Macedonia U19 concluded the qualifying round of the UEFA Under-19 championship with a 2:1 win against Kazakhstan.

Macedonia will finish in third place of Group 6 with today’s 2:1 win over Kazakhstan. Both teams were already eliminated as neither side had a chance of finishing in the top two of the group so this game was to decide which side will avoid a last place finish.

After a goalless first half, things were looking bleak for Macedonia when Kazakhstan opened the scoring in the 53rd minute through Murat Yskakov. However, Macedonia U19 did not give up and recorded a come from behind victory thanks to goals from Isnik Alimi and David Babunski. Alimi scored the equalizer in the 59th minute, three minutes after entering the game, while David Babunski then scored the game winner in the 71st minute to hand Macedonia the slim victory over Kazakhstan.

In the other match of the group, Switzerland and Ukraine played a 1:1 draw and since each team had 7 points and the same goal difference, the match went directly into penalty kicks. Ukraine would eventually win 5:3 on penalty kicks so they finished in first place while Switzerland will settle for second place. However, both teams will advance to the elite round by finishing in the top two of Group 6.

Lineup for Macedonia U19: Neziri, Cikarski, Manovski (48′ Zdraveski), Asani, Gligorov (C), Aleksovski, Babunski, Skenderovik (56′ Alimi), Musliu, Jankoski (81′ Iliev), Kanaloski.