England-Northern Macedonia is a match on the fourth day of Group C of Euro 2024 qualifying and is played on Monday at 20:45: predictions.
The first news is that it will not be played at Wembley, which usually hosts the national team’s matches, but at the equally fascinating Old Trafford in Manchester: the stadium in the English capital has just hosted a mega-concert, forcing England to migrate further north. In the temple of the Red Devils they will face North Macedonia, with the aim of putting a serious mortgage on qualification for the next European championships.
The selection led by Gareth Southgate had no trouble at all in getting rid of Malta (0-4) on Friday, securing their third consecutive victory after those against Ukraine and Italy and, in fact, the first place in Group C. While the Azzurri were engaged in the Final Four of the Nations League, the national team of the Three Lions took advantage of the situation and put the turbo into gear: the three points conquered on the island allowed Southgate to consolidate his supremacy – England had won nine points out of as many available – and to widen the gap on the second-placed team, which is still at three points. They include North Macedonia, who squandered a huge opportunity on the final day by being beaten by Ukraine (2-3) after leading by two goals in the first half.
A mountain to climb for Elmas and co.
Elmas and his teammates picked up their first defeat of 2023 after getting the better of Malta and beating the Faroe Islands in a friendly last March.
Bardhi
The Napoli player himself, author of two goals in two matches, seems to be the new leader of this national team after the abdication of Goran Pandev, who decided to hang up his boots a few months ago. In any case, it will be very difficult for North Macedonia to snatch points at Old Trafford, against a surging England side, who have so far scored eight goals in total while conceding only one. The North Macedonians have never beaten the English side in their four previous encounters, the last one in 2006 ending in a scoreless draw, a result that would be gold for the Balkans today.
The Prediction
England haven’t lost a European qualifying match in front of their fans since 2011 and North Macedonia are unlikely to break the streak. The Balkans’ defensive amnesia against Ukraine suggests another goal-rich contest, in which the English are likely to score between two and four goals.
England v Macedonian North likely line-ups
- INGHILTERRA (4-3-3): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Henderson; Foden, Kane, Rashford.
- NORTHERN MACEDONIA (4-3-3): Dimitrievski; Ristovski, Zajkov, Velkovski, Alioski; Bardhi, Ademi, Elmas; Ashkovski, Nestorovski, Trajkovski.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-0
