North Macedonia and Kosovo: Balkan Duo Keep World Cup Hopes Alive

SKOPJE, TUESDAY — Two Balkan nations, North Macedonia and Kosovo, are on track to qualify for the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs. Their points from Tuesday's match (October 14, 2025) early morning WIB (Western Indonesian Time) keep their hopes of securing second place in their respective groups alive for the decisive match in November.

North Macedonia played its seventh match in Group J of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan. The match took place at the Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje, the capital city of North Macedonia. With a capacity of 32,580 seats, the Tose Proeski Arena is the largest stadium in the country.

Playing in front of 19,929 supporters, Eljif Elmas and his teammates were very eager to win. North Macedonia started the match as the leader of Group J. They are also ranked 63rd in the FIFA rankings, which is significantly better than Kazakhstan, who is in 118th place.

However, the efforts of the team nicknamed "Risovi" to achieve victory were thwarted. The 20 shots taken resulted in only one goal from a free kick executed by the midfielder and team captain, Enis Bardhi, in the 74th minute. Bardhi's 20th goal equalized the score after the visiting team had taken the lead earlier with a tap-in from midfielder Dinmukhamed Karaman in the 54th minute.

An additional point places North Macedonia in second place with 13 points. They are one point behind Belgium at the top of the standings. Furthermore, North Macedonia is three points ahead of Wales, which is in third place. Belgium and Wales still have one match less than North Macedonia.

Belgium is the top seed to secure a direct ticket to the main stage of the 2026 World Cup. In their remaining two matches, Belgium will face the weakest teams in Group J, namely Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein. It is hard to imagine "The Red Devils," as Belgium is nicknamed, not winning by a large margin in those two matches.

As a result, the battle for second place leaves a contest between North Macedonia and Wales. Although trailing by three points, Wales can still strive to equal North Macedonia's points when they visit Liechtenstein's home ground on November 16.

The "final" will be held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on November 19th, when Wales will host North Macedonia. The winner of that match will advance to the playoffs to secure the four remaining European World Cup spots.

North Macedonia coach Blagoja Milevski has the opportunity to make history for his country. He led Risovi to the playoffs of the 2022 World Cup. After defeating Italy in the semifinals, North Macedonia's path to the world stage was dashed by two goals from Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes in the final, which cost a ticket to the main draw in Qatar.

Milevski acknowledged that his team went through two different halves against Kazakhstan. They performed poorly in the first half, but eventually played with their team identity after falling behind at the beginning of the second half.

"When I see all the players disappointed with this draw, it shows me that we have character and quality. In the last 14 official matches, we have remained unbeaten and have only conceded five goals," said Milevski after the match, as reported by the North Macedonia Football Federation (FFM) website.

Furthermore, Milevski will prepare the best team to face the final match against Wales. Before heading to Cardiff, Risovi will play an exhibition match against Latvia. The North Macedonia squad consists of players who have developed within the domestic academy system.

Nevertheless, the majority of the players have already traveled extensively across Europe. From the 24 names called for the two matches in October, Milevski only included three players who play in the domestic league.

"We're going to Cardiff to enjoy our football. We'll see how it goes," he said.

North Macedonia's neighbor in the Balkan region of southern Europe, Kosovo, is also on its way to the playoffs for the 2026 World Cup. Finishing second in Group B in the standings is Kosovo's best achievement in their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Kosovo is the youngest member of FIFA under the auspices of UEFA. Not yet a decade old, the Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) joined FIFA and UEFA. Specifically, they were recognized by the football governing bodies in May 2016.

It is not surprising that Kosovo only participated in the qualification for the 2018 World Cup. The 2026 World Cup qualifying is their third opportunity to embark on the path to the grand stage of football.

Under the guidance of German coach Franco Foda, the Kosovo squad is not hesitant to compete with teams that are far more experienced in international tournaments, such as Switzerland, Slovenia, and Sweden.

Kosovo brought home a historic victory over Sweden with a score of 1-0 at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg. The three points were contributed by one of Kosovo's best talents, Fisnik Asllani. The TSG Hoffenheim forward scored in the 32nd minute.

Back-to-back wins over Sweden in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers secured Kosovo's second-place finish. While they can still reach Switzerland, who sit top of the table with 10 points, Kosovo's realistic goal is to maintain second place and secure a playoff spot from Group B.

Kosovo has a chance to secure a playoff spot if they can at least hold Slovenia away on November 16. In fact, if they win at Slovenia's home ground, the final match at home against Switzerland could be the "final" for a direct ticket to the main draw of the 2026 World Cup.

"We had a very difficult match, but we won. The match went according to plan. We defended better and were able to threaten on the counterattack. We should have been 2-0 up at halftime," said Foda, as reported by Telegrafi.

"I am proud of the fighting spirit of this team. We will strive again to pursue victory in the next decisive match," he stated.

The impressive journey of Kosovo is not a coincidence. They have built a national team squad from quality players capable of breaking into top European leagues, such as Serie A in Italy, the Bundesliga in Germany, and La Liga in Spain.

The majority of Kosovo players hold dual passports, primarily from Germany and Albania. Kosovo is not recognized by the European Union. If they only possess a Kosovo passport, they will be considered foreign players in European leagues.

This was exemplified by Edon Zhegrova, one of the best talents from Kosovo, who was registered with an Albanian passport when he joined Juventus last summer. The Italian Serie A considers players from Albania as part of European players, while Kosovo is still regarded as a non-European country. (AFP)