Ukraine vs North Macedonia

Prague’s epet ARENA forms the backdrop for a high-stakes Euro 2024 qualifying Group C showdown between Ukraine and North Macedonia.

Ukraine’s pursuit of reaching the European Championship finals for the fourth time on the spin hangs in the balance despite holding continental powerhouse England to a spirited 1-1 ‘home’ draw last time out. Level on points with Group C runners-up Italy and fourth-placed North Macedonia at the beginning of this round, the Ukrainians head to the Czech Republic after their last two Euro qualifiers as nominal hosts took place in Slovakia and Poland. Despite being forced to live a nomadic life due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of their country, Serhiy Rebrov’s men have excelled in their ‘home’ duties, going unbeaten in all five such fixtures since the conflict in their homeland emerged (W2, D3). They can draw further confidence from a four-game winning H2H streak against the upcoming opposition, bookended by a 3-2 comeback victory in the reverse fixture in June.

On the other, letting a 2-0 halftime lead slip through their fingers in the abovementioned encounter could come back to haunt North Macedonia unless they can make amends in Prague. Following an underwhelming three-match winless run in the current qualifying campaign, the ‘Lynxes’ returned to winning ways with a routine 2-0 away win over Malta in the last round, reigniting their chances of securing only their second major tournament appearance. A dramatic 1-1 home draw against Italy was part of that three-game winless streak, showing Blagoja Milevski’s men have plenty of fighting spirit left in the tank. But one of their two Euro 2024 qualifying travels this year yielded a dismal 7-0 defeat at England, suggesting they cannot afford to get ahead of themselves.