North Macedonia vs Armenia

National Arena Toshe Proeski is the venue as North Macedonia and Armenia go head-to-head in the second round of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League C.

North Macedonia’s hopes of earning a first-ever League B promotion in their third successive League C campaign were off to a slow start as they hauled back a halftime deficit to hold the sub-par Faroe Islands to a 1-1 draw on matchday one. As the highest-ranked nation in Group C4, you’d expect the North Macedonians to improve despite taking the field amidst a disastrous seven-game winless run (D3, L4). Their equally disappointing showings on both ends of the pitch saw them concede in all seven games and score more than one goal just once, highlighting the pressure on head coach Blagoja Milevski. However, Armenia’s upcoming visit to Skopje could help the Lynxes turn the corner, considering they’ve thumped this opposition in their last two H2Hs by a combined score of 8-1.

On the other hand, Armenia will be out to claim revenge, buoyed by an emphatic 4-1 victory against Latvia in the opening round. Keen to secure a swift return to League B after suffering relegation in the previous cycle (W1, L5), Oleksandr Petrakov’s charges head into this fixture in high spirits after recording their joint-biggest win since hammering Gibraltar 6-2 six years ago. The ‘Havakakan’ should know better than to let their flying Group C4 start tuck them into a false sense of security after commencing their fateful League B journey in 2022/23 with a win. Improving their dismal traveling form could be a point of difference this time, with Armenia bidding to end a five-game losing run on foreign soil.