Sports Mole previews Sunday’s World Cup Qualifying – Europe clash between North Macedonia and Liechtenstein, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
North Macedonia have a chance to go top of their World Cup qualifying group when they host Liechtenstein at the Tose Proeski National Arena in Skopje.
The Lynxes are unbeaten in their first four matches, while the Blue and Reds are living up to their low expectations.
Match preview
North Macedonia’s stock in international football has been growing for a number of years, with the side going from a lowly 162nd FIFA ranking in 2016 all the way to 67th today.
In recent times, the nation qualified for the 2020 European Championships and came within one game of sealing their spot at the 2022 World Cup.
The Lynxes are once again threatening to challenge the big boys of international football, following a strong start to their 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Blagoja Milevski and his men are unbeaten in their group, picking up victories over Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan, while also drawing with Wales and Belgium. This Sunday, they have a chance to go top of the standings.
Liechtenstein, meanwhile, could only dream of such heights. The tiny European nation are bottom of their group with four defeats from four games.
Konrad Funfstuck’s side have conceded 14 goals across their qualifying matches, scoring none themselves. Their last outing on Thursday marked their heaviest defeat, with Belgium scoring six unanswered goals in Vaduz.
Liechtenstein have lost seven straight matches across all competitions, last avoiding defeat in a goalless draw with Gibraltar back in October 2024.
Their last win also came that month, with the Blue and Reds picking up a 1-0 success over Hong Kong in an international friendly. To find Liechtenstein’s last competitive win, you would have to go all the way back to September 2020, when they picked up a 2-0 win over San Marino.
North Macedonia World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
W D D W
North Macedonia form (all competitions):
W W D D W L
Liechtenstein World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
L L L LÂ
Liechtenstein form (all competitions):
L L L L L L
Team News
North Macedonia kept a lot of their regulars on the bench for their friendly with Saudi Arabia, meaning the likes of Enis Bardhi, Eljif Elmas and Bojan Miovski are all available for selection.
In terms of key men to watch, Aleksandar Trajkovski is likely to provide a serious threat. The 33-year-old forward scored against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, giving him his third goal in four games for club and country.
Liechtenstein appear to have come away from their defeat to Belgium unscathed on the injury front, meaning they should be able to name a similar side.
While the Blue and Reds are yet to score in their qualifying campaign, one man who could change that is Nicolas Hasler. The 34-year-old has seven international goals to his name, and he will be looking to add to that total.
North Macedonia possible starting lineup:Â Dimitrievski; Despotovski, Zajkov, Musliu, Alioski; Churlinov, Elmas, Kostadinov, Bardhi, Miovski; Trajkovski
Liechtenstein possible starting lineup:Â Buchel; Malin, Traber, Hofer, Wolfinger; Luchinger, Hasler, Sele, Goppel, Notaro; Saglam
We say: North Macedonia 4-0 Liechtenstein
North Macedonia’s biggest ever victory in international football came against Liechtenstein when they beat them 11-1 in 1996.
While we are not expecting a similar scoreline, we are backing North Macedonia to get the win and go top of the group.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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