The Macedonian national football team played a 1-1 draw against Kazakhstan in a qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The match did not start well for Blagoja Milevski's team, who shared his impressions at a press conference after the match.
"If I could, I would change the starting lineup and some of the players. We were not surprised by Kazakhstan, but we had little material for analysis. The plan was to impose ourselves with a certain tactic, but it didn't work, so we made substitutions at halftime. The second half was already the real face of Macedonia. Miovski was forced to play in a lateral position, but a correction had to be made quickly. If we hadn't changed the system, I would have had to make a substitution in the 15th minute," Milevski noted.
He added that the team was nervous at the start, which was a result of the great effort in the match against Belgium.
"In the first half, we lost many duels and second balls, but the reaction in the second half was exactly what I expected. I congratulate the players - with the game in the second half we deserved the victory, but football is sometimes cruel. Kazakhstan played great, but we were still closer to triumph. When I see that everyone is disappointed after a draw, it tells me that we have character and quality. In these past 14 official matches, we are undefeated and have only conceded five goals. The disappointment now only shows that we are a mature team. We will go to Cardiff to enjoy football, and we will see what that brings," said coach Milevski at the press conference after the match.
