England take on North Macedonia in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Monday evening and they will be looking to pick up a comprehensive win.
The Three Lions are coming into this game on the back of a comfortable victory against Malta, and they will be reasonably confident of grinding out all three points here.
England have picked up three wins from their last three Euro 2024 qualifiers and they will look to continue their impressive run of form here.
The Three Lions are in impressive form right now picking up five wins from the last six outings across all competitions.
On the other hand, Macedonia are coming in this game on the back of a 3-2 defeat and they will have to improve their performances in order to grind out a win.
The last time these two sides met back in 2006, England played out a goalless draw against North Macedonia and the visitors will be hoping for more of the same here.
One day to go until we play North Macedonia at Old Trafford! 🙌#ThreeLions | @NuffieldHealth pic.twitter.com/E3LXqEk4EY
— England (@England) June 18, 2023
Team News and Tactics
England
England do not have any notable injury concerns heading into this game, but they are likely to shuffle their starting lineup here. Bukayo Saka was taken off against Malta with a knock and he is likely to be rested here.
Jordan Pickford is likely to start in goal behind the back four of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.
Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to start in the midfield after a sensational performance in the last game, where he got on the score sheet.
This angle of @TrentAA's goal in Malta 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/IZQuGifOsr
— England (@England) June 18, 2023
The Liverpool star will start in the midfield alongside Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson.
Harry Kane is set to lead the line for England here with Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Henderson; Foden, Kane, Rashford
North Macedonia
The visitors will be without the services of Visar Musiliu because of the suspension. Other than that, they should have a fully fit squad to choose from.
Stole Dimitrievski will start in goal for the visitors with Milan Ristovski, Gjoko Zajkov, Darko Velkovski and Ezgjan Alioski as the back four. They will look to stay compact at the back and contain the England attack.
In the midfield, Enis Bardhi and Elgin Elmas will start alongside Arijan Ademi. The trio will look to protect the back four and set up counter-attacking opportunities for their side.
Ilija Nestorovski will lead the line and Stefan Ashkovski will start alongside Aleksandar Trajkovski.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Dimitrievski; Ristovski, Zajkov, Velkovski, Alioski; Bardhi, Ademi, Elmas; Ashkovski, Trajkovski, Nestorovski
Key Stats
- England are unbeaten in the last four matches against North Macedonia.
- Eight goals have been scored in the last four meetings between these two sides.
- England have kept two clean sheets in the last three Euro 2024 qualifiers.
- England have won their last three Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Player to watch out for
Harry Kane
🚨🏴Harry Kane has now surpassed Kazuyoshi Miura for most international goals (56).
For context, Kazuyoshi Miura is 55-years-old and still playing ⚽🍷 pic.twitter.com/9ea5jUZTZ1
— Relevent Sports (@releventsports) June 18, 2023
The 29-year-old Tottenham striker has been in spectacular form this season, scoring 32 goals across all competitions.
The Londoners need his creativity and cutting edge in the final third in order to break down the Macedonia defence. Kane has nine goals in his last ten appearances for club and country and he will look to get on the scoresheet once again.
Prediction
England 2-0 North Macedonia
England will be overwhelming favourites heading into the game and they should be able to grind out the three points. Players like Harry Kane are in impressive form right now and England will fancy their chances of picking up a comfortable victory at home.
The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for England here.