North Macedonia U21 name 24 players for Novi Sad friendly vs Serbia

North Macedonia's under-21 national team will travel to Novi Sad to play a friendly against Serbia on 12 November at the Karađorđe Stadium. Coach Aleksandar Tanevski named a 24-player squad for the preparation match against the host nation, who are among the favourites at the upcoming U21 European Championship.

Squad and tactical purpose

Tanevski's list includes three goalkeepers, a defensive group of eleven players, a midfield heavily composed of 2006–2007-born prospects, and forwards drawn from domestic and regional clubs. The coaching staff view the match as a high-quality test and an opportunity to evaluate younger players ahead of the next qualifying cycle.

• Goalkeepers: Ljupche Dzekov (Sileks), Daniel Dikovski (Vardar), Nataniel Dimovski (Pelister).
• Defence: Zlatko Radevski (Teteks), Andrej Velkov (Bregalnica), Davor Rosic (Ohrid), Gjorge Dzekov (Sileks), Luka Atanasovski (Teteks), Adis Murati (Bashkimi), Andrej Arizankovski (Shkendija), Gjorge Tanchev (Brera).
• Midfield: Vasil Tasovski (Mladost Lucani, Serbia), Teodor Nikolovski (Tikvesh), Ilija Maslarov (Lugano, Switzerland), Nikola Manojlov (Sileks), Martin Gjorgievski (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia), Luka Trpevski (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia), Gorjan Cvetkov (Skopje).
• Attack: Nikola Velichkovski (Skenderbeg, Albania), Dimitar Danev (Vardar), Admir Ljatifi (Osijek, Croatia), Ariton Mehmed (Shkendija Arachinovo), Igor Ristov (Brera, North Macedonia), Dimitar Trajkov (Vlora, Albania).

Coach Aleksandar Tanevski summarized the purpose of the fixture, stressing the competitive value of facing a strong opponent and the developmental focus of the squad.

"We face a serious test against an exceptionally quality selection. Serbia is hosting the U21 European Championship and with this squad has high ambitions, which makes the match an excellent opportunity to check our possibilities against a strong opponent.

The majority of our squad consists of players born in 2006 and 2007, who are expected to carry the team in the next qualifying cycle. In addition, we will have a few players born in 2005 who, due to the age limit, will not be eligible for the next cycle, but they are players with potential and quality for the A national team.

The younger-generation players who were part of the previous gathering will this time be at the disposal of the coaches of the respective youth selections, who face qualifying matches. At the Federation we work according to a common concept and with a clear goal: player development and progress of representative football.

Although it is a friendly match, it is of great importance to us. It will allow us to see how we function and react against a strong opponent, but also to get a clearer picture of the matters we must pay attention to in the period ahead," Tanevski said.

Photo: press material from the event