The Macedonian national football team U-19 secured a place in the Elite phase qualifiers for the Euro 2019. At the pre-qualification tournament held in Skopje, Macedonia came first ahead of favorites Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Macedonia recorded wins of 2:1 against Switzerland and Belgium as well as a convincing 6:0 win against Luxembourg.
Macedonia will for the first time in its history play Elite qualifications in the European Championship.
Young players from the bench were led by selector Vujadin Stanojkovic, who for SBS Radio's Macedonian language program says success is not accidental:
"Although we did not count for favorites, however, with the maximum effort of all players we managed to achieve three victories, which enabled these youths to confirm the quality they have at their disposal"-
In the Elite qualifiers, Macedonia will be in the group together with opponents England, Hungary and Latvia. Only the top-ranking teams will proceede to the European Championship in Finland.
Macedonia is the holder of the Elite group and the tournament will be played again in Macedonia at the end of March next year.
Selektor Stanoykovich had the following to say about the group's opponents:
"I am pleased with the outcome of the draw , I think we have a great chance for a new, historic result. The group is strong, but we can play with everyone. I think that our audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the matches that will be played at home, that's what we fought for and we must be satisfied with that "
The complete interview with the coach of the national team U- 19 Vujadin Stanojkovic with whom we discuss other football topics can be heard on the Audio link.
