North Macedonia trail Greece 16–9 at half in Euro 2028 qualifier
After a shaky start and defensive lapses North Macedonia went into halftime 16–9 down in the second qualifying round for Euro 2028.
North Macedonia entered the break trailing Greece 16–9 after a dismal first half in the away leg of the second qualifying round for the 2028 European Championship on 08 November 2026.
Key first-half moments
The game opened badly for the visitors: Greece raced to a 5–2 lead in the opening stages and capitalised on a string of errors and missed chances by the Macedonian side. Tomovski stopped two shots in succession to halt the initial surge, and Petkovski and Kuzmanovski pulled the score back to 5–4.
Instead of building on that response, North Macedonia collapsed again. Between the first period and the 26th minute the team scored only two goals while conceding eight, leaving the scoreboard at 13–6. Coach Kiril Lazarov called a timeout as pressure mounted, and Kuzmanovski missed a seven-metre penalty at one crucial moment.
Kuzmanovski later converted a penalty to make it 13–7, but another missed attempt followed. Greece restored an eight-goal cushion at 15–7 before Gogov produced a save and Petkovski scored to make it 15–9. The half closed at 16–9 in favour of the hosts.
The visitors managed just nine goals in the opening 30 minutes, failed twice from seven metres and showed weak defending overall — a worrying display ahead of the second half. There is hope that the team will return with a markedly improved performance after the interval.
This match is part of the second qualifying round for the European Championship 2028; North Macedonia must recover quickly if it is to remain in contention.
Photo: press material from the event
