North Macedonia national under-21 football team

The North Macedonia national under-21 football team is a youth association football national team which represents North Macedonia at this age level and is a feeder team for the North Macedonia national football team. It was formerly known as the Macedonia national under-21 football team.

North Macedonia Under-21

Nickname(s)	The Red Lions (Црвени лавови)
Association	Football Federation of Macedonia
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Dragi Kanatlarovski
Captain	Mario Ilievski
Most caps	Mario Ilievski (31)
Top scorer	Samir Fazli (7) Mario Ilievski (7) Dimitar Mitrovski (7)
Home stadium	Petar Miloshevski TC
FIFA code	MKD
First colours Second colours
First international
Unofficial  Macedonia 7–0  Estonia (Skopje, 31 May 1994) Official  Macedonia 5–3  Denmark (Kočani, 7 September 1994)
Biggest win
Unofficial  Macedonia 7–0  Estonia (Skopje, 31 May 1994) Official  North Macedonia 7–1  Faroe Islands (Skopje, 10 September 2019)
Biggest defeat
Macedonia 0–8  FR Yugoslavia (Skopje, 7 September 1999)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances	1 (first in 2017)
Best result	Group stage, 2017

This team is for Macedonian players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. Also in existence are teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side and again for the U21s. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible).

The under-21 age category came into existence with the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976. The Macedonia U21 team was formed following Macedonia's independence from SFR Yugoslavia in 1991 and is controlled by the Football Federation of North Macedonia (from 1976 to 1992 Macedonian players played for Yugoslavia U21). A 7–0 win in a friendly against Estonia played on 31 May 1994 was Macedonia U21s' first result. Four months later, Macedonia also had their first competitive match which ended in a 5–3 win against Denmark.

So far, the team has qualified for one final tournament, the one being the 2017 Euro U21 held in Poland for players born 1994 or later. They ended the tournament on the 11th position with 1 draw and 2 losses over the group stage.

UEFA U-21 Championship Record

UEFA U-21 Championship record										UEFA U-21 Championship Qualification record								Manager(s)
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1996	Did not qualify									10	4	0	6	16	27	−11		Jovo Nikushev
1998										8	1	1	6	3	17	−14		Zoran Smileski
2000										8	1	0	7	2	25	−23		Perica Gruevski, Blagoja Kitanovski
2002										10	1	2	7	6	18	−12		Blagoja Kitanovski, Nikola Ilievski
2004										8	0	1	7	4	23	−19		Zharko Odjakov, Mirsad Jonuz
2006										12	2	3	5	9	18	−9		Mirsad Jonuz
2007										4	2	0	2	6	6	0
2009										8	2	3	3	5	6	−1
2011										8	0	2	6	9	19	−10		Mirsad Jonuz, Boban Babunski
2013										8	3	3	2	14	15	−1		Boban Babunski
2015										8	1	1	6	4	13	−13		Boban Babunski, Vujadin Stanojković
2017	Group stage	3	0	1	2	4	11	−7		10	6	3	1	13	7	+6		Blagoja Milevski
2019	Did not qualify									10	2	1	7	17	24	−7		Blagoja Milevski, Dobrinko Ilievski
2021										10	5	3	2	20	12	+8		Blagoja Milevski
2023										10	2	3	5	8	15	−7		Blagoja Milevski, Dragan Kanatlarovski
Total	1/15	3	0	1	2	4	11	−7		132	32	26	74	136	245	−109

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Macedonia	10	6	3	1	13	7	+6	21	Final tournament		—	2–2	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–0
2	France	10	6	2	2	17	8	+9	20			1–1	—	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–0
3	Iceland	10	5	3	2	13	9	+4	18			3–0	3–2	—	2–4	2–0	1–1
4	Ukraine	10	4	2	4	14	12	+2	14			0–2	1–0	0–1	—	4–0	1–1
5	Scotland	10	2	2	6	8	17	−9	8			0–1	1–2	0–0	2–2	—	3–1
6	Northern Ireland	10	0	2	8	6	18	−12	2			1–2	0–3	0–1	1–2	1–2	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Final tournament

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Group stage

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	3	3	0	0	9	1	+8	9	Knockout stage
2	Portugal	3	2	0	1	7	5	+2	6
3	Serbia	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1
4	Macedonia	3	0	1	2	4	11	−7	1

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	10	9	1	0	20	1	+19	28	Final tournament		—	3–0	3–0	3–0	2–0	2–0
2	North Macedonia	10	5	3	2	20	12	+8	18			0–1	—	1–1	1–1	7–1	2–1
3	Israel	10	3	4	3	12	14	−2	13			1–1	1–1	—	1–2	3–1	0–0
4	Kazakhstan	10	3	1	6	12	21	−9	10			0–1	1–4	1–2	—	2–3	0–4
5	Faroe Islands	10	3	0	7	11	25	−14	9			0–2	1–2	3–1	1–3	—	1–0
6	Montenegro	10	2	1	7	11	13	−2	7			0–2	1–2	1–2	1–2	3–0	—

Source: UEFA

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	10	8	2	0	31	5	+26	26	Final tournament		—	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–0	7–0
2	Ukraine	10	7	2	1	20	11	+9	23	Play-offs		3–3	—	2–1	1–0	4–0	2–1
3	Serbia	10	3	3	4	10	11	−1	12			0–3	0–1	—	0–0	2–1	2–0
4	Faroe Islands	10	2	4	4	6	12	−6	10			1–1	0–4	1–1	—	1–1	2–0
5	North Macedonia	10	2	3	5	8	15	−7	9			0–1	1–1	0–0	0–1	—	3–1
6	Armenia	10	1	0	9	7	28	−21	3			1–4	0–2	1–4	2–0	1–2	—

Source: UEFA

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

Main article: 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	10	10	0	0	32	3	+29	30	Final tournament		—	3–1	3–0	5–0	3–0	1–0
2	Georgia	10	6	1	3	14	10	+4	19	Play-offs		0–3	—	0–0	2–1	3–0	2–0
3	Sweden	10	5	2	3	25	10	+15	17			2–4	3–2	—	0–1	4–0	9–0
4	North Macedonia	10	4	0	6	8	15	−7	12			0–2	0–1	0–2	—	2–1	1–0
5	Moldova	10	2	1	7	7	20	−13	7			0–3	0–1	0–0	2–1	—	1–2
6	Gibraltar	10	1	0	9	3	31	−28	3			0–5	0–2	0–5	0–2	1–3	—

Source: UEFA

Recent results and fixtures

Main article: Macedonia national under-21 football team results

Generation 2002+

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Macedonia scorer(s)	Report
Friendly matches
16 December 2021	Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje, North Macedonia	Kosovo	1–0	Abazi 63'	ffm.mk
18 December 2021			3–3	Trpchevski 12', Abazi 74', Todorovski 78'	ffm.mk
10 June 2022		Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–0	Abazi 47'	ffm.mk
12 June 2022			2–1	Kurtulan 24', 34'	ffm.mk
23 September 2022	Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia	Albania	3–1	Kalkan 10', Ilievski 47', 55'	ffm.mk
26 September 2022		Saudi Arabia	1–1	Ilievski 60'	ffm.mk
17 November 2022	Makario Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	1–1	Ilievski 66'	ffm.mk
22 November 2022	Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Serbia	1–1	Kalkan 20'	ffs.rs
22 March 2023	Antalya, Turkey	Latvia	0–3		ffm.mk
25 March 2023	Belek, Turkey	Finland	1–1	Kalkan 32' (pen.)	ffm.mk
28 March 2023	Antalya, Turkey	Slovakia	0–1
15 June 2023	Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje, North Macedonia	Armenia	1–1	Abazi 30'	ffm.mk
20 June 2023		Malta	4–0	Ramani 10', Todorovski 16', Stojchevski 53', Abazi 86'	ffm.mk
21 November 2023	Josko Arena, Ried im Innkreis, Austria	Austria	0–0		oefb.at
1 June 2024	Czachor Brothers Stadium, Radom, Poland	Poland	2–1	Ilievski 44', Stankovski 47'	ffm.mk
5 June 2024	Konjic City Stadium, Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–2	Ademi 90+1'	ffm.mk
2025 UEFA European U21 Championship qualification
8 September 2023	Stadsparksvallen, Jönköping, Sweden	Sweden	1–0	Nikolov 7'	uefa.com
12 September 2023	Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje, North Macedonia	Netherlands	0–2		uefa.com
17 October 2023	Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova	Moldova	1–2	Stankovski 60'	uefa.com
16 November 2023	Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje, North Macedonia	Georgia	0–1		uefa.com
21 March 2024	Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia	Gibraltar	1–0	Abazi 52'	uefa.com
26 March 2024	Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia	Sweden	0–2		uefa.com
5 September 2024	Yanmar Stadion, Almere, Netherlands	Netherlands	0–5		uefa.com
9 September 2024	Europa Point Stadium, Gibraltar, Gibraltar	Gibraltar	2–0	Krstevski 24', Ademi 42'	uefa.com
11 October 2024	Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje	Moldova			uefa.com
15 October 2024	Ramaz Shengelia Stadium, Kutaisi, Georgia	Georgia			uefa.com

• * Macedonia's scores are always listed first

Squad

Current squad

Squad named for the qualifying matches against Moldova and Georgia on 11 and 14 October 2024.^[1]
Caps and goals as of 15 October 2024, after the match against Georgia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Marko Alchevski	(2002-04-16) 16 April 2002 (age 22)	19	0	Hapoel Jerusalem
22	1GK	Ljupche Djekov	(2005-10-18) 18 October 2005 (age 19)	1	0	Sileks
12	1GK	Andrej Jovchevski	(2003-09-13) 13 September 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Pelister
6	2DF	Stefan Despotovski	(2003-01-23) 23 January 2003 (age 21)	24	0	Sheriff
15	2DF	Imran Fetai	(2002-08-02) 2 August 2002 (age 22)	17	0	Besa
16	2DF	Viktor Krstevski	(2002-04-04) 4 April 2002 (age 22)	16	0	Bregalnica
3	2DF	Gjorge Djekov	(2005-10-18) 18 October 2005 (age 19)	5	0	Sileks
4	2DF	Malik Hamzikj	(2005-05-02) 2 May 2005 (age 19)	2	0	Gostivar
2	2DF	Stefan Ivanovski	(2003-09-15) 15 September 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Pelister
20	3MF	Dimitar Todorovski	(2002-03-07) 7 March 2002 (age 22)	32	2	AP Brera
5	3MF	Reshat Ramadani	(2003-06-30) 30 June 2003 (age 21)	24	0	Shkëndija
8	3MF	Ivan Nikolov	(2002-02-17) 17 February 2002 (age 22)	23	1	Sønderjyske
18	3MF	Vane Krstevski	(2003-04-28) 28 April 2003 (age 21)	23	1	Shkëndija
19	3MF	Aleks Zlatkov	(2002-03-19) 19 March 2002 (age 22)	22	0	Shkupi
21	3MF	Hamza Ramani	(2002-09-17) 17 September 2002 (age 22)	21	1	Shkupi
7	3MF	Behar Feta	(2003-04-07) 7 April 2003 (age 21)	20	1	Domžale
14	3MF	Matej Angelov	(2004-07-11) 11 July 2004 (age 20)	12	0	LNZ
23	3MF	Fisnik Isaki	(2003-04-27) 27 April 2003 (age 21)	5	1	B.93
17	3MF	Bekim Kamberi	(2004-09-02) 2 September 2004 (age 20)	2	1	Struga
13	3MF	Shaban Zenku	(2004-02-04) 4 February 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Struga
10	4FW	Filip Trpchevski	(2003-05-04) 4 May 2003 (age 21)	7	1	Örgryte
9	4FW	Fiton Ademi	(2002-08-26) 26 August 2002 (age 22)	6	2	Shkëndija
11	4FW	Besar Guxhufi	(2004-05-29) 29 May 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Shkupi
	4FW	Mihail Talevski	(2004-02-09) 9 February 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Pelister

Recent call-ups

Players that have been called up within the past 12 months and are eligible for the 2023 European U21 Football Championship Qualifiers.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Filip Kupanov INJ	(2002-09-09) 9 September 2002 (age 22)	0	0	AP Brera	v.  Gibraltar, 9 September 2024
GK	Stefan Tasev	(2004-07-08) 8 July 2004 (age 20)	2	0	Tikvesh	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2024
GK	Ivan Nikoloski	(2002-12-23) 23 December 2002 (age 21)	6	0	Pogradeci	v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
GK	Stefan Mitrev	(2003-02-14) 14 February 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Dietikon	v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
DF	Eren Alievski INJ	(2004-10-31) 31 October 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Trelleborg	v.  Moldova, 11 October 2024 WD
DF	Erion Aliji INJ	(2005-12-10) 10 December 2005 (age 18)	0	0	Horn	v.  Moldova, 11 October 2024 WD
DF	Andrej Stojchevski A	(2003-05-26) 26 May 2003 (age 21)	23	1	Žilina	v.  Gibraltar, 9 September 2024
DF	Anes Meliqi U19	(2006-01-09) 9 January 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Shkëndija	v.  Gibraltar, 9 September 2024
DF	Metodi Maksimov INJ	(2002-08-20) 20 August 2002 (age 22)	28	4	Aalesund	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2024
DF	Davor Serafimov INJ	(2005-03-03) 3 March 2005 (age 19)	1	0	Shkupi	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2024
DF	Mihail Dimitrievski	(2002-07-11) 11 July 2002 (age 22)	7	0	Rabotnichki	v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
DF	Dimitrij Poposki	(2002-11-10) 10 November 2002 (age 21)	1	0	Ohrid	v.  Austria, 21 November 2023
MF	Luka Stankovski INJ	(2002-09-02) 2 September 2002 (age 22)	25	2	Radnički 1923	v.  Moldova, 11 October 2024 WD
MF	Ardijan Chilafi	(2004-06-03) 3 June 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Sampdoria Primavera	v.  Gibraltar, 9 September 2024
MF	Martin Gjorgievski INJ	(2005-02-28) 28 February 2005 (age 19)	2	0	AP Brera	v.  Gibraltar, 9 September 2024
MF	Leonid Ignatov	(2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 22)	6	0	Sileks	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2024
MF	Adrijan Zendelovski	(2005-02-06) 6 February 2005 (age 19)	2	0	Skövde	v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2024
MF	Xhemil Jahiji	(2003-03-02) 2 March 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Voska Sport	v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
MF	Hristijan Georgievski	(2003-04-12) 12 April 2003 (age 21)	3	0	Nafta	v.  Austria, 21 November 2023
FW	Mario Ilievski A (captain)	(2002-04-24) 24 April 2002 (age 22)	33	7	CSKA 1948	v.  Gibraltar, 9 September 2024
FW	Luan Abazi	(2002-01-19) 19 January 2002 (age 22)	18	6	Wil	v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
FW	Berat Kalkan	(2003-03-02) 2 March 2003 (age 21)	17	4	Kasımpaşa	v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
FW	Erkan Semovski INJ	(2004-11-23) 23 November 2004 (age 19)	2	0	Køge	v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
FW	Dimitar Trajkov	(2004-08-08) 8 August 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Polissya	v.  Austria, 21 November 2023

• A: Called up by the Macedonia A National Team
• U19: Called up by the Macedonia U19 National Team
• INJ: Injured
• WD: Withdrew

Current First Squad

Alchevski Stojchevski Despotovski Fetai Maksimov Feta Ramani Ramadani Stankovski Nikolov Ilievski Current First Squad (2002+) with the Club Leagues they play in

Djekov Meliqi Hamzikj Serafimov Djekov Chilafi Angelov Kamberi Semovski Gjorgievski Trajkov Current First Squad (2004+) with the Club Leagues they play in

Past squads

• 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad

Statistics

As of 15 October 2024.

Most appearances Rank Name U21 Career Caps 1 Mario Ilievski 2020–2024 33 2 Dimitar Todorovski 2021–2024 32 3 Goran Bogdanovikj 2009–2012 28 Metodi Maksimov 2021–2024 5 David Babunski 2012–2017 27 Davor Zdravkovski 2015–2020 7 Luka Stankovski 2021–2024 25 8 Stefan Despotovski 2022–2024 24 Boban Nikolov 2013–2017 Reshat Ramadani 2021–2024 Gjoko Zajkov 2013–2017

Top goalscorers Rank Name U21 Career Goals Caps Ratio 1 Dimitar Mitrovski 2018–2020 7 18 0.39 Samir Fazli 2008–2012 22 0.32 Mario Ilievski 2020–2024 33 0.21 4 Kire Markoski 2013–2017 6 16 0.38 Luan Abazi 2021–2024 18 0.33 Jani Atanasov 2018–2020 7 Darko Churlinov 2018–2021 5 16 0.31 Ilija Nestorovski 2009–2012 19 0.26 David Babunski 2012–2017 27 0.19 10 Miroslav Gjokikj 1994–1995 4 5+ 0.8 Artim Shaqiri 1994–1995 9+ 0.44 Muarem Muarem 2009–2010 11 0.36 Aco Stojkov 2002–2005 13 0.31 Enis Bardhi 2014–2017 14 0.29 Berat Kalkan 2021–2024 17 0.24 Tihomir Kostadinov 2015–2018 18 0.22 Marjan Radeski 2013–2017 21 0.19 Metodi Maksimov 2021–2024 28 0.14

See also

• North Macedonia national football team
• North Macedonia national under-19 football team
• North Macedonia national under-17 football team
• European Under-21 Football Championship

References

1. Драги Канатларовски го објави списокот со повикани фудбалери за дуелите со Молдавија и Грузија

External links

• MacedonianFootball Contains news and information about the Macedonian U-21 National Football Team.
• UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.