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.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...
North Macedonia Under-21
Nickname(s)The Red Lions (Црвени лавови)
AssociationFootball Federation of Macedonia
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachDragi Kanatlarovski
CaptainMario Ilievski
Most capsMario Ilievski (31)
Top scorer
Home stadiumPetar Miloshevski TC
FIFA codeMKD
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First colours
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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
Appearances1 (first in 2017)
Best resultGroup stage, 2017
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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

More information UEFA U-21 Championship record, UEFA U-21 Championship Qualification 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
Spain 1996 Did not qualify 10406162711 Jovo Nikushev
Romania 1998 811631714 Zoran Smileski
Slovakia 2000 810722523 Perica Gruevski, Blagoja Kitanovski
Switzerland 2002 1012761812 Blagoja Kitanovski, Nikola Ilievski
Germany 2004 801742319 Zharko Odjakov, Mirsad Jonuz
Portugal 2006 122359189 Mirsad Jonuz
Netherlands 2007 4202660
Sweden 2009 8233561
Denmark 2011 802691910 Mirsad Jonuz, Boban Babunski
Israel 2013 833214151 Boban Babunski
Czech Republic 2015 811641313 Boban Babunski, Vujadin Stanojković
Poland 2017 Group stage30124117 10631137+6 Blagoja Milevski
ItalySan Marino 2019 Did not qualify 1021717247 Blagoja Milevski, Dobrinko Ilievski
HungarySlovenia 2021 105322012+8 Blagoja Milevski
RomaniaGeorgia (country) 2023 102358157 Blagoja Milevski, Dragan Kanatlarovski
Total 1/15 3 0 1 2 4 11 7 132 32 26 74 136 245 109
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2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team 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
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Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Final tournament

Group stage

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team 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
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Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team 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
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Source: UEFA

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team 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
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Source: UEFA

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Qualification

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team 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
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Source: UEFA

Recent results and fixtures

Generation 2002+

More information Date, Venue ...
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
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  • * Macedonia's scores are always listed first

Squad

Current squad

Squad named for the friendly matches against Kosovo on 14 and 17 November 2024.[1]
Caps and goals as of 15 October 2024, after the match against Georgia.

More information No., Pos. ...
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Vasko Vasilev (2004-04-16) 16 April 2004 (age 20) 2 0 North Macedonia Gostivar
1GK Ljupche Djekov (2005-10-18) 18 October 2005 (age 19) 1 0 North Macedonia Sileks
1GK Stefan Jovanoski (2006-02-17) 17 February 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Czech Republic Slavia U19

2DF Gjorge Djekov (2005-10-18) 18 October 2005 (age 19) 5 0 North Macedonia Sileks
2DF Malik Hamzikj (2005-05-02) 2 May 2005 (age 19) 2 0 North Macedonia Gostivar
2DF Anes Meliqi (2006-01-09) 9 January 2006 (age 18) 1 0 North Macedonia Shkëndija
2DF Numan Ajetovikj (2006-03-18) 18 March 2006 (age 18) 0 0 North Macedonia Shkupi
2DF Xhelaidin Amedoski (2005-03-14) 14 March 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Switzerland Sion U21
2DF David Dailoski (2005-02-26) 26 February 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Netherlands VVV-Venlo U21
2DF Benan Hamidović (2006-03-28) 28 March 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Germany Magdeburg U19
2DF Daniel Markovski (2005-04-29) 29 April 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Sweden Helsingborg U19
2DF Ardian Osmani (2005-02-03) 3 February 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Switzerland Grasshopper U21
2DF Borjan Poposki (2004-04-23) 23 April 2004 (age 20) 0 0 North Macedonia Belasica

3MF Matej Angelov (2004-07-11) 11 July 2004 (age 20) 12 0 Ukraine LNZ
3MF Bekim Kamberi (2004-09-02) 2 September 2004 (age 20) 2 1 North Macedonia Struga
3MF Martin Gjorgievski (2005-02-28) 28 February 2005 (age 19) 2 0 North Macedonia AP Brera
3MF Adrijan Zendelovski (2005-02-06) 6 February 2005 (age 19) 2 0 Sweden Olympic
3MF Shaban Zenku (2004-02-04) 4 February 2004 (age 20) 1 0 North Macedonia Struga
3MF Rayan Berberi (2004-03-18) 18 March 2004 (age 20) 0 0 Belgium Standard Liège U21
3MF Dimitar Danev (2006-05-23) 23 May 2006 (age 18) 0 0 North Macedonia Rabotnichki
3MF Shenol Demiroski (2005-09-07) 7 September 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Italy Udinese U19
3MF Donart Ibraimi (2004-02-16) 16 February 2004 (age 20) 0 0 North Macedonia Voska Sport
3MF Teodor Nikolovski (2005-01-19) 19 January 2005 (age 19) 0 0 North Macedonia Rabotnichki
3MF Leon Tashov (2005-11-13) 13 November 2005 (age 18) 0 0 Germany Preußen U21

4FW Besar Guxhufi (2004-05-29) 29 May 2004 (age 20) 1 0 North Macedonia Shkupi
4FW Matej Momchilovski (2005-01-11) 11 January 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Croatia Orijent
4FW Mihail Talevski (2004-02-09) 9 February 2004 (age 20) 0 0 North Macedonia Pelister
4FW Nikola Velichkovski (2005-09-13) 13 September 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Bulgaria Septemvri
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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.

More information Pos., Player ...
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Stefan Tasev (2004-07-08) 8 July 2004 (age 20) 2 0 North Macedonia Tikvesh v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2024

DF Eren Alievski (2004-10-31) 31 October 2004 (age 20) 0 0 Sweden Trelleborg v.  Moldova, 11 October 2024 WD
DF Erion Aliji (2005-12-10) 10 December 2005 (age 18) 0 0 Austria Horn v.  Moldova, 11 October 2024 WD
DF Davor Serafimov INJ (2005-03-03) 3 March 2005 (age 19) 1 0 North Macedonia Shkupi v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2024

MF Ardijan Chilafi (2004-06-03) 3 June 2004 (age 20) 4 0 Italy Sampdoria U19 v.  Gibraltar, 9 September 2024

FW Erkan Semovski INJ (2004-11-23) 23 November 2004 (age 19) 2 0 Denmark Køge v.  Sweden, 26 March 2024
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Current First Squad

Past squads

Statistics

As of 15 October 2024.
More information Rank, Name ...
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See also

References

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