Aleksandar Tanevski urges character and discipline before U21 qualifier vs Montenegro

Aleksandar Tanevski, the coach of North Macedonia's under-21 national team, set out his expectations ahead of the team's qualifier against Montenegro in Bitola, which takes place tomorrow, 1 October 2026, at 18:00. He reflected on the current squad gathering and on the friendly against Russia played at the Petar Miloshevski complex in Skopje.

"First of all, against Montenegro, especially because it will be my first official match as the national team coach, we want a positive result and a victory. I want to see character and discipline, but also the way we want to play in the future," Tanevski said, adding that those elements are priorities for him.

Preparation and assessment

Tanevski described the recent fixtures as a key part of preparation for the next qualifying cycle. "These matches are an important part of preparation for the next qualifying cycle. We want to give playing time to players who have potential and to see who can meet the demands at this level," the coach emphasized.

The friendly with Russia at the Petar Miloshevski complex provided concrete signals about the direction for the new generation. North Macedonia lost the match 3:2, but Tanevski saw positives: "The match against Russia was a good test. In the first half we had three excellent chances, we played compactly and with good energy. Although we lost the match 3:2, we got important answers and saw that we have players we can rely on in the future," he said.

With the attention now fully on Montenegro, Tanevski said the objective is to open this new period with good play and a positive result while continuing to build a team capable of competing in the next qualifiers. "Now the focus is completely on Montenegro. We want, with good play, character and a positive result, to open this new period, and at the same time to continue building a team that will be ready for the next qualifying cycle," he concluded.

The squad note also included an update that Raúl Asensio will pause for several months due to injury, a factor that affects selection options for the immediate fixtures.

Photo: press material from the event