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EURO 2012 PREVIEW: ARMENIA - MACEDONIA .
Aleksandar Zlateski
MacedonianFootball.com
http://www.macedonianfootball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3559: euro-2012-preview-armenia-macedonia&catid=13:international&Itemid=64
Oct 6 2011
Macedonia faces Armenia today in a game all about pride for the
Macedonian players while Armenia will have strong support from the
home fans as they look to continue their improbable run on their way
to a possible top 2 finish in the group.
Manager John Toshack has still not announced the formation for
Macedonia. It is expected that Toshack will either field a 3-5-2
formation or stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation which was employed in
the qualifiers played last month. Toshack went with a 3-5-2 formation
during the test game on Tuesday between the senior national team
and the U21 team but he was not satisfied with the performance as
the players did not seem comfortable in the new system so he might
shift back to the 4-2-3-1 formation.
These upcoming games do not mean anything to Macedonia regarding the
final standings in Group B of the EURO 2012 qualifications. Macedonia
has already secured a fifth place finish regardless of the results
against Armenia and Slovakia. However, Toshack was just appointed
manager several months ago and the players will be motivated to impress
Toshack so they can remain in the picture for the 2014 World Cup
qualifications. Toshack has only managed two games so he is still in
the process of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each player.
Any individual who plays uninspired football might never receive
another call up by Toshack in the future so there will be motivation
to play well. Several players are only on the squad because of injuries
so this is their opportunity to make an impression on Toshack.
Armenia has been the biggest surprise in the group thus far. They are
playing with tremendous confidence right now and their biggest strength
seems to be teamwork. They work for one another and although Armenia
does not feature any big name players, they have become a formidable
opponent. In the last game, Armenia recorded an impressive 4:0 road
win over Slovakia.
The game has been sold out and the Armenian players will receive
strong support from the fans but also added pressure to win the game.
Armenia will need to maintain the pressure on their closest competitors
in the group so a win is needed in this game. Meanwhile, Macedonia has
nothing to lose and that philosophy worked last month when Macedonia
outplayed Russia for large portions of the game on the road. Toshack
is hoping for a similar performance against Armenia with the exception
of the score as Russia notched a minimal 1:0 victory in that game.
To date, Macedonia has played Armenia five times and has recorded two
wins, two draws, and one loss with a goal difference of +3. In the
last meeting on 7 September 2010, Macedonia was held to a 2:2 home
draw by needing a late penalty from Ilco Naumoski in the sixth minute
of stoppage time to collect a point. The other goal for Macedonia
was scored by Mario Gjurovski.
The match will be played at the Hanrapetakan Stadium in Yerevan with
the game scheduled to start at 17:00 CET. UEFA has assigned Robert
Schorgenhofer from Austria to referee the match which will be televised
on MTV in Macedonia.
Possible formation for Macedonia:
Bogatinov
Sikov-Mitreski-Noveski
Georgievski-Sumulikoski-Muarem-Demiri-Popov
Trickovski-M. Ivanovski
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Aleksandar Zlateski
MacedonianFootball.com
http://www.macedonianfootball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3559: euro-2012-preview-armenia-macedonia&catid=13:international&Itemid=64
Oct 6 2011
Macedonia faces Armenia today in a game all about pride for the
Macedonian players while Armenia will have strong support from the
home fans as they look to continue their improbable run on their way
to a possible top 2 finish in the group.
Manager John Toshack has still not announced the formation for
Macedonia. It is expected that Toshack will either field a 3-5-2
formation or stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation which was employed in
the qualifiers played last month. Toshack went with a 3-5-2 formation
during the test game on Tuesday between the senior national team
and the U21 team but he was not satisfied with the performance as
the players did not seem comfortable in the new system so he might
shift back to the 4-2-3-1 formation.
These upcoming games do not mean anything to Macedonia regarding the
final standings in Group B of the EURO 2012 qualifications. Macedonia
has already secured a fifth place finish regardless of the results
against Armenia and Slovakia. However, Toshack was just appointed
manager several months ago and the players will be motivated to impress
Toshack so they can remain in the picture for the 2014 World Cup
qualifications. Toshack has only managed two games so he is still in
the process of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each player.
Any individual who plays uninspired football might never receive
another call up by Toshack in the future so there will be motivation
to play well. Several players are only on the squad because of injuries
so this is their opportunity to make an impression on Toshack.
Armenia has been the biggest surprise in the group thus far. They are
playing with tremendous confidence right now and their biggest strength
seems to be teamwork. They work for one another and although Armenia
does not feature any big name players, they have become a formidable
opponent. In the last game, Armenia recorded an impressive 4:0 road
win over Slovakia.
The game has been sold out and the Armenian players will receive
strong support from the fans but also added pressure to win the game.
Armenia will need to maintain the pressure on their closest competitors
in the group so a win is needed in this game. Meanwhile, Macedonia has
nothing to lose and that philosophy worked last month when Macedonia
outplayed Russia for large portions of the game on the road. Toshack
is hoping for a similar performance against Armenia with the exception
of the score as Russia notched a minimal 1:0 victory in that game.
To date, Macedonia has played Armenia five times and has recorded two
wins, two draws, and one loss with a goal difference of +3. In the
last meeting on 7 September 2010, Macedonia was held to a 2:2 home
draw by needing a late penalty from Ilco Naumoski in the sixth minute
of stoppage time to collect a point. The other goal for Macedonia
was scored by Mario Gjurovski.
The match will be played at the Hanrapetakan Stadium in Yerevan with
the game scheduled to start at 17:00 CET. UEFA has assigned Robert
Schorgenhofer from Austria to referee the match which will be televised
on MTV in Macedonia.
Possible formation for Macedonia:
Bogatinov
Sikov-Mitreski-Noveski
Georgievski-Sumulikoski-Muarem-Demiri-Popov
Trickovski-M. Ivanovski
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress