England limped to a 1-1 draw against North Macedonia in their final Euro 2024 qualifying match as Gjanni Alioski saw out the entire 90 minutes in Skopje – and Leeds fans praised his performance.
In what was a dead rubber, with England already securing top spot in the group and North Macedonia unable to finish in the top two, Gareth Southgate made changes. Rico Lewis was handed his first cap.
It was Lewis that was guilty of the game’s first pivotal moment. A penalty given against him after a check from VAR, perhaps harshly ruling he did enough to send Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski in the penalty area.
Enis Bardhi saw his penalty saved, only to turn the rebound in. England struggled and after a goal was disallowed with Jack Grealish offside, Southgate turned to Kane. He made an immediate impact.
His pressure from a corner saw Jani Atanasov scored an own goal from a corner. But England could not find the winner, the game finishing 1-1. A poor result and the pressure increases on gaffer Southgate.
Leeds fans discuss Gjanni Alioski display for North Macedonia
Alioski, meanwhile, won his 70th cap for North Macedonia. It is more than two years now since he left the club to join Saudi side Al-Ahli – and has since been on loan to Turkish side Fenerbahce, last term.
It was a solid performance from Alioski. A player that of course, is disliked by Arsenal fans after his tangle with Nicolas Pepe. Leeds fans reacted to his display on social media, praising his defending.
Many pointed to the fact that Saka did very little all game, with the Arsenal star “pocketed” by the ex-Leeds man. It saw Leeds fans say they miss the “crazy guy”, with a left-back still in need at Leeds.
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