NORTH MACEDONIA make their international tournament bow against Austria today.
Goran Pandev struck the winner in Tbilisi as the Balkan nation, which changed its name in 2018. overcame Georgia to get this far.
Meanwhile Austria qualified comfortably and will be looking to improve on Euro 2016, when they went out in the group stage.
Follow ALL the latest with our live blog below from 3.30pm…
- TV channel: ITV1
- FREE live stream: ITV Hub.
- Austria XI: Bachmann, Lainer, Dragovic, Hinteregger, Ulmer, Baumgartner, Laimer, Schlager, Alaba, Sabitzer, Kalajdzic
- North Macedonia XI: Dimitrievski, Ristovski, Velkovski, Musliu, Nikolov, Bardhi, Ademi, Elmas, Alioski, Pandev, Trajkovski
AUSTRIA 0-0 NORTH MACEDONIA
8 North Macedonia haven’t been too clinical in their most recent outings.
But they can’t be ruled out as they have won three of their last four matches, picking up one draw along the way
AUSTRIA 0-0 NORTH MACEDONIA
5 Austria are trying their usual tactic and that is to impose their dominance from the get go.
The Austrians’s style of play is very similar to the Germans’ and it’s all about taking the game to their opponents and dominate in the attacking third
AUSTRIA 0-0 NORTH MACEDONIA
2 Another quick reminder:
North Macedonia manager Igor Angelovski seems to have opted for a 5-3-2 formation.
Stole Dimitrievski starts in goal with Boban Nikolov at right-back and Ezgjan Alioski on the other side, while Stefan Ristovski, Darko Velkovski and Visar Musliu team up at centre-back.
Enis Bardhi, Arijan Ademi and Elif Elmas link up in midfield.
Aleksandar Trajkovski and captain Goran Pandev lead the attack
AUSTRIA 0-0 NORTH MACEDONIA
1 Just a quick reminder:
Austria manager Franco Foda seems to have opted for a 4-5-1 formation for today’s Euro 2020 opener.
Daniel Bachmann starts in goal with Stefan Lainer at right-back and Andreas Ulmer on the other side, while Aleksandar Dragovic and Martin Hinteregger partner up at centre-back.
Christoph Baumgartner covers the right flank with captain David Alaba on the other side, while Konrad Laimer, Xaver Schlager and Marcel Sabitzer team up in midfield.
And finally, Sasa Kalajdzic leads the line
PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
AND OFF WE GO IN BUCHAREST!!!!!!!
HERE COME THE TEAMS!!!
The National Arena is set to host the Euro 2020 opener between Austria and North Macedonia.
The Austrians are led out to the pitch by captain David Alaba whereas Goran Pandev dons his country’s armband.
Several fans in attendance, which promises us quite an atmosphere we all know we missed.
Not long to go now!
Credit: Getty ERIKSEN UPDATE
The whole world watched in shock yesterday as Inter Milan star Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland.
Medics managed to resuscitate Eriksen, who was stretchered out of the arena to the hospital and his condition has been “stable” ever since.
Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen confirmed the former Tottenham star suffered cardiac arrest and “was gone”.
Boesen said: “Yeah, he was gone and we did cardiac resuscitation.
“It was cardiac arrest, how close were we? I don’t know.
“We got him back after one defib. That’s quite fast”
Credit: Getty STILL GOR-ING ON
No player has ever been more successful that Genoa star Goran Pandev throughout North Macedonia’s history.
Pandev has enjoyed a glittering 21-year career, which has seen him play for the likes of Galatasaray, Napoli, Lazio and Inter Milan.
In fact, the popular striker was part of Jose Mourinho’s star-studded Inter side that won a historic treble, which included the 2010 Champions League title.
And of course, the 37-year-old is North Macedonia’s record scorer with 30 goals in 111 appearances, which also makes him the nation’s most capped player ever
Credit: AFP BYE BYE LAB
David Alaba poses as Austria’s biggest star tonight when his country kicks off its Euro 2020 campaign in Bucharest.
Alaba recently put pen to paper on a five-year contract with Real Madrid after 11 glittering years at Bayern Munich.
The versatile defender, who can play at centre-back, left-back and also midfield, amassed a total of 431 matches for Bayern, which means he has made more appearances than any other foreign player whose ever competed for the Bavarian giants.
The 28-year-old Austria international counts 81 caps so far with 14 goals and 17 assists for his national team so far
Credit: AP
NORTH MACEDONIA FORMATION
North Macedonia manager Igor Angelovski seems to have opted for a 5-3-2 formation.
Stole Dimitrievski starts in goal with Boban Nikolov at right-back and Ezgjan Alioski on the other side, while Stefan Ristovski, Darko Velkovski and Visar Musliu team up at centre-back.
Enis Bardhi, Arijan Ademi and Elif Elmas link up in midfield.
Aleksandar Trajkovski and captain Goran Pandev lead the attack
AUSTRIA FORMATION
Austria manager Franco Foda seems to have opted for a 4-5-1 formation for today’s Euro 2020 opener.
Daniel Bachmann starts in goal with Stefan Lainer at right-back and Andreas Ulmer on the other side, while Aleksandar Dragovic and Martin Hinteregger partner up at centre-back.
Christoph Baumgartner covers the right flank with captain David Alaba on the other side, while Konrad Laimer, Xaver Schlager and Marcel Sabitzer team up in midfield.
And finally, Sasa Kalajdzic leads the line
NORTH MACEDONIA BENCH
2 Bejtulai, 4 Ristevski, 7 Trickovski, 11 Hasani, 12 Jankov, 15 Kostadinov, 19 Velkoski, 20 Spirovski, 22 Siskovski, 24 Avramovski, 25 Churlinov, 26 Ristovski
AUSTRIA BENCH
1 Schlager, 6 Ilsanker, 7 Arnautovic, 10 Grillitsch, 11 Gregoritsch, 12 Pervan, 14 Baumgartlinger, 15 Lienhart, 16 Trimmel, 17 Schaub, 18 Schopf, 22 Lazaro
NORTH MACEDONIA
1 Dimitrievski, 16 Nikolov, 13 Ristovski, 14 Velkoski, 6 Musliu, 8 Alioski, 17 Bardhi, 5 Ademi, 21 Elmas, 10 Pandev, 9 Trajkovski
AUSTRIA XI
THE TEAM SHEETS ARE IN!!!
NORTH MACEDONIA STATS
Euro 2020 marks the first ever major international competition in which North Macedonia have ever qualified.
Igor Angelovski’s men made it to the European championships after winning their play-off final against Georgia 1-0 thanks to Goran Pandev’s winner.
North Macedonia have been on quite a roll as they have been undefeated in their last four outings, winning a staggering three along the way.
One of them included a famous 2-1 victory over Germany in Duisburg last March in the World Cup qualifying round with goals by Pandev and Elif Elmas
Credit: Reuters AUSTRIA STATS
Austria are still looking for their first ever win in the European championships after two failed attempts in 2008 and 2016.
The Austrians qualified for Euro 2020 after finishing second in Group G behind table-toppers Poland, with just five points ahead of North Macedonia.
But Franco Foda’s men are in desperate need to improve their form as they failed to score or win any of their last three international games, losing twice in the process.
In fact, Austria have only won one of their last six matches across all competitions, losing twice along the way
Credit: AFP HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the third time Austria and North Macedonia cross paths in the last two years as they faced off in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
The Austrians won both fixtures against Igor Angelovski’s men and thus pose as favourites to gain the first three points of Group C.
Austria won 4-1 in Skopje with a goal by Valentino Lazaro, an own goal by Egzon Bejtulai and a brace by Marko Arnautovic – all of which cancelled out Martin Hinteregger’s oggie.
Franco Foda’s men also won the return fixture in Vienna with a score of 2-1 after David Alaba and Stefan Lainer hit the target before Vlatko Stojanovski’s consolation goal
Credit: Getty GOOD EVENING FROM BUCHAREST
Welcome to our live coverage of the Euro 2020 group stage match between Austria and North Macedonia at the National Arena.
This marks the first match of Group C where both competitors have also been drawn with the Netherlands as well as Ukraine, who play later on tonight.
Austria manager Franco Foda has received a significant injury boost as captain Julian Baumgartlinger, Marko Arnautovic and Christoph Baumgartner are all available for selection.
Bayer Leverkusen ace Baumgartlinger recently dealt with a cruciate ligament injury and Hoffenheim’s Baumgartner seems to have recovered from an ankle problem.
Former West Ham star Arnautovic recently overcame a thigh strain but is unlikely to start ahead of Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic.
Manager Foda will have to decide whether he will start Real Madrid signing David Alaba in defence or midfield, with the latter scenario gathering more pace.
North Macedonia manager Igor Angelovski, on the other hand, is not dealing with any injury concerns ahead of this historic match for his national team.
Leeds ace Ezgjan Alioski is set to start as a left wing-back whereas Napoli’s Elif Elmas could feature in midfield close to the former.
Genoa star, and national hero, Goran Pandev is expected to lead the line, but he will probably not be alone as Mallorca striker Aleksandar Trajkovski may join the former Inter Milan and Lazio forward up front
Credit: Getty
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
