Northern Macedonia’s loss to Ukraine on Thursday afternoon was a farewell that no football fan who watched Euro 2020 wanted to do.
Igor Angelovski’s men bowed out of the delayed European Championship, after losing both of their opening two group matches – 3-1 against Austria on match day one and 2-1 against Andriy Shevchenko’s side on match day two. But one thing is for sure; These happy underdogs have combat, spirit and, undeniably, some quality.
On reflection, Ukraine simply had too much quality for them on the day. Northern Macedonia fought a good fight but Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko dominated the midfield and ran like Stefan Spirovski and Arijan Ademi broken, while creative, intelligent and sometimes artistic wing and back play saw Angelovski’s side struggle to contain the waves with yellow pressure.
Andriy Yarmolenko scored his second goal of the tournament / Mihai Barbu – Pool / Getty Images
But going forward, the Macedonians did not give up and took defeat. But their lack of midfield power made it too difficult to break out and create clear, goal-defending opportunities.
Enis Bardhi, the man who had the task of breaking through Ukraine’s midfield, played well. In fact, he was Northern Macedonia’s best player and often showed a feeling, driving and technical ability that sends the spectators wild. But that was not enough.
He was alone in that venture far too often and struggled to connect things when they were given too few options. Things might have turned out differently if 21-year-old Eljif Elmas had been used in a different way. The Napoli prospect performed fantastically in his nation’s opening match against Austria and showed an almost arrogant nonchalance in everything he created from the depths.
Eljif Elmas vs. Austria / MARKO DJURICA / Getty Images
Against Ukraine, however, he was deployed as a striker, tasked with adding the rapid traction in an attack that included 37-year-old Goran Pandev. In the name of justice, Elmas showed a brilliant understanding of position on several occasions and presented an alternative in the 18-yard box – but that’s not his game.
Had he been allowed to sit in midfield and express himself freely, you have to imagine that defense and attack would have been linked in a much more effective way and that the only deep-lying midfielder Taras Stepanenko would have been in a terrible time – instead of a walk in the park he had.
When Zinchenko and Mykola Shaparenko stepped up, he was left isolated in the middle and – while he is a good player – he is no N’Golo Kante. Elma’s edge would have been the driving force from the depths to really ask questions beyond the opposition’s midfield, rather than seeing the ball come back again after time – especially in the first half.
Enis Bardhi Could Not Outmaneuver Ukraine’s Midfield / DANIEL MIHAILESCU / Getty Images
Elma’s ability to turn away from opponents and pull his side up would have given Ukraine a completely different challenge – impressive qualities that gave him a place among 90min Our 21.
Northern Macedonia may have bowed out of Euro 2020, but they still have one match left to play against heavyweight opponents, the Netherlands. With the excitement raised and everyone except the Dutch cheering on them, it will be interesting to see what they – and the exciting promising Elmas – can produce at the big opportunity.
