Following their secession from the former Yugoslavia in 1990, Macedonia have competed in international football competitions as an independent state, becoming a member of FIFA in 1994. In their first attempt at qualifying, for the 1998 FIFA World Cup France™, Macedonia managed a very creditable fourth place in Group 8. In the process they most notably gave Liechtenstein an 11-1 drubbing and beat subsequent qualifiers Ireland 3-2.

Ending up fourth once again in the qualifiers for Korea/Japan 2002 left the Macedonians hungry for something more in their qualification bid for Euro 2004. But aside from their notable 2-2 draw with England, they failed to convince and finished disappointingly second-to-last in their group.

The road to Germany 2006 was notable for the two draws they managed against the Netherlands - 2-2 in Skopje, 0-0 away, the only points the group winners dropped in 12 games - but otherwise there was not a lot of get excited about as they finished in fifth place with just two wins.

With Mirsad Jonuz now in charge, there is hope that the qualifiers for South Africa will not prove another source of frustration.