North Macedonia men's national handball team

The Macedonian national handball team is the national handball team of North Macedonia. The team is run by the Macedonian Handball Federation, the governing body of handball in North Macedonia. Prior to joining the International Handball Federation in 1991 as an independent country, North Macedonia was represented within the Yugoslavia men's national handball team.

North Macedonia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Information
NicknameRed-Yellow Lions
AssociationMacedonian Handball Federation
CoachKiril Lazarov
Assistant coachBiljana Crvenkoska
Aco Jonovski
Ice Sokoleski
CaptainNikola Mitrevski
Most capsStevče Aluševski (245)
Most goalsKiril Lazarov (1717)
Colours
Kit left arm yellowborder.png
Team colours
Kit body senica1617h.png
Team colours
Kit right arm yellowborder.png
Team colours
Kit shorts yellow stripes.png
Team colours
1st
Kit left arm redborder.png
Team colours
Kit body hummelcorepoly1718y.png
Team colours
Kit right arm redborder.png
Team colours
Kit shorts red stripes.png
Team colours
2nd
Team colours
Kit body cdnacional1617a.png
Team colours
Team colours
Kit shorts black stripes.png
Team colours
3rd
Results
World Championship
Appearances8 (First in 1999)
Best result9th (2015)
European Championship
Appearances7 (First in 1998)
Best result5th (2012)
Last updated on Unknown.

HistoryEdit

 
Macedonian bench at EURO 2018
 
Macedonia team Attacks at EURO 2020

First Handball teams in Macedonia emerged in the second half of the 1940s. Soon Macedonian Handball federation started to organize national championships in big handball −11 players on a soccer field size. By the '60s it was transformed into small handball or indoor handball. Macedonian champions were qualified for federal Yugoslav Championship instead of European cup competitions. The best Macedonian players played for the Federal team of Yugoslavia. In the time of the federation, 6 of the constitutional republics were sending one federal team to compete at the Olympics and World cup. Macedonia was participating within the federal team from 1950 till 1991. After the split of the federation, as a single republic from 1992 till 1994 Macedonia did not manage to enter the qualifications for EC, WC and OG. From 1995 Macedonia participates as a single Republic to all qualifications and Championship tournaments.

During the period 1958 till 1991 Macedonia was within the Federation of SFRJ. It was represented internationally within the team Yugoslavia as part of the Federation of 6 Republics. Macedonia is not a successor of the results of team Yugoslavia it was just part of it. During that time was present at the 5 Olympics and 10 World cup tournaments within the successful team Yugoslavia. After the split Macedonian team started to compete representing the single independent Republic. At the 1992 Olympics Yugoslavia team was banned to participate. At the World cup 1993 only teams from the Olympics qualified so the Macedonian team did not have a chance to qualify. For the first European Championship 1994 team Macedonia did not enter the qualifications. For the World cup 1995 only teams from EURO 1994 qualified so again team Macedonian did not get a chance to participate. Since EURO 1996 team Macedonia is regular in the qualifications. It entered 6 European Championships first one in 1998 then 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. Most successful was the 2012 when they've finished 5th. For the World Cup's they entered 7 times – 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021. The most successful was in 2015 when they finished 9th. For the Olympic tournament qualifications they have entered two times – 2012 finishing 4th and 2016 finishing 3rd .They did not manage to finish in the first two spots and have not qualified.

Home groundEdit

 
Boris Trajkovski Sports Center
 
Boris Trajkovski Sports Center side view

The BTSC – Boris Trajkovski Sports Center Macedonian: Спортски центар Борис Трајковски, Skopje is a multi-functional indoor sports arena. It is located in the Karpoš Municipality of Skopje, Macedonia. It is named after the former president, Boris Trajkovski. Its capacity is 10,000 .There is an Olympic size Swimming Pool and 5 Star Hotel Alexander Palace within the complex. Additional Water Land Fun Park and Ice Skating Rink next to it.

The arena is a home ground of the Macedonian handball team (men and women). The venue also contains four restaurants and a sports bar. It was one of two venues for the 2008 European Women's Handball Championship and will be used again for the 2022 European Women's Handball Championship for the preliminary and main round.

ColorsEdit

National kit colors are colors of the flag which are also spread on the presidential shield. Noble blood red and golden yellow sun devine "ILI".

Competitive recordEdit

Olympic GamesEdit

Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
  1972 to   1988 1972,1976,1980,1984,1988
Within Yugoslavia team
(1),(5),(6),(1),(3)
  1992 banned
  1996 Could not participate in qualification
  2000 World cup served as qualifiers
Did not qualify for World Cup
Did not enter
  2004
  2008
  2012 play off
  2016 play off
  2020 Did not qualify
  2024 TBD
  2028
Total 0/3

World ChampionshipEdit

 
EHF EURO 2012 squad
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
  1958 to   1990 1958,1961,1964,1967, 1970,1974,1978,1982,1986,1990
Within Yugoslavia team
(8),(9),(6),(7),(3),(3),(5),(2),(1),(4)
  1993 Could not participate in qualification
  1995
  1997 Did not qualify
  1999 Preliminary round 18th 5 1 0 4 122 149 −27
  2001 Did not qualify
  2003
  2005
  2007
  2009 Main Round 11th 11 5 0 6 309 322 −13
  2011 Did not qualify
  2013 Round of 16 14th 6 2 1 3 165 171 −6
  2015 Round of 16 9th 6 4 0 2 181 168 +13
  2017 Round of 16 15th 6 2 1 3 163 171 −8
   2019 President's Cup 15th 7 3 0 4 191 199 −8
  2021 Main round 23rd 6 1 0 5 138 192 −54
   2023 President's Cup 27th 7 3 0 4 221 224 −3
    2025 To be determined
  2027
Total 8/14 54 21 2 31 1490 1596 −106

European ChampionshipEdit

 
Lazarov Against Germany EHF EURO 2018
 
Velkovski Against Denmark EHF EURO 2018
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
  1994 Did not participate
  1996 Did not qualify
  1998 Preliminary Round 12th 5 0 1 5 130 174
  2000 Did not qualify
  2002
  2004
  2006
  2008
  2010
  2012 5th / 6th place 5th 7 4 1 2 185 175
  2014 Main Round 10th 6 1 1 4 141 167
  2016 Main Round 11th 6 0 2 4 157 176
  2018 Main Round 11th 6 2 1 3 143 164
    2020 Preliminary round 15th 3 1 0 2 79 84
   2022 Preliminary round 22nd 3 0 0 3 70 86
  2024 To be determined
    2026
    2028
Total 7/14 34 8 6 20 835 941

Mediterranean GamesEdit

Year Round Position GP W D L
1993–2009 Did not participate
  2013 Group stage 8th 4 2 0 2
  2018 Group stage 13th 3 1 0 2
  2022 Semi Finals 4th 5 2 1 2
Total 3/3 12 5 1 6

Macedonian fansEdit

Macedonia has great support at their matches from their fans. There is always a great number of fans following the national team on every World Cup or EURO championship they attend. Cheerful friendly fans create a great atmosphere at every game.

TeamEdit

Current squadEdit

Squad for the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship.[1][2]

Head coach: Kiril Lazarov

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
1 GK Nikola Mitrevski (1985-10-03) 3 October 1985 (age 37) 1.88 m 125 6   FC Porto Sofarma
3 LW Dejan Manaskov (1992-08-26) 26 August 1992 (age 30) 1.82 m 74 279   RK Vardar 1961
9 CB Igor Gjorgiev (2000-06-02) 2 June 2000 (age 22) 1.91 m 6 9   RK Alkaloid
11 LB Filip Taleski (1996-03-28) 28 March 1996 (age 26) 2.00 m 55 131   RK Vardar 1961
12 GK Martin Tomovski (1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 25) 1.94 m 17 0   RK Vardar 1961
17 P Nikola Markoski (1990-05-22) 22 May 1990 (age 32) 1.98 m 60 20   RK Alkaloid
18 LB Filip Kuzmanovski (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 (age 26) 1.98 m 53 75   TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
19 RW Nenad Kosteski (2001-03-04) 4 March 2001 (age 22) 1.89 m 5 7   RK Eurofarm Pelister
22 RW Goce Georgievski (1987-02-12) 12 February 1987 (age 36) 1.85 m 125 286   RK Vardar 1961
31 LB Mihajlo Mladenovikj (2000-09-21) 21 September 2000 (age 22) 1.90 m 6 0   RK Alkaloid
33 P Žarko Peševski (1991-04-11) 11 April 1991 (age 31) 1.95 m 60 85   RK Eurofarm Pelister
34 RB Tomislav Jagurinovski (1998-08-19) 19 August 1998 (age 24) 1.88 m 7 5   RK Tineks Prolet
38 CB Ivan Djonov (1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 25) 1.95 m 2 3   RK Tineks Prolet
42 P Marko Stojkovikj (2003-06-27) 27 June 2003 (age 19) 2.04 m 1 3   RK Alkaloid
55 LW Petar Atanasijevikj (2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 (age 19) 1.92 m 0 0   RK Eurofarm Pelister 2
77 RB Martin Serafimov (2000-03-03) 3 March 2000 (age 23) 1.90 m 21 14   RK Alkaloid
79 RB David Savrevski (2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 (age 20) 1.99 m 0 0   RK Vardar 1961
88 CB Pavle Atanasijevikj (2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 (age 19) 1.95 m 2 3   RK Eurofarm Pelister
92 P Kostadin Petrov (1992-03-30) 30 March 1992 (age 30) 1.90 m 1 0   Þór Akureyri

Notable playersEdit

 
Manaskov in action

StatisticsEdit

Record against other teamsEdit

As of 3 May 2021

Key
Positive total balance (more wins)
Neutral total balance (equal W/L ratio)
Negative total balance (more losses)
National team Total Olympic Games World Championship European Championship Mediterranean Games Qualifications
Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L
  Algeria 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Angola 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Austria 5 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 1
  Bahrain 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Belarus 4 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 1
  Belgium 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 0 0
  Bosnia and
Herzegovina
7 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 2 2
  Brazil 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
  Bulgaria 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 0 0
  Chile 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0
  Croatia 6 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1
  Cuba 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Cyprus 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0
  Czech Republic 15 5 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 3 10 4 2 4
  Denmark 7 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 3 2 1 0 1
  Egypt 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Estonia 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 2 0
  Finland 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 1 0
  France 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
  Germany 5 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
  Greece 8 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 6 0 2
  Hungary 12 2 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 11 2 0 9
  Iceland 18 4 2 12 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 14 4 1 9
  Iran 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Israel 4 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 1
  Italy 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0
  Japan 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Latvia 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0
  Lithuania 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2
  Luxemburg 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0
  Montenegro 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Netherlands 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1
  Norway 5 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 1
  Poland 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
  Portugal 8 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 4 0 4
  Qatar 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Romania 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 2
  Russia 5 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
  Saudi Arabia 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Serbia 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Slovakia 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1
  Slovenia 7 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
  South Korea 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Spain 7 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
  Sweden 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
  Switzerland 11 5 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 10 4 0 6
  Tunisia 5 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
  Turkey 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 5 5 0 0
  Ukraine 5 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 1 2 1
Total (49) 244 108 21 115

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ "Селекторот Кирил Лазаров го објави списокот на повикани ракометари за IHF Men's World Championship 2023 POL/SWE" (in Macedonian). macedoniahandball.com.mk. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Team Roster North Macedonia" (PDF). ihf.info. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

External linksEdit