The Macedonian national team suffered a defeat (1:2) to Saudi Arabia in a friendly match played in Prague at the Viktoria Zizkov Stadium.
Our national team took the lead with Aleksandar Trajkovski's incredible scissor goal in the 40th minute, and Saudi Arabia equalized just before the break with Firas Al Brikan's goal.
The victory for the Saudis was brought by Abdullah Al Hamdan, after he beat Stole Dimitrievski with a long-range shot in the 78th minute of the match.
Coach Blagoja Milevski gave Luka Stankovski a chance to debut as a starter in this friendly match, and from the beginning of the second half, Elmin Rastoder, the new name in the national team, who is a member of Thun, also played.
From the start of the match, some of the more standard national team players, such as captain Enis Bardi, Elif Elmas, Bojan Miovski, Darko Čurlinov, Gjoko Zajkov, remained on the bench, some of them got a chance later.
After the opening minutes, Saudi Arabia had more possession of the ball, and they first threatened in the 27th minute, when Al Obod broke through on the left. He had a chance to shoot, but decided to pass into the heart of the penalty area, where Visar Musliu managed to clear.
Macedonia responded through Despotovski's cross, but Luka Stankovski almost failed to reach the ball at the far post.
In the 30th minute, Al Shamal threatened with a long-range shot, but Stole Dimitrievski saved and kicked it out for a corner.
Ten minutes later, Aleksandar Trajkovski's magic. He performed a spectacular acrobatic scissor kick, fantastically catching the ball after Despotovski's cross and nailing it behind the back of the Saudi Arabian goalkeeper.
However, just before the break, the Saudis managed to equalize. Al-Brikan scored the goal for Saudi Arabia in the 45th minute.
In the second half, several substitutions were made in both teams. After an hour of play, Enis Bardi and Elif Elmas came on, and previously Ilievski, Rastoder, and Qamili joined our team.
There were no clear scoring opportunities until the end of the match.
In the 78th minute, Saudi Arabia managed to take the lead. Al Hamdan took the ball 30 meters from the Macedonia goal, came a few meters closer and then decided on a strong and precise shot from distance, beating Stole Dimitrievski.
The Macedonian national football team is now focusing on the important qualifying match against Liechtenstein, which will be played on Sunday (September 7) at the Todor Proeski National Arena in Skopje, starting at 6 p.m.
FRIENDLY MATCH IN PRAGUE
SAUDI ARABIA – MACEDONIA 2:1 (1:1)
Viktoria Zizkov Stadium in Prague. Referee: D. Stary (Czech Republic). Scorers: Al Brikan 45′, Al Hamdan 78′ (S) – Trajkovski 40′ (M).
H. Cards: Kano, Al Senbi, Majrashi (S), Qamili (M).
SAUDI ARABIA: Al Sanbi, Al Nasser (46′ Majrashi), Sulaiman, Tambakti, Al Harbi (86′ Al Musa), Al Kaibari, Kano, Al Juwair (78′ Ali), Al Shammat (67′ Al Hamdan), Al Brikan (67′ Al Shehri), Al Obod (67′ Al Sahafi).
MACEDONIA: Dimitrievski, Despotovski, Velkovski (46′ Ilievski), Serafimov, Musliu, Alioski (46′ Qamili), Alimi (60′ Bardi), Atanasov, Stankovski (60′ Elmas), Trajkovski (46′ Rastoder), Ristovski (75′ Kostadinov).
