Manager Boshko Gjurovski called up 22 players for the upcoming matches versus Belarus and Australia.

NAC Breda midfielder Uroš Matić found himself in the squad, but it’s still not sure whether he will receive clearance by FIFA to play in either game. He was called up in the case that his documents get done by late March. If not, then that’s why Gjurovski also called-up Artim Polozhani, a defensive midfielder from Shkendija, as insurance.

Glancing at the squad, the biggest shock is that Gjurovski did not call up a classic CF. There is no size among the strikers/attacking midfielders. This could mean that Gjurovski has watched Belarus and feels that their biggest weakness is dealing with speedy attackers as opposed to burly strikers. We will see how that strategy pans out.

The three selections at goalkeeper were not a surprise, but the defense saw drastic changes. Daniel Mojsov was dropped after making a big mistake in the Slovakia qualifier that led to a goal. Furthermore, Vladimir Dimitrovski of Kerkyra and Aleksandar Lazevski of Olimpija were not summoned. Gjurovski watched both of them in person over the past month, but neither player made the team. Instead, veteran Bojan Markoski was called-up along with returnee Kire Ristevski.

Six domestic league players were among the 22 call-ups. Besides Matić (if he were to debut), the other new name on the senior national team is Enis Bardhi. He has recently played for the U21 squad, but Gjurovski decided to promote him given his good performances for his club.

Tome Pachovski – Vardar
Kristijan Naumovski – Dinamo București
Martin Bogatinov – Ermis

Vanche Shikov – Austria Wien
Stefan Ristovski – Latina
Daniel Georgievski – Melbourne Victory
Bojan Markoski – Ayia Napa
Kire Ristevski – Tirana
Darko Velkovski – Rabotnichki

Arijan Ademi – Dinamo Zagreb
Uroš Matić – NAC Breda
Aleksandar Trajkovski – Zulte Waregem
Agim Ibraimi – Maribor
Ferhan Hasani – Brøndby
Mario Gjurovski – Muangthong United
Besart Abdurahimi – Lokeren
Enis Bardi – Újpest
Dejan Blazhevski – Vardar
Blagoja Todorovski – Shkendija
Artim Polozhani – Shkendija

Marjan Radeski – Metalurg
Krste Velkoski – Sarajevo