Ireland vs North Macedonia – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

The Republic of Ireland host North Macedonia in Dublin after both nations missed out on a place in the FIFA World Cup play-off final. 

The Boys in Green were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion, losing a penalty shootout to Czechia following a 2-2 draw after extra time.

Macedonia, meanwhile, were heavily beaten by Denmark in the other semi-final after conceding four second-half goals. They have only won one of their previous meetings with Ireland, which came back in 1997 when they denied their opponents a place at France 98.

Ireland vs North Macedonia – Match preview and team news

Ireland team news

The Republic of Ireland enters this international friendly at the Aviva Stadium with a squad reshaped by late withdrawals.

Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson must navigate the absence of several key figures, most notably Sammie Szmodics, who is sidelined after sustaining a concussion against Czechia.

Robbie Brady will also miss out to avoid risking an injury, while Jack Taylor has returned home to Ipswich for personal reasons.

Portsmouth winger Millenic Alli has earned his first senior call-up and could make his debut. Celtic’s Liam Scales is expected to anchor the defence, and young talent Bosun Lawal is tipped to earn his first cap.

The Irish side looks to use this fixture to blood new talent and rebuild momentum following their World Cup qualification disappointment.

North Macedonia team news

North Macedonia arrives in Dublin facing significant squad disruption and a period of transition under Goce Sedloski.

The team’s morale has been tested following a heavy 4-0 defeat to Denmark, and they will be without one of their most iconic figures, Aleksandar Trajkovski, who announced his international retirement immediately following that loss after he was not used in the match at all.

Further complicating matters is the absence of Bojan Miovski, who has also left the squad.

While Konyaspor requested that key midfielders Enis Bardhi and Isnik Alimi be excused to return to their club early, both players have remained with the national team for the time being.

In the absence of Trajkovski and Miovski, the creative burden falls heavily on RB Leipzig’s Eljif Elmas, who remains the undisputed focal point of the attack as the visitors look to restore pride in Dublin.

Form

Ireland: LWWWD

Ireland enter this friendly looking to rebuild following a heartbreaking exit in the 2026 World Cup play-off semi-finals. Despite taking a 2-0 lead against Czechia last week, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side was pegged back to a 2-2 draw after extra time and ultimately lost 4-3 on penalties. This ended a promising run where they had secured three consecutive competitive wins to finish 2025, including a notable 2-0 victory over Portugal and a 3-2 away win against Hungary.

North Macedonia: DDDLL

Macedonia have not won any of their last five outings, conceding 11 goals and scoring just one in their last two matches alone. Their dreams of reaching the World Cup for the first time ever were destroyed by Denmark.

Predicted lineups

Ireland: Kelleher; Egan, Collins, Scales; Dunne, Molumby, Knight, Manning; Ogbene, Azaz; Idah

North Macedonia: Dimitrievski; Zajkov, Musliu, Stojchevski; Churlinov, Alimi, Bardhi, Elmas, Herrera; Trajkovski, Miovski

How to watch Ireland vs North Macedonia?

The match will be broadcast live in Ireland on RTÉ and streamed for free on the RTÉ Player. It will not be available to watch in the UK, with Prime Video instead streaming the play-off final between Denmark and Czechia.

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