Wales face North Macedonia in a winners-take-all showdown in 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group K.
Locked on 13 points apiece, victory would see Wales or North Macedonia secure a play-off, although the winner of this match could qualify automatically if Belgium suffer a shock defeat against Liechtenstein.
Team News
Wales will be without Ethan Ampadu and Jordan James after the pair picked up their second yellow-card bookings in their 1-0 win away to Liechtenstein.
North Macedonia have no fresh injury or suspension concerns following their goalless friendly draw at home to Latvia.
When is Kick-Off?
Wales host North Macedonia at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, on Tuesday 18 November at 7:45pm GMT, live on BBC One Wales in Wales, plus on BBC Three in rest of UK.
Stat Attack
- Wales have avoided defeat in two of their three previous World Cup Qualifiers against North Macedonia (W1, D1, L1).
- North Macedonia lost their only previous away World Cup Qualifier against Wales by 1-0 result in October 2013.
- Wales have kept just one clean sheet in their three previous meetings against North Macedonia.
- Joe Rodon has scored in Wales’ last two competitive home matches (W1, L1).
- North Macedonia are seeking to avoid going four matches without a win for the first time since a seven-match winless streak from November 2023 to September 2024.
Prediction
Although they will have momentum from their narrow win in Liechtenstein, Wales will need to be more clinical this time because this is an absolute must-win if want a play-off spot (assuming Belgium qualify automatically), as I thought they were wasteful against Liechtenstein with just one goal for their dominance.
North Macedonia meanwhile are certainly grinders with three consecutive draws coming into this game – of which two of those games finished 0-0, underlining how solid they’re so I am expecting them to make life as difficult as possible and try to nick a smash-and-grab winner.
With that in mind, I do feel that this will be quite scrappy but home advantage could well prove crucial for Wales if can find a way to cope without Ampadu and James.
Prediction: Wales 1-0 North Macedonia
Result: Wales 7-1 North Macedonia
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