North Macedonia national under-21 football team
| Nickname | The Red Lions (Црвени лавови) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Federation of Macedonia | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Goran Stanić | ||
| Captain | Mario Ilievski | ||
| Most caps | Mario Ilievski (31) | ||
| Top scorer |
| ||
| Home stadium | Petar Miloshevski TC | ||
| FIFA code | MKD | ||
| |||
| 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 | ||
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.
This team is for Macedonian players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year UEFA European Under-21 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, Dragi Kanatlarovski | ||||||||||
| 2025 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 15 | −7 | Dragi Kanatlarovski | ||||||||||
| 2027 | To be determined | Goran Stanikj | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 1/15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 142 | 36 | 26 | 80 | 144 | 260 | −116 | |||
2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Qualification
| 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 | — |
Final tournament
Group stage
| 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 |
2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Qualification
| 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 | — |
Source: UEFA
2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Qualification
| 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 | — |
Source: UEFA
2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Qualification
| 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 | — |
Source: UEFA
2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | +17 | 18 | Final tournament | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 30 Sep | 3–0 | 27 Mar | |
| 2 | Italy | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 5 | +12 | 15 | Final tournament or Play-offs | 5 Oct | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | 26 Mar | 5–1 | |
| 3 | Montenegro | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 9 | 31 Mar | 1–4 | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | 5 Oct | ||
| 4 | Sweden | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 9 | 0–6 | 31 Mar | 27 Mar | — | 5 Oct | 3–0 | ||
| 5 | North Macedonia | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 30 Sep | 1–4 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 6 | Armenia (E) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 17 | −14 | 0 | 0–4 | 30 Sep | 1–2 | 0–1 | 31 Mar | — |
Recent results and fixtures
Generation 2004+
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | North Macedonia scorer(s) | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly matches | |||||
| 14 November 2024 | Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje, North Macedonia | Kosovo | 1–3 | Velichkovski 16' | ffm.mk |
| 17 November 2024 | 0–1 | ||||
| 21 March 2025 | Ekodizayn football complex, Antalya, Turkey | Belarus | 1–3 | Stojanov 81' | ffm.mk |
| 25 March 2025 | Azerbaijan | 0–0 | ffm.mk | ||
| 28 May 2025 | Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo | Kosovo | 0–0 | ffm.mk | |
| 31 May 2025 | Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje, North Macedonia | 0–0 | ffm.mk | ||
- * Macedonia's scores are always listed first
Squad
Current squad
Squad named for the European Under-21 qualifiers against Italy and Armenia on 26 and 31 March 2026.[1]
Caps and goals as of 19 November 2025, after the match against Poland.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Vasko Vasilev | 16 April 2004 | 9 | 0 | Struga |
| 12 | GK | Ljupche Djekov | 18 October 2005 | 6 | 0 | Sileks |
| 22 | GK | Nikola Filevski | 1 January 2005 | 0 | 0 | Bregalnica |
| 3 | DF | Gjorge Djekov | 18 October 2005 | 17 | 0 | Sileks |
| 5 | DF | Anes Meliqi | 9 January 2006 | 13 | 1 | Shkëndija |
| DF | Numan Ajetovikj | 18 March 2006 | 4 | 0 | Shkëndija | |
| 4 | DF | Andrija Dimeski | 5 February 2005 | 3 | 0 | Voždovac |
| DF | Marko Stojilevski | 24 October 2005 | 1 | 0 | AP Brera | |
| DF | David Stojanoski | 20 March 2007 | 0 | 0 | Bravo | |
| 6 | MF | Matej Angelov (captain) | 11 July 2004 | 24 | 0 | Rabotnichki |
| 21 | MF | Dimitar Danev | 23 May 2006 | 12 | 0 | Vardar |
| 10 | MF | Martin Gjorgievski | 28 February 2005 | 12 | 0 | Zbrojovka |
| 7 | MF | Matej Gashtarov | 15 November 2006 | 8 | 0 | Borac |
| 19 | MF | Memetriza Hamza | 9 February 2004 | 8 | 0 | Struga |
| MF | Nikola Manojlov | 1 February 2006 | 4 | 0 | Rabotnichki | |
| 15 | MF | Mateo Sofijanoski | 24 June 2004 | 3 | 0 | Makedonija GP |
| MF | Andrej Arizankoski | 8 May 2005 | 2 | 0 | AP Brera | |
| MF | Sejdo Durakov | 7 January 2007 | 0 | 0 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | |
| MF | Muhamed Kurtishi | 24 August 2008 | 0 | 0 | Basel | |
| MF | Ilija Maslarov | 2 January 2007 | 0 | 0 | Lugano | |
| 11 | FW | Dimitar Trajkov | 8 August 2004 | 14 | 3 | Dugopolje |
| 17 | FW | Kire Stojanov | 28 August 2005 | 5 | 1 | AP Brera |
| FW | Admir Ljatifi | 29 June 2007 | 0 | 0 | Osijek | |
Recent call-ups
Players that have been called up within the past 12 months and are eligible for the 2027 European U21 Football Championship Qualifiers.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Slave Vrgov | 18 January 2006 | 0 | 0 | AP Brera | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| DF | David Dailoski | 26 February 2005 | 7 | 0 | Venlo | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| DF | Xhezair Avduli | 20 June 2004 | 1 | 0 | Arsimi | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| DF | Rexhep Murati | 10 February 2004 | 0 | 0 | Bashkimi | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| DF | Nikola Najdovski | 5 February 2004 | 0 | 0 | Tikvesh | v. Kosovo, 31 May 2025 |
| MF | Adrian Zendelovski | 6 February 2005 | 13 | 0 | Struga | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| MF | Shaban Zenku | 4 February 2004 | 7 | 0 | KSV Hessen Kassel | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| MF | Muhamed Elmas INJ | 31 January 2006 | 3 | 0 | Makedonija GP | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| MF | Teodor Nikolovski | 19 January 2005 | 9 | 0 | Rabotnichki | v. Montenegro, 14 October 2025 |
| MF | Gjorgji Doshev | 3 February 2005 | 0 | 0 | Makedonija GP | v. Italy, 10 September 2025 |
| FW | Dashmir Elezi INJ | 21 November 2004 | 8 | 1 | Rabotnichki | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
| FW | Mihail Talevski | 9 February 2004 | 5 | 0 | Vardar | v. Poland, 18 November 2025 |
- A: Called up by the Macedonia A National Team
- U19: Called up by the Macedonia U19 National Team
- INJ: Injured
- WD: Withdrew
- NA: Not available
Current First Squad
Current First Squad (2004+) with the Club Leagues they play in
Past squads
Statistics
- As of 15 October 2024.
Most appearances
|
Top goalscorers
|
See also
- North Macedonia national football team
- North Macedonia national under-19 football team
- North Macedonia national under-17 football team
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship
References
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.