Spain will be looking to get off to the perfect start in their 2016 European Championships qualifier against Macedonia on Monday night. After Thursday’s 1-0 defeat against France in Paris consigned them to a third defeat in four matches a victory over the Macedonians will give La Roja a much needed confidence boost.
It will also show that Coach Vicente Del Bosque’s plan of ushering in a new generation of players is working. He’s called up several newcomers to La Roja’s squad, including Dani Carvajal, Mikel San Jose, Ander Iturraspe, Paco Alcacer and Munir El Haddadi.
Del Bosque is looking to give these players experience during the qualification campaign in preparation for Euro 2016, providing they qualify, so they can account for the losses of David Villa, Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and Carlos Puyol. The hope is when Euro 2016 arrives Spain can call upon a plethora of young players that have played an adequate amount of international football.
As for Spain’s opponents, Macedonia have not enjoyed good fortunes in recent qualifying campaigns. The Red Lynxes haven’t finished higher than the bottom two in any of their last three attempts to qualify for the World Cup or European Championships.
Macedonia Coach Bosko Gjurovski has been in the role for just nine months, as he replaced Cedomir Janevski after a disastrous 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, where they finished last in their group.
Gjurovski finds himself in the same circumstances Del Bosque finds himself in now, as Macedonia has been hit with a spate of retired players and a bad run of form. The visitors are winless in four matches, suffering defeats against Cameroon and China and the retirements of all-time leading goal scorer Goran Pandev and Mainz centre-back Nikolce Noveski robs Gjurovski of experience in attack and defence.
As a result the Macedonians boast an inexperienced squad, as just two players have amassed over 30 caps – their captain and goalkeeper Tome Pacovski and centre-back Vance Sikov.
But one player that Spain must watch is 26-year-old winger Agim Ibraimi. He acquitted himself well last season in Italy’s Serie A for Cagliari, where he was on loan from Slovenian club Maribor, putting in some good performances. Ibraimi has enjoyed a good start to the new season, especially in Maribor’s passage to the Champions League group stages, scoring in the qualifier against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The winger has an eye for assists but also for goals too. Within the Macedonia squad Ibraimi is their top scorer, netting six times in 27 appearances, which highlights the team’s woes in attack after Pandev’s retirement. But Ibraimi’s goals have been vital, such as his winner in their historic 1-0 victory against Serbia last year in the World Cup qualifiers.
However, though Macedonia’s aim under Gjurovski is to not to finish last in their qualifying group, Del Bosque will make sure his players are not complacent. If ever there was a moment Spain needed a victory it is now after.
Fans attending the game at Ciutat de Valencia will expect victory. Anything less would be nothing short of inexcusable for Del Bosque and Spain.
