In their final game before the beginning of Euro 2020 in under two weeks, North Macedonia play host to Kazakhstan in a friendly on Friday.

The hosts kicked off this round of international fixtures with a 1-1 draw against Slovakia on Tuesday, while Kazakhstan will play their only game of the international break, with no further action until September.

Match preview

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For North Macedonia, this is the final game before they play in the European Championships for the first time in their 28-year history, having qualified with a victory over Georgia in the playoffs in November.

Veteran forward Goran Pandev netted the only goal of the game early in the second half to fire his nation into their first major tournament, and they begin their campaign in under two weeks against Austria.

In their previous friendly, Igor Angelovski's men drew 1-1 at home to Slovakia on Tuesday, as they looked set to see out a 1-0 win thanks to Eljif Elmas's opener until Domen Crnigoj equalised for the visitors in the 97th minute.

Before that, North Macedonia recorded arguably one of the most impressive results in their history in the previous round of international fixtures in March, as they defeated four-time world champions Germany 2-1.

Pandev's opener was cancelled out by an Ilkay Gundogan penalty on the hour mark, but Elmas restored his nation's lead in the 85th minute to seal a historic win and boost their World Cup qualification bid.

That put the Lions up to second in the group, having picked up six points from their opening three games, but their attention, for now, will be firmly focussed on the upcoming European Championships.

They will be desperate to build momentum for the opening game with a win on Friday, as they look to defy the odds and qualify out of their group in the major tournament.

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While their opponents did not qualify for Euro 2020, they will be aiming for a positive result in what is their only fixture in this round of international games.

Kazakhstan had a mixed start to their World Cup qualifying campaign in March, as they started with a 2-0 defeat at home to world champions France.

Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring in the 19th minute, before a Serhiy Malyi own goal on the stroke of half time put the game out of sight.

They then followed that up with a commendable point, as Talgat Baysufinov's side drew 1-1 away against Ukraine.

The hosts dominated throughout and led through Roman Yaremchuk, but Serikzhan Muzhikov found the net on the hour mark to earn a point for his side.

With the next round of World Cup qualifying games coming in September, the Hawks will look to earn a positive result on Friday before they play three important games in their bid to reach their first World Cup.

Team News

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In the final game before the beginning of Euro 2020, North Macedonia should field a full-strength side as they look to build fluidity and match fitness.

That will see Goran Pandev lead the line with Aleksandar Trajkovski, while Elmas will offer plenty of threat behind the forwards.

Another key player for the Lions is wing-back Ezgjan Alioski, who featured in all but two of Leeds United's Premier League games this season.

Arijan Ademi and Boban Nikolov should continue to form their strong pairing in the middle, shielding the back three of Egzon Bejtulai, Darko Velkovski and Visar Musliu.

The only player in the Kazakhstan squad to play outside of his home country is forward Aleksey Shchotkin, who currently plies his trade in Russia for Rotor Volgograd.

Experienced midfielder Azat Nurgaliev should lead the side in the middle of the park, with the 34-year-old having made 42 appearances for his nation.

Serikzhan Muzhikov should also feature in midfield, having netted his second international goal in the draw with Ukraine in March.

North Macedonia possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Bejtulai, Velkovski, Musliu; Ristovski, Nikolov, Ademi, Alioski; Elmas; Pandev, Trajkovski

Kazakhstan possible starting lineup:
Pokatilov; Valiullin, Marochkin, Alip, Malyi, Suyumbayev; Nurgaliev, Muzhikov, Tagybergen; Shchotkin, Nusserbayev

We say: North Macedonia 3-0 Kazakhstan

North Macedonia come to this game with plenty to play for, as they look to build momentum going into next Sunday's opening clash with Austria, and we see them recording a big win on Friday.

The hosts have much more quality than their opponents with the likes of Pandev and Alioski, and they should ensure they pick up a result in order to boost their confidence.

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