Contents
- Competition: WC Qualifiers Europe
- Date: Friday, 6th, June 2025
- Kickoff: 19:45 UK / 20:45 CEST
- Venue: National Arena Toshe Proeski (Skoplje)
Belgium will be aiming to kick off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on a high note when they travel to Skopje to face group leaders North Macedonia on Friday.
After a stellar UEFA Nations League campaign where they topped their group and earned a well-deserver promotion to League B, the Lynxes carried their momentum into World Cup qualifying by cruising past Liechtenstein with a 3-0 triumph and holding their own in a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Wales.
Since Group J of the World Cup qualifying campaign features just five teams, Belgium sat out the March window, but with Rudi Garcia now calling the shots from the touchline, they’ll be eager to lay down a marker and underline their ambition to reach the finals for a fourth time in a row.
North Macedonia vs Belgium Betting Tips : BTTS
It's natural that the Belgians are set as favorites, but getting all the points will be anything but a simple misssion, as the Lynxes have proven to be a toughest side to overcome on their home turf, fueled further by their confidend start to the World Cup qualifiers where they earned four points from their first pair of games. In this case, goals at both ends seem like an appealing and logical choice because not only have they remained unbeaten in their last seven home fixtures across all competitions - a run that includes impressive draws agianst Italy and England at 1-1 - the Macedonians have been almost unstoppable in front of goal with a great run of 12 straight matches in Skopje in which they managed to find the net successfully. With such an effective offensive lineup, the Lynxes will surely be envisioning their chances to get on the scoreboard in Friday’s clash, especially since Belgium has been off their game for quite some time, winning only two of their last ten matches across all formats and recording only one quiet shutout during that stretch. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine the Macedonians keeping the Red Devils at bay given the world-class attackers like Kevin De Bruyne, Doku, Trossard, Openda, and Lukaku, so fans at the National Arena Toshe Proeski can expect an exciting and high-scoring battle where the net should ripple at least once on each side.
North Macedonia vs Belgium Head to Head (H2H) stats
-
Belgium
1 : 0
North Macedonia
WC Qualification Europe
-
North Macedonia
0 : 2
Belgium
WC Qualification Europe
North Macedonia team news
Compared to the lineup that earned a 1-1 draw in Wales on matchday two and dominated Liechtenstein 3-0 on opening day, the only absence is Nikola Serafimov, who has been sidelined for a while due to injury.
In that case, Jani Atanasov could slot into a defensive trio alongside Zajkov and Musliu, with the rest of the starting XI expected to remain unchanged.
Last matches of North Macedonia
-
North Macedonia
1 : 1
Wales
WC Qualification Europe
-
Liechtenstein
0 : 3
North Macedonia
WC Qualification Europe
-
North Macedonia
1 : 0
Faroe Islands
UEFA Nations League
-
North Macedonia
1 : 0
Latvia
UEFA Nations League
-
Armenia
0 : 2
North Macedonia
UEFA Nations League
North Macedonia lineup
Goalkeeper
-
1
Stole Dimitrievski
Defenders
-
6
Visar Musliu
-
21
Jani Atanasov
-
5
Gjoko Zajkov
Midfielders
-
8
Ezgjan Alioski
-
18
Tihomir Kostadinov
-
16
Isnik Alimi
-
2
Bojan Ilievski
Forwards
-
10
Enis Bardhi
-
7
Eljif Elmas
-
20
Bojan Miovski
Belgium team news
Appointed on January 24, Rudi Garcia is set to lead his side into their first World Cup qualifier on Friday, likely sticking with the same group that swept Ukraine 3–0 in the Nations League on March 23.
Due to an injury suffered towards the end of the Premier League season, Fulham’s Timothy Castagne will miss the June World Cup qualifiers, handing the left-back role to Maxim De Cuyper.
Last matches of Belgium
-
Belgium
3 : 0
Ukraine
UEFA Nations League
-
Ukraine
3 : 1
Belgium
UEFA Nations League
-
Israel
1 : 0
Belgium
UEFA Nations League
-
Belgium
0 : 1
Italy
UEFA Nations League
-
Belgium
1 : 2
France
UEFA Nations League
Belgium lineup
Goalkeeper
-
13
Matz Sels
Defenders
-
5
Maxim De Cuyper
-
2
Zeno Debast
-
4
Wout Faes
-
15
Thomas Meunier
Midfielders
-
20
Hans Vanaken
-
6
Nicolas Raskin
-
7
Kevin De Bruyne
Forwards
-
22
Jérémy Doku
-
10
Romelu Lukaku
-
11
Leandro Trossard
3 Reasons why we expect BTTS
- North Macedonia have scored in 12 consecutive home matches.
- Belgium have gone without a clean sheet in nine straight matches across all competitions.
- Belgium have outsmarted North Macedonia in three consecutive head-to-heads with an aggregate score of 8-0.
Main prediction North Macedonia - Belgium
Both Teams to Score
Best Odds:
Additional predictions
North Macedonia & Belgium current standing in WC Qualification Europe
Group J | P | W | D | L |
G - A
|
GD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | North Macedonia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 - 1 | +3 | 4 |
2 | Wales | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 - 2 | +2 | 4 |
3 | Kazakhstan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 - 3 | 0 | 3 |
4 | Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
5 | Liechtenstein | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 - 5 | -5 | 0 |