Image Source: Alamy Stock Photo
2026 World Cup qualifying
UEFA Group J
Matchday 3
North Macedonia v Belgium
Tose Proeski Arena
Skopje, North Macedonia
Friday, 6 June 2025
Kick-off is at 20h45
Belgium will be aiming to put pressure on the Group J frontrunners when they meet North Macedonia in a
2026 World Cup qualifier at the Tose Proeski Arena on Friday, June 6.
This will be the first match of the Red Devils' qualifying campaign as they competed in the UEFA Nations League Playoffs during the March international window.
Rudi Garcia began his tenure with a surprise 3-1 defeat to Ukraine in Murcia on March 20, but his side avoided relegation to League B after securing a 3-0 victory in Genk three days later to come away 4-3 winners on aggregate.
Belgium have qualified for the last three editions of the World Cup, although they disappointed in Qatar after crashing out at the group stages in 2022.
The Lynxes lead the way in the group after two games and they are still unbeaten along with Wales, who trail them on goal difference in second place.
Blagoja Milevski's side opened their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 success against Liechtenstein in Vaduz on March 22 before playing out to a 1-1 draw with the Dragons in Skopje three days later.
Milevski acknowledges the tough task facing his players on matchday 3, but insists they are ready to put up a fight against Belgium.
"We have two extremely difficult matches ahead of us, first against Belgium and then against Kazakhstan. But this is not the first time we have entered a cycle of problems<" he said.
"As always, we will give our all. The focus is fully on the first match against Belgium, a team that is among the top five in Europe. Their individual and team quality is at the highest level, that does not need to be further explained. But our task is to offer maximum resistance."
Garcia passed up on Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia due to his lack of playing time this year owing to Hamstring and thigh injuries, insisting that competition for places in the middle of the park is just too strong at the moment.
"He has only been able to play a few games as a starter. We saw his qualities in those, but he was injured too often to pick up his peak form," the Frenchman said.
"I am not going to select players for their potential; the competition is simply fierce in midfield, especially with [Amadou] Onana's return."
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 4
North Macedonia wins - 0
Belgium wins - 3
Draws - 0
2026 World Cup qualifying Matchday 3 fixtures:
Friday, June 6
20h45: Norway v Italy
20h45: Estonia v Israel
20h45: Wales v Liechtenstein
20h45: North Macedonia v Belgium
20h45: Czech Republic v Montenegro
20h45: Gibraltar v Croatia
Saturday, June 7
15h00: Bosnia and Herzegovina v San Marino
18h00: Malta v Lithuania
18h00: Andorra v England
20h45: Finland v Netherlands
20h45: Austria v Romania
20h45: Albania v Serbia
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