KOSOVO
Three Reasons to be Cheerful1
Confidence in the camp is sky high
after they comfortably topped their
Nations League pool and finished a
respectable third in their Euro qualifying
group. In the last year they have claimed
the scalps of Bulgaria, Czech Republic
and Montenegro.2
The calmness under pressure,
tactical know-how and people-
person skills of the team’s Swiss coach
Bernard Challandes. He is so popular
that he was recently voted Kosovo’s
Personality of the Year.3
Rising star striker Milot Rashica.
Thanks to the 23-year-old’s great
work with the national team and Werder
Bremen he has been heavily linked with
Borussia Dortmund as well as a gaggle
of Premier League sides.Three Fear Factors1
They are a young squad, with an
average age of under 25, and as such
are not always as focused and grounded
as they should be. They can be their own
worst enemies with their impulsiveness.2
Torino keeper Samir Ujkani and
on-loan Verona centre-back Amir
Rrahmani are key but they will be short
of match practice as a result of Italy’s
coronavirus-inspired suspension.3
Challandes has to decide whether
left-winger Arber Zeneli is sufficiently
match sharp as he has only just returned
to the fray with Reims after rupturing
cruciate ligaments last June.NORTH MACEDONIA
Three Reasons to be Cheerful1
They have two class acts in evergreen
36-year-old Genoa second striker
Goran Pandev and, at the other end
of the spectrum, 20-year-old Napoli
midfielder Eljif Elmas. Together, the pair
give the Macedonians that all-important
extra dimension.2
Being backed by a sell-out crowd in
Skopje should be a big advantage.
Excitement has been building for months,
driven by the dream of qualifying for a
first major tournament.3
The excellent form of veteran
front-runner Ivan Trichkovski, who
has been scoring from all angles this
season for his Cypriot club AEK Larnaca.
Vitally, he can play on the wing or
through the middle.Three Fear Factors1
With a lack of depth at full-back and
in the midfield-enforcer department,
they can be a little naive defensively.2
Besides Pandev and Elmas, there
are a number of other Italian-based
players who may be somewhat rusty
due to Serie A being shutdown over
coronavirus. Udinese winger Ilija
Nestorovski is one of those who
comes into this category.3
First-choice left-back Ezgjan Alioski
is out of favour at Leeds United,
while right-back Stefan Ristovski has
fallen out with Ruben Amorim, his new
coach at Sporting in Lisbon.North Macedonia v Kosovo
EURO 2020 PLAY-OFFS PREVIEW | PATH D
Dreams...North Macedonia’s Visar Musliu (no6)Respectable...keeper
Arijanet Muric helped
Kosovo to third place
in qualifying