North Macedonia vs Malta

National Arena Toshe Proeski is the venue as North Macedonia and Malta go head-to-head in their opening Euro 2024 qualifying Group C showdown.

Despite missing out on the 2022 World Cup, North Macedonia can draw confidence from qualifying for the last Euros for the first time as an independent country and subsequently dispatching Italy in the World Cup qualifying playoffs. However, there’s not much they can fall back on when it comes to the final stretch of 2022, considering they lost four out of five internationals at the tail-end of the last calendar year (D1), drawing a blank on three occasions. Yet, they’re still substantial betting favorites to get their Group C duties off to a flying start after racking up three wins in their four previous meetings with Malta (D1), including victories in both competitive H2Hs. The ‘Lynxes’ should not take anything for granted after failing to get on the scoresheet in two of their last three competitive home outings (D1, L2).

Meanwhile, Malta’s qualification prospects are as bleak as ever, with the visitors seeking a first-ever progression into a major tournament. Unfortunately for traveling support, Malta’s humiliating all-time record in Euro qualifiers speaks volumes (W4, D14, L94), with only 52 goals scored against 315 conceded. Indeed, the ‘Knights of Malta’ have picked up just one victory in the last three Euro qualifying campaigns (D3, L26), courtesy of a 2-1 home win over fellow continental strugglers Faroe Islands in March 2019. In addition to losing a staggering 84% of their 112 Euro qualifiers, they lament a disastrous defending record of 2.81 goals conceded per game in Euro qualifiers on average. Things go from bad to worse for Malta, given that they’ve lost their last seven away Euro qualifiers without a replay.