In the 41st minute, when the score was 0-0, North Macedonia was awarded a penalty after Rico Lewis jumped high to clear the ball but accidentally hit Miovski in the face from the home team. After consulting VAR, the referee decided to award North Macedonia a penalty.
In the first 11m kick, Enis Bardhi failed to beat Jordan Pickford. However, number 10 was able to rush in and score the rebound to put the world's 66th ranked team ahead 1-0.
Rico Lewis swung his arm at an opposing player.
Referee Filip Glova’s decision was met with a wave of criticism on social media, including from English football legends. “Oh my god, why did the referee blow a penalty in that situation? ”, commented the once-famous midfielder, John Terry.
Agreeing, former striker Gary Lineker said: “ That was not dangerous at all. It was the most ridiculous penalty decision I have ever seen.” Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher wrote: “ Penalties are being awarded a bit haphazardly in Europe these days. Before that, Harry Maguire committed a more obvious foul and the referee didn’t give it.”
In the absence of Jude Bellingham, and with nothing to play for, England performed below expectations at Toshe Proeski Stadium.
Despite controlling the ball up to 81%, coach Gareth Southgate's team did not create many notable attacks, and could have even received 2 penalties in the first half, if the referee discovered Harry Maguire's clumsy foul.
It wasn’t until the 47th minute that the Three Lions finally got the ball into the home team’s net thanks to Jack Grealish. However, VAR once again intervened and took away the joy of the away team’s players.
Harry Kane was not brought on until the 58th minute. Just one minute later, the Bayern Munich striker helped England equalize. Harry Kane's effort led to an own goal by Jani Atanasov.
England drew 1-1, ending a four-match winning streak, but this did not affect their top position in Group C. The "Three Lions" have 20 points, six points ahead of second-placed Italy.
Minh Tu
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