North Macedonia vs Scotland: Where to watch, preview, lineups and odds

Ryan Murray

The bottom two teams in Nations League Group B1 clash in Skopje on Saturday evening, as Sébastien Pocognoli attempts to register his first victory as Scotland manager.

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North Macedonia have struggled to adjust to life in the Nations League’s second tier following last season’s promotion, losing both of their opening two outings.

After being outclassed by Switzerland on home soil, Goce Sedloski’s men slumped to a 2-0 defeat in the Slovenian capital on Tuesday evening. Those results extended their ongoing goal drought, which stretches all the way back to the final round of last year’s World Cup qualifiers. Bojan Miovski was the last North Macedonian to score in an international fixture, netting during the early stages of that humiliating 7-1 loss to Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium.

A run of 10 matches without a win will be even more concerning for Saturday’s hosts, who last tasted victory in September 2025 thanks to a 5-0 thumping of UEFA minnows Liechtenstein.

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It’s hardly been a dream start to Pocognoli’s tenure. A goalless draw with Slovenia was followed by a deflating evening at Hampden, which saw Switzerland run out comfortable 3-0 winners.

In fairness, Scotland’s chances of taking a share of the spoils were severely hampered just eleven minutes into the tie, when Jack Hendry was dismissed for hauling down Nottingham Forest’s Dan Ndoye. Experienced full-back Ricardo Rodríguez then arrowed home the resultant free-kick, before Nico Elvedi and Zeki Amdouni ensured the Swiss left Glasgow with maximum points.

The Scots are also lacking a clinical edge in the final third, having last found the net in their World Cup opener against Haiti thanks to John McGinn’s deflected strike. The Tartan Army will be expecting that to change at the Toše Proeski Arena on Saturday evening.

The match will be shown on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website, with coverage commencing 15 minutes before a 19:45 (BST) kick-off.

North Macedonia vs Scotland – Key information

Date: Saturday, October 3rd

Kick-off time: 19:45 (BST)

Venue: Toše Proeski Arena

Referee: Francois Letexier

VAR: Bram Van Driessche

TV Channels/Live stream: BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website

Odds: North Macedonia: 17/4, Draw: 9/4, Scotland: 4/5

Odds provided by bet365

North Macedonia team news

Goce Sedloski rang the changes following an abject performance against Switzerland, making no less than eight alterations to his starting line-up on Tuesday night.

The whole back four were swapped out, while midfield duo Matej Gashtarov and Eljif Elmas were the only two outfield players to retain their place. Even long-serving captain Enis Bardhi was dropped, with the armband being handed to veteran goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, who is fast approaching 100 caps for his country.

North Macedonia simply lacked firepower in Ljubljana, with only one of their front four – the aforementioned Elmas – having previously scored at least one international goal.

That shake-up didn’t quite have the desired effect, so expect Sedloski to once again tinker with personnel. The former Sheffield Wednesday defender may feel compelled to reintroduce Bojan Miovski into his attack, given that the imposing striker has faced one or two members of the Scotland squad while playing for Rangers.

However, central defender Anes Meljichi is unlikely to feature, after sustaining a late injury against Slovenia.

North Macedonia predicted lineup vs Scotland (4-4-2)

Coach: Goce Sedloski

Stole Dimitrievski (GK); Andrej Stojchevski, Mario Mladenovski, Visar Musliu, Din Alomerovic; Tihomir Kostadinov, Matej Gashtarov, Enis Bardhi, Eljif Elmas; Azer Omeragić, Bojan Miovski

Scotland team news

Unlike his managerial counterpart, Sébastien Pocognoli named similar starting XI’s for his team’s first two Nations League contests.

The Belgian tactician handed Brøndby defender Luis Binks an international debut at the expense of Stephen Welsh, while Nathan Patterson replaced Aaron Hickey on the right-hand flank. Kieron Bowie was favoured to replace Robbie Ure up front, but the ex-Hibs striker was sacrificed early on as a consequence of Jack Hendry’s red card.

With Hendry suspended on Saturday night, that could provide an opportunity for Luke Graham to make his first Scotland appearance. There could also be a spot earmarked for Ben Gannon-Doak, who looked bright after being introduced from the bench against Slovenia and Switzerland.

Ryan Christie is also pushing for a start, although a talented midfield trio of Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson and John McGinn will be hard to break up.

Having been cast into the international wilderness by former boss Steve Clarke, Oli McBurnie has served as Scotland’s main marksman over the past week. That may change when Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams return from injury, but the Hull City striker seems set to partner either Ure or Bowie up front for the remainder of this international break.

Scotland predicted lineup vs North Macedonia (3-4-1-2)

Coach: Sébastien Pocognoli

Angus Gunn (GK); Luke Graham, Scott McKenna, Stephen Welsh; Ben Gannon-Doak, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, Andrew Robertson; John McGinn; Oli McBurnie, Kieron Bowie

Where to watch on TV or live stream?

The BBC has recently extended its broadcasting deal with UEFA, enabling the network to screen every Scotland fixture up until the 2028 European Championships, which will feature matches at Hampden alongside eight other venues located across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Liam McLeod and James McFadden will be stationed in the commentary box at the Toše Proeski Arena, while former Scotland internationals John Collins, Julie Fleeting, and Steven Thompson provide analysis from the studio.

As well as being televised on BBC Two, Saturday night’s clash in Skopje will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Head-to-head record

North Macedonia and Scotland have faced one another on four occasions, with all of these previous meetings coming in consecutive World Cup qualifying campaigns. Interestingly, it’s the first time

this fixture will be held in a month other than September.

It was honours even when these two countries met on the road to South Africa, although neither team ended up qualifying for the finals. Almost exactly a year after a sobering 1-0 defeat at the Philip II Arena (the former name of the stadium that will host this weekend’s encounter), Scott Brown’s maiden international goal and a late strike from James McFadden handed the Scots a routine home victory.

Saturday’s opponents were also drawn into the same group for 2014 World Cup qualifying, a campaign which again ended in disappointment for both nations.

Kenny Miller’s equaliser denied Macedonia (the ‘North’ was added following a government resolution in 2019) a famous win at Hampden, before Gordon Strachan’s men almost dropped more points in the return leg. It looked as if the hosts would escape with a draw when native legend Goran Pandev set up substitute Jovan Kostovski to convert from close range in the 83rd minute, but Shaun Maloney’s stunning free-kick spared Scotland’s blushes.