North Macedonia vs Wales prediction, H2H and probable lineups - March 25, 2025
One of the second round matches of the European qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup will be played on Tuesday at the Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje, where the North Macedonia national team will host Wales. I suggest betting on the outcome of this encounter with a good coefficient.
Match preview
Blagoja Milevski's team has long established itself as an organized and combative unit, even without big stars in its ranks. The entire attacking power of the "Red Lions" is built around three creative performers – Elif Elmas (Torino), Enis Bardhi (Bodrumspor), and Bojan Miovski (Girona), who are responsible for creating and converting chances.
In the first round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Macedonians confidently dealt with Liechtenstein (3-0) away, demonstrating a high level of discipline and efficiency. Last autumn, North Macedonia confirmed its competitiveness by winning five out of six matches in the Nations League, securing promotion to League B. Of course, the opposition in the form of Latvia, Armenia, and the Faroe Islands can hardly be considered a serious test, but the stability of results is an important factor for a team of this caliber.
Unlike the Macedonians, the Welsh can boast a much more impressive squad depth. The "Dragons" have plenty of players competing in the Premier League, and the overall level of the team allows them to set serious goals. However, failure in the Euro 2024 qualification, where Wales lost to Poland in the playoffs on penalties, was a serious blow to the team's ambitions. In response, the FAW decided to change the head coach, entrusting the team to Craig Bellamy.
Under the new manager, the "Dragons" confidently passed the autumn Nations League qualification, not losing a single match in the company of Turkey, Montenegro, and Iceland, which allowed them to rise to League A. And the start of the 2026 World Cup qualification only confirmed the high level of the team – a confident victory over Kazakhstan (3-1) showed that the team is ready to fight for a ticket to the World Cup.
Probable lineups
- North Macedonia: Stole Dimitrievski – Bojan Ilievski, Nikola Serafimov, Gjoko Zajkov, Ezgjan Alioski – Jani Atanasov, Isnik Alimi, Enis Bardhi – Darko Churlinov, Bojan Miovski, Aleksandar Trajkovski
- Wales: Daniel Ward – Neco Williams, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies – Connor Roberts, Joshua Sheehan, Jordan James, Joe Allen, Sorba Thomas – Brennan Johnson, David Brooks
Match facts and head-to-head
- The teams played in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, exchanging home victories
- In North Macedonia's last six matches, they have not conceded a goal
- A bet on "Both to score" landed in three out of Wales's last five matches
Prediction
Bookmakers give a slight advantage to the guests and estimate Wales's victory with a coefficient of around 2.40. We believe that the "Dragons" will at least not lose, and our bet for the match is "Wales to win with a handicap (0)" with a coefficient of 1.68.
