Tikvesh started with nine foreigners and lost to Shkendija Arachinovo
In the 3rd-round match in Kavadarci Tikvesh started with nine foreigners, and Shkendija Arachinovo won 0:1.
Yesterday, on 15.08.2026, in Kavadarci Tikvesh suffered a defeat to Shkendija Arachinovo with Marko Simonovski's goal in the 27th minute, within the 3rd round of the Macedonian First Football League.
Rare lineup in the starting eleven
Most attention was drawn to the fact that coach Oliver Bogatinov started the match with nine foreign players in the first team — a move rarely seen in the Macedonian First Football League. We do not recall another club in the MFL that opened a match with so many foreigners as starters.
The counting may be subject to discussion: captain Besir Ramadani has dual citizenship, Albanian and Macedonian, so some would count the number as eight.
This is the starting lineup of Tikvesh:
- Stevkovski
- Kamara (Guinea)
- Fal (Senegal)
- Laval (Nigeria)
- Lusianinho (Brazil)
- Nikolovski
- Ramadani (Albania)
- Renatinho (Brazil)
- Sila (Guinea)
- Vlajkovic (Serbia)
- Visdom (Nigeria)
Part of the explanation for the dominance of foreigners in the lineup is the team's structure: the only domestic outfield player who was called up was youth player Nikolovski, while the only other domestic starter, Stevkovski, is the goalkeeper — a position that domestic players often retain.
Despite the attention on the tactical setup, the match was decided by Marko Simonovski's goal in the 27th minute, with Shkendija Arachinovo leaving Kavadarci with the victory.
Photo: press material from the event
