The Lynxes are unbeaten in their first four matches, while the Blue and Reds are living up to their low expectations.<\/p>\n
Match preview<\/p>\n
North Macedonia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Lynxes are once again threatening to challenge the big boys of international football, following a strong start to their 2026 World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n
Blagoja Milevski<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Liechtenstein, meanwhile, could only dream of such heights. The tiny European nation are bottom of their group with four defeats from four games.<\/p>\n Konrad Funfstuck<\/a>\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Liechtenstein have lost seven straight matches across all competitions, last avoiding defeat in a goalless draw with Gibraltar back in October 2024.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n North Macedonia World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:<\/p>\n W D D W<\/p>\n North Macedonia form (all competitions):<\/p>\n W W D D W L<\/p>\n Liechtenstein World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:<\/p>\n L L L L\u00a0<\/p>\n Liechtenstein form (all competitions):<\/p>\n L L L L L L<\/p>\n Team News<\/p>\n North Macedonia kept a lot of their regulars on the bench for their friendly with Saudi Arabia, meaning the likes of Enis Bardhi<\/a>, Eljif Elmas<\/a> and Bojan Miovski<\/a> are all available for selection.<\/p>\n In terms of key men to watch, Aleksandar Trajkovski<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n While the Blue and Reds are yet to score in their qualifying campaign, one man who could change that is Nicolas Hasler<\/a>. The 34-year-old has seven international goals to his name, and he will be looking to add to that total.<\/p>\n North Macedonia possible starting lineup:\u00a0Dimitrievski; Despotovski, Zajkov, Musliu, Alioski; Churlinov, Elmas, Kostadinov, Bardhi, Miovski; Trajkovski<\/p>\n Liechtenstein possible starting lineup:\u00a0Buchel; Malin, Traber, Hofer, Wolfinger; Luchinger, Hasler, Sele, Goppel, Notaro; Saglam<\/p>\n We say: North Macedonia 4-0 Liechtenstein<\/p>\n North Macedonia\u2019s biggest ever victory in international football came against Liechtenstein when they beat them 11-1 in 1996.<\/p>\n While we are not expecting a similar scoreline, we are backing North Macedonia to get the win and go top of the group.<\/p>\n For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Liechtenstein](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/uploads\/2025\/06\/liechtenstein-manager-konrad-f.webp\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"SM](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/20\/33\/sm-words-green-background.png\" "\\"SM")
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