North Macedonia vs Iceland Match Analysis and Prediction

2 years ago 371

North Macedonia will be looking to secure a place in the World Cup 2022 playoffs when they welcome Iceland to Philip II Arena in Skopje on Sunday in the final group fixture with kickoff at 20:00.

North Macedonia are aiming to add a World Cup appearance to this year’s first appearance in the Euros and they are not far away from making their dream come true as they are the frontrunners to secure a playoff spot in Group J of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers.

The Macedonians have made a decent and solid qualifying campaign in Group J having won four, drawn three and lost two of their nine matches to collect 15 points, which have left them sitting in the second spot in the group standings with one point above the third-placed Romania and three points above Armenia in the fourth. Therefore, this is a must win match for Blagoja Milevski’s side as Romania face the group whipping boys Liechtenstein in their final fixture.

Macedonia are in a good form having just lost one of their last six matches scoring 11 goals while have concede 6 and have kept four clean sheets in the process. The hosts are coming off a resounding 5-0 away victory against Armenia on Thursday a match that saw Enis Bardhi break a 25-year record of becoming the first man to score a hat trick for North Macedonia since 1996. The win is a massive confidence booster for the hosts, whose destiny firmly rests in their own hands ahead of the Sunday’s final fixtures.

Meanwhile, it has been a disappointing qualifying campaign for Iceland who have only managed to record two wins in their nine matches while have registered three draws and suffered four defeats in the process. They currently sit in the fifth spot on nine points meaning that they are eliminated from the qualifying race and will only be fighting for their pride in this match.

Iceland went into the their previous fixture still with slim chances of making the playoffs but the 0-0 draw with Romania ruled them out as they now sit six points behind their Sunday’s opponents with just one match left to go. Therefore, Iceland will be looking to bow out on a winning note but they face a desperately in need of a win Macedonia and will be fascinating to see how this plays out.