MACEDONIA MAYHEM

SAM TODD RECALLS WHEN ENGLAND'S GOLDEN GENERATION TOILED AGAINST UNHERALDED OPPONENTS IN SOUTHAMPTON JUST OVER 20 YEARS AGO...

WITH wins over Italy and Ukraine - arguably the toughest teams in their group - already in the Euro 2024 bank, England will be looking to accumulate another six points when they take on Malta and North Macedonia in the next round of international fixtures.

Supporters of the Three Lions will hope the latter leg of the double-header turns out to be a more enjoyable occasion than the last time Macedonia (as they were then called) came to England for a European Championship qualifier - as will current manager Gareth Southgate, who was an unused substitute when Macedonia almost pulled off a famous victory.

Like the upcoming tie at Old Trafford, the match at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium on October 16, 2002 was the second part of a double-header - England having secured a come-from-behind 2-1 win in Slovakia four days earlier.

It came less than a year after a World Cup quarter-final exit. Although there was disappointment in Japan and South Korea, when England lost to eventual champions Brazil despite taking the lead and having a one-man advantage for most of the second half, there was still a sense of excitement as the concept of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s ‘Golden Generation’ touring the country while Wembley was being redeveloped remained something of a novelty.