The Macedonia national football team played out a goalless draw against the Republic of Ireland in a clash between the two teams that were left without a World Cup ticket after the semi-final playoff for the 2026 World Cup. Unlike the painful defeat in Copenhagen, Goce Sedloski’s players looked more organised and more stable defensively this time, but the match as a whole was played at a calmer pace, without any real tension or dynamism.
The first significant threat came from Enis Bardhi in the 26th minute, when he tested Kelleher from a free kick, but the goalkeeper intervened confidently. Finn Azaz responded almost immediately, but his attempt went over Stole Dimitrievski’s goal.
In the remainder of the half, the Irish were somewhat more active, particularly through Troy Parrott. The striker first headed straight at Dimitrievski, before firing wide from an angle. He missed the best opportunity in the 39th minute, when a mistake by Darko Velkovski left him in an ideal position, but once again he failed to hit the target. His goal late in the first half was disallowed for offside.At the start of the second half, Sedloski introduced fresh legs in Musovski, Ristovski and Serafimov, but Ireland continued to create half-chances. Parrott and Azaz tried again but lacked accuracy, while in the 62nd minute Liam Scales’ shot was blocked in time by Boban Nikolov.
Until the end, the Macedonia coach gave most of the substitutes a chance, while the best opportunity for the „red and yellows“ fell to Musovski in stoppage time, when he failed to get past the opposition defence. Johnny Kenny threatened Stole Dimitrievski’s goal, but our goalkeeper made an excellent intervention.
In the end, a goalless draw was the most realistic reflection of a match dominated by caution, with quality finishing absent.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND – MACEDONIA 0-0
Aviva Stadium. Attendance: 39,560. Referee: Ivan Griffith (Wales). Yellow card: Stole Dimitrievski (Macedonia).
Ireland: Kelleher, Egan, Collins, O’Shea, Coleman, Knight, Molumby, Scales, Ogbene, Azaz; Parrott.
Macedonia: Dimitrievski; Zajkov, Fetai (65′ Musliu), Velkovski (46′ Serafimov), Herrera, Alimi (60′ Doriev), Kostadinov (60′ Nikolov), Bardhi (46′ Musovski), Churlinov (60′ Ramadani – 71′ Bejtulai), Elmas (60′ Stankovski), Rastoder (46′ Ristovski);
