England national team coach, Gareth Southgate, considered the match against North Macedonia to be a different test in the 2024 European Cup Qualifications. The Three Lions – England’s nickname – were only able to draw 1-1.
The match was held at Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia, on Tuesday (21/11/2023). England only scored through an own goal from the opposing player, Jani Atanasov, in the 59th minute.
Previously they conceded a goal in the 41st minute. The goal was scored by North Macedonia midfielder, Enis Bardhi.
“I think the really big results were the win in Italy in March and the result against Ukraine, so coming here tonight is a completely different test,” said Southgate in an official England Football release, Tuesday (21/11/2023) .
However, Southgate still appreciates his students. According to him, the performance of Phil Foden and his colleagues was quite good with good ball control.
Considering that the game on the field this time was considered by Southgate to be very difficult. However, the draw means that England are so far unbeaten in Group C.
“Considering we’ve already qualified and everything we achieved, I thought the mentality of the players tonight was very good and the quality of ball possession was good on a very difficult pitch,” he continued.
“It was probably just the final finish, the final pass that was hard to find against their defence, but I think there are a lot of positives to take from this performance,” concluded Southgate.
As is known, the England national team managed to occupy the top of the group standings. They successfully picked up six wins and two draws from the eight matches they played.
Meanwhile, in second place, Italy has four wins, two draws and two defeats in eight matches. They are superior on goal difference over Ukraine who sits in third position.
