In the European preliminaries of the World Cup, North Macedonia, ranked 63rd in the world, drew 0-0 with Belgium, ranked 8th in the world, temporarily ranking first in the group.

In this game, North Macedonia was hit by 25 shots and still kept a clean sheet. In addition, the team drew 1-1 with Belgium in the first round. They had two draws with Belgium in the world preliminaries. They are very tenacious. Belgium and Wales have one game less in the current group, and North Macedonia does not have the initiative to directly qualify for the World Cup. In the follow-up schedule, North Macedonia has two games against Kazakhstan and Wales.

However, North Macedonia currently holds the initiative in the play-offs. Even if it falls to third place, it still has a play-off spot due to its high UEFA Nations League points. In the last World Cup qualifying play-off, North Macedonia defeated Italy in an upset, but unfortunately lost to Portugal in the follow-up and was only one step away from qualifying for the World Cup.