Steve McClaren's men were made to work extremely hard by the team ranked 67th in the world. But they stuck at their task and left Skopje with the win thanks to a volley from Crouch which rattled the bar and bounced just over the line.
McClaren had warned his players this would be tough against an erratic team capable of pulling off shock results.
Macedonia drew twice with Holland in the qualifiers for the World Cup and they looked as if they fancied their chances of embarrassing England.
Srecko Katanec's team caused their share of problems for McClaren's back four, who must have been relieved when the final whistle sounded.
Macedonia produced a strong finish and Ashley Cole was forced to scramble the ball off the line in the closing moments.
In the end, England passed the first real test under the new regime thanks to another Crouch goal. His incredible international scoring record is now 11 goals from 14 appearances.
All of them have come in six months since March, when he opened his account in a friendly against Uruguay at Anfield.
Wayne Rooney will be back from suspension for the next game against Macedonia at Old Trafford - but Crouch looks impossible to drop.
England struggled to find the rhythm they had enjoyed in the friendly against Greece and the win against Andorra.
Fussy French referee Bertrand Layec did not help the flow with his constant whistling.
Ilco Naumoski was lucky to stay on the pitch, however, in the ninth minute.
Naumoski collected a stupid booking after only 26 seconds for trying to obstruct Paul Robinson as he took a kick. Then the Macedonia striker, chasing a ball down his team's left, used his elbow to poke it past Phil Neville.
Layec must have seen it because he gave a free-kick but he opted not to show a second yellow card for deliberate handball.
England were slow to find their passing range on a dry and difficult surface but they carved out three good first-half chances thanks to long-throws from Phil Neville.
It may have been crude but it proved effective with beanpole Crouch causing problems for defenders.
First, Crouch forced goalkeeper Jane Nikoloski to make his first save in the 25th minute when he got his head to one.
Then a Neville throw was allowed to bounce in the penalty area and Jermain Defoe tried his luck with an overhead kick.
He was off-target and missed another sharp chance before the break when Crouch flicked a Neville throw to him and the Spurs striker fired over.
England took control as half-time approached but needed a brave block from Terry to stay level, three minutes before the break.
Terry hurled himself in front of a fierce shot from Velice Sumulikoski.
The England skipper was then on the spot to clear the danger when Macedonia's Lazio striker Goran Pandev beat Rio Ferdinand in the air.
Ferdinand, in for Wes Brown, was the only change to the team who started against Andorra on Saturday.
Frank Lampard, subdued against Andorra, started to impose himself on midfield as the game went on.
The Chelsea midfielder caught a 25-yarder sweetly in the final minute of the first half and forced Nikoloski into a full-length save.
Seconds after the break, Macedonia's keeper was beaten by Crouch and England had the breathing space they wanted.
Lampard was at the heart of the move, chasing into the penalty box on the right to force a mistake.
He picked up the loose ball and turned it back across the face of goal, where Crouch adjusted well to produce a volley with his right foot.
The shot hit the underside of the bar and bounced down, the whole of the ball crossing the line.
Macedonia scrambled it away but the linesman was alert and referee Layec signalled a goal.
The goal eased English nerves which were starting to jangle a little. Crouch went close again in the 59th minute when he unleashed a drive from just inside the box.
The Liverpool hitman struck it well but his effort was narrowly off-target.
Gerrard forced Nikoloski to make another diving save and Terry was wide with a snapshot from Lampard's corner.
The England captain also remained rock-solid in defence, twice making vital interceptions in his own penalty area.
Robinson was forced to make a rare save, 17 minutes from time, to deny Pandev.
Artim Sakiri shaved the post with a low shot after coming on as a sub and Cole was forced to clear off the line from Darko Tasevski in a breathless finish.
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