North Macedonia vs England: preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

England will travel to Tose Proeski Arena to take on North Macedonia in the Euro 24 qualifying fixture on Monday night.

The Three Lions have already secured their place in next year’s European Championship so this is not that of an important game for Gareth Southgate’s side. But, they will be desperate to come away victorious from this game in order to keep their unbeaten run intact.

Southgate’s side will be coming into this encounter after beating Malta 2-0. So, following this result, they have now been unbeaten since losing against France in the World Cup last year.

On the other hand, after losing against Italy on Friday night, North Macedonia’s chance of qualifying for next year’s Euro 24 have diminished. So, they also have nothing to play for in this encounter, however, Blagoja Milevski’s side will be keen on coming away with a positive result from this game in front of their home crowd.

This is the last game of the Euro 24 qualifying fixture for both teams so it remains to be seen how they approach this match, considering both teams’ fate have already been secured regarding next year’s European Championship.

Previous meetings

In the last five encounters between these two sides, England have managed to win three of those games and the rest ended in stalemates. So, North Macedonia will be keen on breaking their duck against the Three Lions by taking home advantage in this game, but defeating England in the qualifying rounds is extremely difficult for any teams around the World.

How to watch

The match will kick off at 7:45pm UK time and the game will be televised live on Channel 4 in the UK. Tickets for the match are still available at Seatsnet but hurry as they should sell out by Monday night.

Team news

North Macedonia captain Stefan Ristovski hasn’t been called up for national duties having fallen out with the manager Milevski. So, he isn’t in contention to feature in this encounter.

The Lions came away without picking up any injury issues from the last game against Italy. So, Milevski will have his full squad to choose from on Monday night.

As for England, several of their stars have been struggling with injury problems so they haven’t been called up for this month’s international games. The Notable absentees are Jude Bellingham, Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell, John Stones and James Maddison.

Marcus Rashford reportedly sustained a knock in the previous game against Malta so he is in doubt ahead of this fixture. Now, it is going to be interesting to see whether his injury is anything serious or not.

Predicted line-up

Milevski is likely to go with the 3-4-3 formation and he could make some changes to his starting eleven that started against Italy on Friday night. Jani Atanasov is expected to commence in this game having scored a brace after coming onto the pitch in the second half versus the Azzurri.

Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski is set to continue in goal for North Macedonia, while Napoli star Elif Elmas should keep hold of his place in Milevski’s starting eleven.

Expected North Macedonia line-up vs England

Dimitrievski; Stefan Asikovski, Nikola Serafimov, Visar Musliu; Bojan Dimoski, Atanasov, Agon Elezi, Ezgjan Alioski; Milan Ristovski, Enis Bardhi, Elmas

As for England, Southgate usually plays with the 4-3-3 system and it’s unlikely to be anything different in this encounter. The England boss went with a pretty strong squad in the previous game versus Malta, but it’s expected that Southgate would make some changes to his starting eleven on Monday.

Nick Pope could be summoned to start in goal, replacing Jordan Pickford, while Kyle Walker, Marc Guehi, Harry Maguire and Kieran Trippier could be the back four for England. So, Fikayo Tomori will have to settle for a place on the bench after commencing last time out.

Declan Rice should return, replacing Connor Gallagher. So, the Arsenal man is likely to be deployed in the defensive midfield position while Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold could complete the midfield trio.

Bukayo Saka could come into the starting eleven in the right-wing position, replacing Rashford and Phil Foden might be shifted out to the left flank. Harry Kane could start in the centre-forward position as usual. So, Kalvin Phillips, Cole Palmar, Jack Grealish and Ollie Watkins could feature off the bench in this game.

Expected England line-up vs North Macedonia

Pope; Walker, Guehi, Maguire, Trippier; Rice, Alexander-Arnold, Henderson; Saka, Foden, Kane

Key players

Elmas is a talented player and North Macedonia will be hoping that the Napoli star will be able to help his side come away with a positive result from this fixture by showcasing his best.

Atanasov scored twice last time out and he will be looking to make a similar impact on Monday night against mighty England.

As for England, Kane has been in excellent form this season after joining Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur. The 30-year-old managed to put his name on the scoresheet last time out for his country. So, North Macedonia will have to keep him quiet to come away with a positive result from this encounter. However, it is going to be extremely difficult for them to stop him from making an impact in this game if he starts.

Saka and Foden have enjoyed a great start to this season for their respective clubs and they will be real threats for the opposition defenders. So, it is going to be interesting to see how North Macedonia defenders deal with them in this fixture.

Alexander-Arnold has been excellent in his new midfield role and his creativity is a real asset for Southgate. So, the English fans will be hoping that he will be able to unlock the opposition defence by showcasing his ability in this game.

After struggling to showcase his best last term, Maguire has found his form in recent times and has now managed to secure his spot in Manchester United’s first eleven.

He has looked confident in recent weeks so the responsibility will be on him to organise his defence and create attack from the back.

Prediction

England will be coming into this game as a huge favourite so they are expected to win this game comfortably. However, if they can’t manage to achieve that then it will be an upset. North Macedonia could fight during the first few minutes of this encounter and considering they will have the home support, they could make England’s life hard.

But, England need to be tidy with possession to push the opposition on the back foot from the get-go. If Southgate’s side score early goals then England will be able to come away victorious comfortably from this game. North Macedonia 0-2 England