Veteran Pandev sends North Macedonia to Euro 2020

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Playoff Final - Georgia v North Macedonia - Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia - November 12, 2020 North Macedonia's Goran Pandev celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze

North Macedonia qualified for Euro 2020, the first-ever major tournament in the team's 27-year history, when a second-half goal from 37-year-old forward Goran Pandev gave them a 1-0 win away to Georgia in their playoff on Thursday.

Pandev, his country's most capped player and all-time leading scorer, flicked the ball home in the 56th minute of a tense, scrappy match played on a slippery pitch and was in tears as his team celebrated at the end.

Georgia, also hoping to qualify for their first major tournament, lost their composure after the goal and never threatened to get back into the game.

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Playoff Final - Georgia v North Macedonia - Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia - November 12, 2020 Georgia's Nika Kacharava in action with North Macedonia's Egzon Bejtulai and Darko Velkovski REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze

North Macedonia will face Austria, the Netherlands and Ukraine in Group C at Euro 2020, which has been postponed until June-July next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will play for our nation's pride in the finals," said coach Igor Angelovski. "Pandev scored a beautiful goal to take us through."

North Macedonia qualified by what some regard as the back door, via the fourth division of UEFA's inaugural Nations League competition, but their players were not going to let that detract from their achievement.

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Playoff Final - Georgia v North Macedonia - Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia - November 12, 2020 Referee Anthony Taylor shows yellow card REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze

"I am so happy. I've have played in a lot of games like this before and I think my experience helped the team to achieve this success," said Pandev.

With so much at stake, the match was predictably cagey and it took 28 minutes before either goalkeeper had to make a save when Georgian playmaker Tornike Okriashvili tested Stole Dimitrievski with a long-range shot.

Okriashvili also sent a shot swerving narrowly wide of the post as Georgia threatened to take control. But, with winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia missing after testing positive for COVID-19, they lacked invention in attack.

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Playoff Final - Georgia v North Macedonia - Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia - November 12, 2020 North Macedonia's Stefan Ristovski and teammates in action REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze

There were 29 fouls in a stop-start match and only four shots on target but the neatly-worked winning goal was in contrast to the general scrappiness.

Eljif Elmas broke down the left and slipped the ball to Ilija Nestorovski inside the penalty area and he found Pandev who flicked the ball passed Giorgi Loria for his 36th international goal.

North Macedonia had only one real scare when an intended cross by Okriashvili nearly flew into the top corner but Dimitrievski caught it under the bar and just managed to cling on.

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Playoff Final - Georgia v North Macedonia - Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia - November 12, 2020 Georgia's Lasha Dvali in action with North Macedonia's Stefan Ristovski REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze

(Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Ed Osmond and Pritha Sarkar)