Numerous Macedonian internationals will feature in qualifications for the Champions League and Europa League. Here is a recap of who they will face as things stand right now:
The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League took place this past Monday. With a number of Macedonian internationals spread over numerous countries in Europe, some qualified for these competitions and learned their opponents in the early rounds.
The list could expand as there are still Macedonian players who remain unsigned and/or will transfer in the summer window. As of right now, however, twelve games will feature Macedonian internationals in the first two qualifying rounds of the Champions League and Europa League.
Keep in mind that Goran Popov with Dynamo Kyiv and Ivan Trichkovski with Club Brugge begin their Champions League journey in the third qualifying round but their opponents will be known at next month’s draw. Meanwhile, for the Europa League, Goran Pandev and Napoli have already secured a place in the group stages as a result of Napoli winning the Italian Cup, while Samir Fazli with Heerenveen (third qualifying round) and Kristijan Naumovski with Dinamo București (play-off round) will learn their opponents at a later date.
Here are all of the Macedonian internationals who will participate in the first two rounds of the Champions League and Europa League qualifications at this time:
2nd qualifying round (Champions League)
Maribor* – Željezničar
Agim Ibraimi
Žilina – Ironi Kiryat Shmona*
Darko Tasevski
Shamrock Rovers – Ekranas*
Yani Urdinov
Partizan* – winner of Valletta/Lusitanos
Aleksandar Lazevski
Neftçi* – Zestafoni
Igor Mitreski
1st qualifying round (Europa League)
Narva Trans – Inter Bakı*
Slavcho Georgievski
Jagodina* – Ordabassy
Dragan Stojkov
Flamurtari* – Honvéd
Nijaz Lena
Dacia* – Celje*
Goran Dimovski, Ersen Sali – Stefan Ristovski
2nd qualifying round (Europa League)
Hajduk Split – Skonto*
Bojan Gjorgievski
Vojvodina* – winner of Sūduva/Daugava
Daniel Mojsov
Lokomotiv Plovdiv* – Vitesse
Dragi Kocev
* team that features Macedonian player