TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The 37-year-old Goran Pandev sent North Macedonia to its first major tournament, scoring the decisive goal Thursday in a 1-0 victory over Georgia to secure a spot at next year’s European Championship.
Pandev deftly finished off a neat passing move through the Georgia defense in the 56th minute in the single-game playoff to decide who advanced to the postponed Euro 2020 tournament.
The game was perhaps the biggest in the history of two young soccer nations, but no fans were allowed into the 54,000-seat national stadium in Tbilisi because of coronavirus restrictions in Georgia.