World Cup Qualifying - Europe | Group Stage

Mar 25, 2025 at 7.45pm UK

Tose Proeski Arena

N. Macedonia vs Wales

Match preview

Wales finally got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a successful start as they seek a second successive appearance at FIFA's global finals - but it took a late strike from substitute Rabbi Matondo to calm their nerves.

Daniel James had given the hosts the lead in the ninth minute at the Cardiff City Stadium, but Kazakhstan equalised from the spot: Connor Roberts handled a cross and Karl Darlow could only parry the resulting penalty.

Captain Ben Davies headed the Dragons back in front shortly after half-time, but it was Matondo's first international goal in stoppage time that sealed the points.

New Cymru boss Craig Bellamy has made a fine start to life in charge of the Welsh national team, unbeaten in seven matches, and led Wales to promotion to the UEFA Nations League at the end of last year.

As a byproduct of topping their group, they virtually guaranteed themselves at least a play-off for a place in the World Cup, with more places available than ever before in an expanded tournament.

To automatically qualify for the 2026 finals, they will need to beat Belgium and North Macedonia, with Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein - both ranked outside the world's top 100 - unlikely to make the cut.

As such, Bellamy's boys will be aware that Tuesday's trip to Skopje is an important one - even at this early stage of the journey.

Heading into the Tose Proeski Arena clash, there have only been two previous meetings between the two nations, with each side winning at home en route to Brazil 2014.

More than a decade on, North Macedonia are still searching for their first World Cup appearance as an independent state, having missed out on the play-offs last time out.

Blagoja Milevski's side kicked off their latest campaign with a 3-0 win over Group J minnows Liechtenstein on Saturday, their sixth successive victory.

In total control after Aleksandar Trajkovski had given them the lead on seven minutes, they continued in the same vein that brought 2024 to such a successful conclusion.

Five successive wins - all without conceding a goal - saw the Lynxes automatically promoted to the second tier of the Nations League with a game in hand, signalling their readiness for the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Between now and November, Milevski's men will be looking to break new ground by becoming their country's first representatives on the world stage, and back-to-back home matches against Wales and Belgium could prove crucial.

Recent Performance

North Macedonia World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:W

North Macedonia form (all competitions):WWWWWW

Wales World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:W

Wales form (all competitions):WDWDWW

Team News

Wales went into their opening qualifier with a number of absentees, most notably captain Aaron Ramsey. The Cardiff City star will miss the rest of the season after undergoing hamstring surgery.

Harry Wilson, who has scored in four of his last five international appearances, is also out this month, along with Ethan Ampadu, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Ipswich Town winger Wes Burns.

As a result, Craig Bellamy has selected Sorba Thomas, Daniel James and David Brooks to back up Brennan Johnson against Kazakhstan, and that attacking quartet could be retained. If fresh legs are needed, Mark Harris or Rabbi Matondo could come off the bench.

Meanwhile, North Macedonia named a 27-man squad, with the only new inclusion being Luka Stankovski, who has scored three goals in 19 appearances for Serbian side Radnicki this season.

He was left on the bench as a familiar XI took to the field in Vaduz, with captain Enis Bardhi running the show in midfield, Torino star Eljif Elmas providing a creative spark and Girona striker Bojan Miovski leading the line alongside Aleksandar Trajkovski.

The latter pair both scored on Saturday and will continue to do so up front, while at the other end, goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski has kept six clean sheets in a row - a new national record.

Possible starting lineup

North Macedonia possible starting lineup:

Dimitrievski; Dimoski, Zajkov, Musliu, Alioski; Bardhi, Alimi; Churlinov, Elmas, Trajkovski; Miovski

Wales possible starting lineup:

Darlow; Roberts, Rodon, Davies, Williams; Sheehan, Cullen; Thomas, Brooks, D. James; Johnson