'Our dream came true' says North Macedonia after winning Euro 2020 place
Last updated on: 13 November,2020 06:22 pm
'Our dream came true' says North Macedonia after winning Euro 2020 place
SKOPJE, Republic of North Macedonia (AFP) - The small Balkan state of North Macedonia was over the moon Friday after qualifying for next year’s European football championships, a historic victory that goes beyond sport for a country which struggled for decades to have even its name recognised.
Thousands of jubilant fans waving the country’s red-and-yellow flag poured into the streets of the capital Skopje Thursday, singing the national anthem and setting off fireworks, after the Red Lynxes beat Georgia 1-0 in a tense playoff final in Tbilisi.
Since gaining independence three decades ago, the country of some two million people had never come close to reaching a major tournament, but were given a chance after UEFA’s Nations League offered Europe’s minnows a route to Euro 2020, as the tournament postponed due to Covid-19 is still to be called.
On Friday morning, the returning heroes were greeted by fans and members of the government while newspapers ran headlines like "Football Euphoria" and "Skopje Burns".
"Our dream came true," said the team’s captain Goran Pandev, the veteran forward who scored the winning goal in the 56th minute.
"The boys deserved this and we are still not fully aware of what we have done. I simply did not believe that at the age of 38 I would qualify for a Euro," added Pandev, a former player for Italian giants Inter Milan who is now with Genoa and is his country’s all-time top goal-scorer.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who led the welcome party, hailed the "joy" they team had created.
"One goal for all, one win for all!" he said, celebrating the team’s ethnic diversity.