SKOPJE. North Macedonia tops Iceland 3-1. North Macedonia took advantage of its better ball possession (57%).
The match was played at the Toše Proeski Arena stadium in Skopje on Sunday and it started at 5:00 pm local time. The referee was Davide Massa who was helped by Daniele Bindoni and Stefano Alassio. The 4th official was Simone Sozza. The weather was clear. The temperature was quite cold at 5.8 degrees Celsius or 42.48 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 87%.
Match Statistics
- 57 Ball Possession 43
Shots
- 18 Total 5
- 7 On Target 1
- 7 Off Target 1
- 4 Shots blocked 3
- 98 Attack 62
- 36 Dangerous attack 21
- 83 Ball safe 80
- 0 Penalties 0
- 7 Corners 3
- 2 Off Sides 1
Fouls
- 9 Total 18
- 5 Yellow Cards 5
- 0 Double Yellow 1
- 0 Red Card 1
Other
- 4 Substitutions 5
Ball possession
North Macedonia had a superior ball possession 57% while Iceland was struggling with a 43% ball possession.
Attitude and shots
North Macedonia was was putting more pressure with 36 dangerous attacks and 18 shots of which 7 were on target. This is one of the reasons why North Macedonia won the match.
North Macedonia shot 18 times, 7 on target, 7 off target. On the other side, Iceland shot 5 times, 1 on target, 1 off target.
Cards
North Macedonia received 5 yellow cards (T. Kostadinov, S. Dimitrievski, S. Ristovski, B. Miovski and E. Elmas). On the other side, Iceland received 4 yellow cards (B. Bjarnason, S. Gudjohnsen, I. Johannesson and S. Thordarson).
Also, Iceland didn’t finish the match with 11 players after I. Johannesson (Iceland) was sent off after receiving a second yellow card (79′).
Match Timeline
Standings
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Group I
Group J
After this match, North Macedonia will have 18 points to hold in the 2nd place. On the other side, Iceland will stay with 9 points to sit in the 5th place.
Next matches
North Macedonia – Formation
North Macedonia
29'
89'
7'
North Macedonia adopted the aggressive line-up (4-3-3).
The manager Blagoja Milevski decided to play with the following team: Stole Dimitrievski , Stefan Ristovski , Darko Velkovski , Visar Musliu , Ezgjan Alioski , Enis Bardhi , Tihomir Kostadinov , Eljif Elmas , Darko Churlinov , Milan Ristovski and Aleksandar Trajkovski .
The home team had on the bench: Nikola Serafimov, Bojan Miovski , Valon Ethemi, Damjan Shishkovski, Jani Atanasov, Todor Todoroski, Kire Ristevski, Dorian Babunski, Stefan Aškovski , Risto Jankov, Gjoko Zajkov and Stefan Spirovski .
North Macedonia could not rely on the presence of S. Ashkovski (injured).
Substitutions
North Macedonia made 4 changes: D. Churlinov for S. Ashkovski (63′), A. Trajkovski for S. Spirovski (77′), M. Ristovski for B. Miovski (78′) and S. Ristovski for G. Zajkov (89′).
Best player: Eljif Elmas
The player that probably impressed the most for North Macedonia was Eljif Elmas.
His rating is with 2 goals, 18 passes (83% accurate) and 1 key pass. He was won 5 duels out of 9.
Iceland – Formation
Iceland
79'
Also Iceland adopted the aggressive line-up (4-3-3).
Arnar Viðarsson played with: Elías Rafn Ólafsson , Birkir Már Sævarsson , Brynjar Ingi Bjarnason , Daniel Leo Gretarsson , Gudmundur Thórarinsson , Stefán Teitur Þórðarson , Birkir Bjarnason , Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson , Albert Guðmundsson , Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen and Jón Dagur Þórsteinsson .
They had on the bench: Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson, Ísak Óli Ólafsson, Andri Fannar Baldursson, Arnór Traustason , Ari Leifsson, Alfons Sampsted, Aron Elis Thrándarson, Mikael Ellertsson , Andri Gudjohnsen , Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson and Þórir Jóhann Helgason .
Substitutions
Iceland made 5 changes: S. Gudjohnsen for A. Gudjohnsen (72′), S. Thordarson for T. Helgason (72′), J. D. Thorsteinsson for A. Traustason (78′), G. Thorarinsson for K. Thordarson (86′) and A. Gudmundsson for M. E. Ellertsson (86′).
Best player: Jón Dagur Þórsteinsson
As per our analysis, the most impressive player for Iceland was Jón Dagur Þórsteinsson.
His rating is with 1 goal, 17 passes (58% accurate) and 0 key passes. He was won 1 duel out of 5. He performed 1 cross.
Results of the day
These are the results of the day in the WC Qualification Europe.
- Croatia – Russia – 1-0
- Malta – Slovakia – 0-6
- Slovenia – Cyprus – 2-1
- Armenia – Germany – 1-4
- Liechtenstein – Romania – 0-2
- North Macedonia – Iceland – 3-1
- Portugal – Serbia – 1-2
- Luxembourg – Republic of Ireland – 0-3
- Greece – Kosovo – 1-1
- Spain – Sweden – 1-0
