1995–2003 16
3 Artim Šakiri
Artim Šakiri
Artim Šakiri is a football midfielder from the Republic of Macedonia of Albanian ethnicity, who most recently played for FK Karabakh in Azerbijan.-Club career:...

1996–2007 15
4 Goran Maznov
Goran Maznov
Goran Maznov is a Macedonian football striker who currently plays for Kerkyra F.C.....

2001 – 10
5 Ilčo Naumoski
Ilco Naumoski
Ilčo Naumoski is a Macedonian football player who currently plays as a striker for SV Mattersburg in Austria...

2003 – 9
6 Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski
Goce Sedloski is a Macedonian footballer who is currently assistant coach in Austrian side SV Mattersburg, after joining them in 2006. He also plays for the Macedonia national football team....

1996–2010 8
7 Saša Ćirić
Saša Ciric
Saša Ćirić or Sasa Kirik is a former football player from the Republic of Macedonia of Serbian origin.- Career :...

1996–2003 8
8 Aco Stojkov
Aco Stojkov
Aco Stojkov is a Macedonian international football player, who is currently contracted with FC Aarau.- Career :...

2002 – 5
9 Mitko Stojkovski
Mitko Stojkovski
Mitko Stojkovski is a Macedonian former football player.-Career:Stojkovski started his career playing with his home town club FK Pelister, back then playing in the Yugoslav Second League. In 1992 his skills were noted and he moves to the 1991 European Champions Red Star Belgrade where he stayed 3...

1994–2002 5
10 Zoran Boskovski
Zoran Boškovski
Zoran Boškovski is a former footballer who played for the Macedonia national football team. He scored the first goal for the team in the team's first international on 13 October 1993....

1993–1998 5

|}

Coaching history

Andon Dončevski
Andon Doncevski
Andon Dončevski is a former football player for FK Vardar, in the Republic of Macedonia. In his career he represented the Yugoslavian national team, as well as scoring a record 217 goals for Vardar...

 (1993–1995) Gjoko Hadžievski
Gjoko Hadžievski
Gjoko Hadžievski is a football coach from the Republic of Macedonia who currently coaching Macedonia national football team.He played for Teteks and Pelister....

 (1996–1999) Dragan Kanatlarovski
Dragan Kanatlarovski
Dragan Kanatlarovski is a Macedonian football manager and former player. He represented the Yugoslav national team.- Player career :Born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia, he played for FK Pelister before moving to FK Vardar where he will play four seasons. In 1989 he moved to Red Star Belgrade...

 (1999–2001) Gjore Jovanovski
Gjore Jovanovski
Gjorgje "Gjore" Jovanovski is a Macedonian football manager and former player....

 (2001–2002) Nikola Ilievski
Nikola Ilievski
Nikola Ilievski is a football coach and former player from the Republic of Macedonia. He is the head coach of Bangladesh national football team....

 (2002–2003) Dragan Kanatlarovski
Dragan Kanatlarovski
Dragan Kanatlarovski is a Macedonian football manager and former player. He represented the Yugoslav national team.- Player career :Born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia, he played for FK Pelister before moving to FK Vardar where he will play four seasons. In 1989 he moved to Red Star Belgrade...

 (2003–2005)
Slobodan Santrač
Slobodan Santrac
Slobodan Santrač is a retired Serbian football player and currently manager of Chinese Super League side Shaanxi Renhe Commercial Chanba F.C.....

 (2005) Boban Babunski
Boban Babunski
Boban Babunski is a former Yugoslav and Macedonian football central defender, and also a coach...

 (2005–2006) Srečko Katanec
Srecko Katanec
Srečko Katanec is a Slovenian football manager and a former player capped for Yugoslavia and Slovenia. His last position was as the manager of the United Arab Emirates national football team.-Career:...

 (2006–2009) Mirsad Jonuz
Mirsad Jonuz
Mirsad Jonuz is a former Macedonian football goalkeeper and head coach.-Club career:...

 (2009–2011) John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...

 (2011–)

See also

  • Macedonia national under-21 football team
  • Macedonia national under-19 football team
    Macedonia national under-19 football team
    The Macedonian national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of the Republic of Macedonia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Macedonia...

  • Macedonia national under-17 football team
    Macedonia national under-17 football team
    The Macedonian national under-17 football team is the national under-17 football team of the Republic of Macedonia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Macedonia...

  • Macedonia women's national football team

External links

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