“We cannot be satisfied just because we have qualified,” he says. “Our aim is to go through to the knockout stage and I strongly believe we have a group of players who can surprise the rest of Europe again.” The optimism partly stems from how they qualified. After dominating their Nations League group they beat Kosovo in Skopje and Georgia in Tbilisi to reach this summer’s tournament. Then they trumped all that by beating Germany 2-1 in Duisburg in a World Cup qualifier. No wonder hopes are high back home.
Tactically, Angelovski will stick to his 3-5-2 formation because the midfield is the strongest part of this team. From right to left, there is Dinamo Zagreb’s Ristovski, Lecce’s Nikolov, Levante’s Bardhi (although he has recently tested positive for Covid and is a doubt for the opening game), Dinamo Zagreb’s Ademi and Leeds’ Alioski. All have been key to the success of the team in recent years. Up front will be the irreplaceable “Italian duo” of Pandev and