Ezgjan Alioski of North Macedonia scored a dramatic late equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw in their home clash with Belgium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, extending their impressive unbeaten run to nine matches (W6, D3).

While Belgium were just beginning their qualifying campaign, North Macedonia went into the match on the back of taking four points from their opening two qualifiers.

Encouraged by these results, the hosts came close to taking a surprise lead when they hit the woodwork twice in quick succession.

Eljif Elmas drove a fierce strike against the upright, before Alioski somehow managed to fire the rebound against the opposite post.

They were quickly made to rue these missed opportunities when Belgium took the lead thanks to Maxim De Cuyper’s third international goal. The Club Brugge full-back had the simple task of tapping home after Romelu Lukaku’s initial effort was blocked, ensuring the visitors took a precious lead into the break in Skopje.

Following Blagoja Milevski’s advice at half-time, North Macedonia thought they had made the perfect start to the second half when Elmas' shot deflected in off his teammate Bojan Ilievski.

However, the home crowd’s initial celebration turned to frustration when the referee disallowed the goal for offside following a VAR review.

Having been reminded of the precarious nature of their lead, Belgium threatened to secure a second goal when Nicolas Raskin hit the post with a shot from Jeremy Doku’s neat cut-back.

The Lynxes ultimately capitalised on that reprieve when Alioski produced a moment of magic to equalise in the 87^(th) minute. The former Leeds United player stretched out his left leg to volley home a dropping ball, sparking scenes of jubilation at the National Arena Tose Proeski.

Alioski’s strike maintains his country’s unbeaten start to the World Cup qualifiers and denies Rudi Garcia a win in his first qualifying game as Belgium boss.