World Cup 2022: Enis Bardhi had a feeling they would reach the playoffs

– Do you remember anything from Sunday night?
– I get what you mean, but I remember everything – told our portalEnis Bardhi,the 26-year-old midfielder who plays for the Spanish team, Levante and the North Macedonian national team, and was a member of Újpest FC between 2014 and 2017, on Thursday. After beating Iceland 3–1 on Sunday with his country's national team, he finished second in the group and could prepare for the World Cup playoffs. – On one hand, I was raised to stay down to earth, and on the other hand, if someone is in the Spanish topflight, he cannot stay out late at night five days before the league. The win against Iceland was a great success for the nation: we reached a place worth of World Cup playoffs for the first time. However, all I did was that I hurt my vocal cords the next day because we let our voices out in the dressing room. My flight to Spain was on Monday night, so I couldn't do any more than that.

– Were you nervous before the match?
– This was the most important match for the national team since the European Championship, but the key to success was to stay calm on the pitch at all times. A footballer can feel it on the field when he is in control of the match and if he is playing better than the opponent. I also felt that there wouldn't be any problem.

– What is the reason that a tiny state like North Macedonia first was able to play at the European Championship, then finished in a place worth of World Cup playoffs?
– Maybe because we had a very strong U21 team, and over time, many of them joined the senior team. The atmosphere was completely different there. Along Goran Pandev or Aleksandar Trajkovski, the requirements were on different levels, but there was no tension between the younger and the older players; everyone was trying to get 100 percent out of themselves. The professional staff combined experience and youth well, and although after the European Championship the head coach and several older players said goodbye to the national team, the results confirm that we are also in good hands with Blagoja Milevski.

– You appear to be catching up with yourself after a hamstring muscle injury. You scored two goals against Atlético Madrid at the end of October and three for the national team in Armenia.
– Speaking of fitness, I'm catching up to myself more and more and the scoring goals are good for my confidence. My hat-trick against Armenia is special because it was the first time that I wore the captain's armband for the national team.

– All you need now to be completely happy is for Levante to move away from relegation from La Liga. Why hasn't the team won any match yet?
– Unfortunately, we started the season badly, we finished with a draw in several games that we could've won. After the disappointing results, confidence has waned and after the change of coaches, we needed time to transition ourselves to the new head coach's methods and understand what kind of football he wants from us. That said, we've got the quality in Levante, and I'm sure we'll go up and get the points we need to stay in.

– What do you expect from the match against Bilbao on Friday?
– La Liga has a balanced field; earning points even against FC Barcelona and Real Madrid is possible. Every match is unpredictable, so I expect a tough match against Bilbao. Most of the team has been preparing for this match for the last two weeks. We'll play on home ground in front of our own fans, so everything is given for our first victory.

Translated by: Vanda Orosz