European Championship - Group C
AustriaAustria3North MacedoniaNorth Macedonia1

Austria 3-1 North Macedonia: Arnautovic and Gregoritsch seal Austria's first Euros win

Last updated on .From the section European Championshipcomments28

Michael Gregoritsch
Austria scored twice in a game at a major tournament for the first time since 1990 against USA at the World Cup.

Substitutes Marko Arnautovic and Michael Gregoritsch earned Austria their first ever victory at a European Championship as Franco Foda's side edged past tournament debutants North Macedonia in their Group C opener.

Gregoritsch met captain David Alaba's sublime cross with 12 minutes remaining to end North Macedonia's resistance, before Arnautovic put the result beyond doubt after rounding goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Veteran striker Goran Pandev looked to have earned a memorable point for Euro 2020's lowest ranked side.

Making his 120th appearance, 20 years on from his international debut, North Macedonia's all-time leading scorer Pandev sent his nation's supporters into raptures in Bucharest when he cancelled out Stefan Lainer's strike.

The 37-year-old Genoa forward, part of Jose Mourinho's treble-winning Inter Milan side of 2009-10, pounced on a defensive mix-up involving new Real Madrid signing Alaba and goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann and slotted in to an open goal after 28 minutes.

Borussia Monchengladbach right-back Lainer had produced a fine finish to give an uninspiring Austria the lead 10 minutes earlier, leaping to volley in Marcel Sabitzer's excellent pass.

Lainer held up a shirt reading "Eriksen stay strong" following his goal, after the Denmark midfielder collapsed in his side's Euro 2020 match against Finland on Saturday.

More to follow.

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Austria

Starting XI

  1. Squad number13Player nameBachmann
    Average rating

    5.87

  2. Squad number3Player nameDragovic
    Average rating

    6.02

  3. Squad number8Player nameAlaba
    Average rating

    7.24

  4. Squad number4Player nameHinteregger
    Average rating

    6.05

  5. Squad number23Player nameSchlager
    Average rating

    5.94

  6. Squad number21Player nameLainer
    Average rating

    6.77

  7. Squad number24Player nameLaimer
    Average rating

    6.51

  8. Squad number9Player nameSabitzer
    Average rating

    7.20

  9. Squad number2Player nameUlmer
    Average rating

    5.75

  10. Squad number25Player nameKalajdzic
    Average rating

    5.52

  11. Squad number19Player nameBaumgartner
    Average rating

    5.83

Substitutes

  1. Squad number6Player nameIlsanker
    Average rating

    5.75

  2. Squad number7Player nameArnautovic
    Average rating

    6.78

  3. Squad number11Player nameGregoritsch
    Average rating

    6.33

  4. Squad number14Player nameBaumgartlinger
    Average rating

    6.27

  5. Squad number15Player nameLienhart
    Average rating

    5.59

North Macedonia

Starting XI

  1. Squad number1Player nameDimitrievski
    Average rating

    7.45

  2. Squad number16Player nameNikolov
    Average rating

    7.22

  3. Squad number13Player nameRistovski
    Average rating

    7.38

  4. Squad number14Player nameVelkovski
    Average rating

    7.18

  5. Squad number6Player nameMusliu
    Average rating

    7.19

  6. Squad number8Player nameAlioski
    Average rating

    8.55

  7. Squad number17Player nameBardhi
    Average rating

    7.37

  8. Squad number5Player nameAdemi
    Average rating

    7.22

  9. Squad number21Player nameElmas
    Average rating

    7.46

  10. Squad number10Player namePandev
    Average rating

    8.20

  11. Squad number9Player nameTrajkovski
    Average rating

    7.37

Substitutes

  1. Squad number2Player nameBejtulai
    Average rating

    6.98

  2. Squad number7Player nameTrichkovski
    Average rating

    6.82

  3. Squad number15Player nameKostadinov
    Average rating

    6.89

  4. Squad number26Player nameRistovski
    Average rating

    6.25

Line-ups

Austria

Formation 3-1-4-2

  • 13Bachmann
  • 3DragovicSubstituted forLienhartat 45'minutes
  • 8Alaba
  • 4Hinteregger
  • 23SchlagerSubstituted forIlsankerat 90+4'minutes
  • 21LainerBooked at 85mins
  • 24LaimerSubstituted forBaumgartlingerat 90+3'minutes
  • 9Sabitzer
  • 2Ulmer
  • 25KalajdzicSubstituted forArnautovicat 59'minutes
  • 19BaumgartnerSubstituted forGregoritschat 58'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Schlager
  • 6Ilsanker
  • 7Arnautovic
  • 10Grillitsch
  • 11Gregoritsch
  • 12Pervan
  • 14Baumgartlinger
  • 15Lienhart
  • 16Trimmel
  • 17Schaub
  • 18Schöpf
  • 22Lazaro

North Macedonia

Formation 5-3-2

  • 1Dimitrievski
  • 16NikolovSubstituted forBejtulaiat 63'minutes
  • 13Ristovski
  • 14Velkovski
  • 6MusliuSubstituted forRistovskiat 86'minutes
  • 8AlioskiBooked at 52mins
  • 17BardhiSubstituted forTrichkovskiat 82'minutes
  • 5Ademi
  • 21Elmas
  • 10Pandev
  • 9TrajkovskiBooked at 42minsSubstituted forKostadinovat 63'minutes

Substitutes

  • 2Bejtulai
  • 4Ristevski
  • 7Trichkovski
  • 11Hasani
  • 12Jankov
  • 15Kostadinov
  • 19Velkoski
  • 20Spirovski
  • 22Siskovski
  • 24Avramovski
  • 25Churlinov
  • 26Ristovski
Referee:
Andreas Ekberg

Match Stats

Home TeamAustriaAway TeamNorth Macedonia
Possession
Home63%
Away37%
Shots
Home10
Away7
Shots on Target
Home6
Away2
Corners
Home4
Away0
Fouls
Home13
Away16

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Austria 3, North Macedonia 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Austria 3, North Macedonia 1.

  3. Substitution

    Substitution, Austria. Stefan Ilsanker replaces Xaver Schlager.

  4. Post update

    Michael Gregoritsch (Austria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  5. Post update

    Foul by Stefan Ristovski (North Macedonia).

  6. Substitution

    Substitution, Austria. Julian Baumgartlinger replaces Konrad Laimer.

  7. Goal!

    Goal! Austria 3, North Macedonia 1. Marko Arnautovic (Austria) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Konrad Laimer.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Martin Hinteregger (Austria).

  9. Post update

    Milan Ristovski (North Macedonia) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  10. Substitution

    Substitution, North Macedonia. Milan Ristovski replaces Visar Musliu.

  11. Booking

    Stefan Lainer (Austria) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Stefan Lainer (Austria).

  13. Post update

    Arijan Ademi (North Macedonia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Post update

    Corner, Austria. Conceded by Darko Velkovski.

  15. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Marcel Sabitzer (Austria) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Konrad Laimer.

  16. Post update

    Michael Gregoritsch (Austria) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  17. Post update

    Foul by Stefan Ristovski (North Macedonia).

  18. Substitution

    Substitution, North Macedonia. Ivan Trichkovski replaces Enis Bardhi.

  19. Post update

    Marko Arnautovic (Austria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Post update

    Foul by Visar Musliu (North Macedonia).

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Comments

Join the conversation

29 comments

  • Comment posted by PaidBot, today at 19:13

    What was the beef with Marko Arnautovic ? Seemed seriously peeved with his team mates, most of which walked away shaking their heads ?

  • Comment posted by You, today at 19:10

    England's racist fans showing themselves up again.
    Foreign fan insults England player = racist in the media.
    England fans racism on full display = 'boos drowned out'.

  • Comment posted by Tigger, today at 19:10

    Great win for Austria and great passion & effort from North Macedonia.

    If England had the Macedonia spirit we might have a chance of winning the Euros…. Take note England players.

    • Reply posted by Antlion, today at 19:12

      Antlion replied:
      That is why i was thinking the North Macedonian's looked good for QF. They came from nowhere and did a Croatia. They can still get in the QF but they need to make sure they don't push themselves beyond exhaustion again like they did against Austria.

  • Comment posted by Leslie Thornton, today at 19:09

    The dross keeps on coming it seems. Are there any good teams in Europe?

  • Comment posted by Your Comment, today at 19:07

    Good to see the Australians win against Alexander the Great's Macedonia.

    Didn't realise the Aussies were so good at Socceroo.

    • Reply posted by that swashbuckling polander of garwolin, today at 19:11

      that swashbuckling polander of garwolin replied:
      Against Bulgaria.

  • Comment posted by El_Cuervo, today at 19:06

    Looking forward to seeing Alaba in Madrid's defence next year. What a great player he is.

  • Comment posted by Rio, today at 19:06

    Good effort from NM. I'm a big fan of nation league. Tournament football grows a nation. Look at Scotland now if they hadn't qualified via NL they prob would have gone backwards.

  • Comment posted by DrCajetanCoelho, today at 19:06

    Congratulations to scorers Lainer, Gregoritsch and Arnautovic. Well played Austria.

  • Comment posted by CJM, today at 19:06

    Very poor NM. Comfortable for Austria.

    • Reply posted by BBC123, today at 19:09

      BBC123 replied:
      🤣 Riiiiiight......

      You do know that North Macedonia have never qualified for a main tournament and that Alaba alone earns more than the entire North Macedonia team put together? They put in a great shift, sadly they tired with 10 minutes to spare.

  • Comment posted by cassius, today at 19:06

    Most enjoyable game to watch so far.

  • Comment posted by Bianca Jackson 5 - Dead and loving it, today at 19:04

    Brilliant win for Austria. Tony Polster will be dead proud - fortunately he’s not dead. I make Austria the dark horses to win the tournament, especially when Shaqiri returns from injury.
    Austria shocked the world when they won the Euros in 1992, despite not originally qualifying - can they do it again?

    • Reply posted by Tigger, today at 19:08

      Tigger replied:
      Denmark won in 1992 after not qualifying not Austria

  • Comment posted by You, today at 19:04

    North Macedonia were great for 70 minutes then ran out of steam. Still, a decent showing at their first tournament. Much better than the England game, they were rotten. Home ground, homer ref.

    • Reply posted by FUDDenier, today at 19:13

      FUDDenier replied:
      Homer may have been Italian but I still don't get what you are trying to say.

      England bossed the match and got what they wanted, the Southgate way.

  • Comment posted by rollingstone65, today at 19:03

    Arnautovic is a good player but seems a horrible person. Can't imagine he's easy to work with

    • Reply posted by singher, today at 19:10

      singher replied:
      Yep, he seemed to have quite something to say to the Macedonians in Serbian. Gestures were questionable, too. Still - it's part of a different culture. I could imagine there's quite some mutual respect there; it just shows differently.

  • Comment posted by Antlion, today at 19:01

    At last, Austria get something on the board after several tough euros. Congratulations to them.

    I'm a little sore North Macedonia didn't beat them though, they look ready for QF's at least, but they ran themselves out of it by the 85th minute, which is something of a shame, but they came into it the first time and scored a goal, so that is superb progress for them as it is their first time.

  • Comment posted by fossit, today at 18:58

    Big up Arnie and the Austrian crew. Nice win!

  • Comment posted by FFCForever, today at 18:57

    This comment was removed because it broke the rules. Explain

    • Reply posted by vesperia09, today at 19:06

      vesperia09 replied:
      How refreshing!

As It Stands

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Italy11003033
2Wales10101101
3Switzerland10101101
4Turkey100103-30

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Belgium11003033
2Finland11001013
3Denmark100101-10
4Russia100103-30

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Austria11003123
2Netherlands00000000
3Ukraine00000000
4North Macedonia100113-20

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1England11001013
2Czech Rep00000000
3Scotland00000000
4Croatia100101-10

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Poland00000000
2Slovakia00000000
3Spain00000000
4Sweden00000000

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1France00000000
2Germany00000000
3Hungary00000000
4Portugal00000000
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