North Macedonia vs England LIVE: Euro 2024 qualifier result and reaction as Three Lions held to draw
North Macedonia 1-1 England: The Three Lions end their qualifying campaign unbeaten
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Your support makes all the difference.England were held to a drew in their final Euro 2024 qualifying fixture after another sluggish performance against North Macedonia. It was a frustrating night for the Three Lions who desperately hoped for an improved performance after they edged past Malta 2-0 on Friday.
They started well enough and had a bit of zip and tempo back in their passing which was evidently missing last week. Declan Rice hit the woodwork after just 15 minutes but the hosts grew in confidence. Rico Lewis, making his debut for the senior team, was a bright spark but a stray hand when clearing an aerial ball out of his own box forced a VAR check and North Macedonia won a penalty - Enis Bardhi slotting it past Jordan Pickford on the rebound after the goalkeeper initially saved it.
England went into the break behind but came out strongly once again. Jack Grealish thought he had an equaliser only for it to be ruled out for offside. Harry Kane’s introduction into proceedings resulted in an own goal going against the hosts but the Three Lions were unable to press their advantage and claim the win.
Relive the action from this Euro 2024 qualifier below:
Declan Rice putting pressure of price tag behind him to pursue biggest prizes
Declan Rice went to the World Cup surrounded by England team-mates who had won the biggest prizes in the game – now he is a £105million player who insists he is not fazed by the price tag having lifted European silverware and instantly taken to Champions League football.
The 24-year-old admitted a year ago in Qatar that he wanted to play at the highest level and left West Ham in the summer after captaining them to Europa Conference League glory.
Rice moved across London to Arsenal, joining the Gunners for a club-record fee and has hit the ground running with a run of fine performances for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Declan Rice putting pressure of price tag behind him to pursue biggest prizes
Rice left West Ham in the summer after captaining them to Europa Conference League glory.
North Macedonia vs England
England have won eight of their last nine games in all competitions (one draw) since losing against France in the 2022 World Cup.
Victory here would mean their highest-ever win rate across a single calendar year in which they played at least 10 matches (90%).
North Macedonia vs England
North Macedonia have won just one of their last six European Championship qualifiers (one draw, four defeats), conceding 17 goals across those four defeats.
Since drawing 0-0 at Israel back in March 2007, England have scored in 19 consecutive away European Championship qualifiers, the longest run of any nation in qualifying history.
They have netted 55 goals in those games, an average of 2.9 per game.
Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad
Rico Lewis is hoping his versatility will work in his favour as he aims to make a late charge to Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate will name a 23-man squad for next summer’s finals in Germany, having been able to pick 26 players for both Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
That means competition for places will be more fierce than in recent years, with Southgate admitting those who are more adaptable could have the edge.
Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad
Competition for places for in a 23-man squad will be more fierce than in recent years.
North Macedonia vs England
Manchester City’s Rico Lewis turns 19 tomorrow. Given England’s lack of options at left-back and Lewis rising star status with the Premier League champions he is a given to start in that position tonight.
It’ll mark the teenager’s senior debut for England. Some birthday present.
Southgate on tonight’s priorities
After a lacklustre performance against Malta on Friday, and with Euro 2024 qualification already secure, Gareth Southgate outlined what his priorties are for this evening’s game.
“Performance is the priority,” Southgate said. “We didn’t reach that standard on Friday. We have to get back to what we’re good at.
“There’s always a chance within that to have a look at a couple of things that we’d like to see as well but the biggest thing is making sure we hit the level of performance that we’ve set ourselves this year.”
North Macedonia vs England
England have won both of their previous away games against North Macedonia.
2-1 in September 2003 with Wayne Rooney and David Beckham goals and 1-0 in September 2006 thanks to a Peter Crouch winner.
Can they make it three from three tonight?
North Macedonia vs England
North Macedonia are winless in five international meetings with England with two draws and three defeats. They lost 7-0 against the Three Lions in June in the most recent encounter between the teams.
Can they improve this evening?
Southgate on left-back issues
With Kieran Trippier withdrawing from the England squad ahead of tonight’s match, there is a big vacancy in the left-back role.
Ben Chilwell, Levi Colwill and Luke Shaw all currently out injured and Gareth Southgate was asked ‘what he was thinking’ when it came to left-backs for tonight’s game.
He replied: “That we need to adapt and that we have a couple of different options. We are comfortable with it and that we can find a good solution to the issue.
“We haven’t got somebody that is playing there regularly, but we’ve adapted to lots of situations over the last few years and we’re comfortable with doing that again tomorrow.”
England team changes
Gareth Southgate has made six changes to the England team that started the match against Malta. In the backline comes Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis who replace Kieran Trippier and Fikayo Tomori.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only one to keep his spot in midfield as Jordan Henderson and Conor Gallagher are replaced with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.
Phil Foden looks likely to move into a central position with Saka starting on the right wing, over on the left Jack Grealish comes in for Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins takes Harry Kane’s place as the centre forward.
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