North Macedonia vs Belgium Prediction: Red Devils to start off with a win

North Macedonia have enjoyed an unbeaten start to their World Cup qualifying campaign but they will face their toughest test yet when they welcome Belgium to Tose Proeski Arena on Friday (19:45). This is the Red Devils' first match in qualifying and after a disappointing Uefa Nations League campaign, Rudi Garcia has his work cut out to get his team to the World Cup next summer.

Read on for my North Macedonia vs Belgium predictions, accompanied by the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

North Macedonia's ranks are filled with experience in the form of Stole Dimitrievski, Ezgjan Alioski, Visar Musliu, captain Enis Bardhi, Eljif Elmas and Aleksandar Trajkovski. Collectively, they have made 459 appearances for the Risovi.

Their extensive experience is likely going to see them all start against Belgium as North Macedonia bid to maintain their unbeaten record and strengthen their position at the top of the group.

Forward Bojan Miovski is in need of regaining some confidence after a disappointing debut campaign with Girona, having scored just two goals in 17 La Liga appearances. There have been reports that the former Aberdeen man could be available for transfer this summer, so he will be out to make a good impression during this international camp.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is back in the Belgium squad now that Domenico Tedesco is no longer in charge and the Real Madrid shot-stopper looks destined to return between the sticks on Friday, which would seem harsh on Matz Sels after his excellent season with Nottingham Forest.

Highly-rated left-back Maxim De Cuyper is another likely to start here and there are sure to be plenty of scouts tracking him over the summer following his performances for Club Brugge.

Captain Kevin De Bruyne remains a fixture in the squad while he looks to secure his club future following his exit from Manchester City. Although reports suggest that the playmaker's next destination will be Napoli, who just won Serie A.

This would see him link up with compatriot Romelu Lukaku, who is also set to be involved against North Macedonia.

North Macedonia vs Belgium Odds

North Macedonia have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions and they are 15/2 to stun Belgium.

Their latest appearance was a 1-1 draw with Wales and 10/3 is the price for a stalemate.

Belgium are 4/11 to come away with the three points and the Red Devils were 3-0 victors against Ukraine in their latest appearance.

Both teams to score has been a winning selection in three of Belgium's past six fixtures in all competitions.

Red Devils forward Lukaku bagged a brace against Ukraine last time out and he is the 19/20 favourite to score anytime on Friday.

Belgium and both teams to score @ 13/5

Belgium have not had the best time of it in the past few years. A group exit at the World Cup in 2022, followed by a round of 16 knockout at last summer's Euros before a dismal Nations League campaign in which they just about clung onto their League A status.

Garcia has years of struggle to fix in a short amount of time if he is to get the Red Devils across the Atlantic for next summer's World Cup finals. He's been in charge for just shy of six months and now is the time where results will matter.

The games played between now and November will determine who goes through to the finals. Group winners automatically progress but the 12 runners-up will compete via play-offs for the four remaining Uefa spots.

You feel like Belgium cannot afford to rely on finishing second given their recent history, so they need to focus on trying to win this group and I think they can get off to a strong start in North Macedonia.

The hosts have been in decent form of late but they haven't really been tested. I'm expecting Belgium's quality to shine through here but I think there are still question marks over their defence, so I think adding BTTS is a smart play.

Charles De Ketelaere anytime goalscorer @ 21/10

Lukaku seems the obvious bet when looking for a goalscorer in this contest but I've gone searching for better value. Another Belgium player who jumps out to me is Charles De Ketalaere, who is a versatile attacking player currently plying his trade for Atalanta.

At 24 years old he is one of the younger figures in the Red Devils' squad and he is likely going to be a key figure for his country in the years to come. He may only have two senior goals for Belgium in 21 appearances, but I think given the right management he can become a much more frequent goalscorer.

He has shown his quality at Atalanta and now is the time for him to translate that onto the international stage. He's likely to start on the bench here but I think he could make a real impact from the bench against some tired legs.

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