The Belgian FA made the right choice in appointing Rudi Garcia as Domenico Tedesco’s successor at the start of the year. The Frenchman’s first task was to avoid relegation to Group B of the UEFA Nations League, and he did so with some discomfort against Ukraine. He also did not have the best of starts to the Red Devils’ World Cup qualification, but has since shown his ruthless side.
Belgium are unbeaten in their four World Cup qualification games in Group J, winning three and drawing their opening game against their next opposition, North Macedonia. Garcia’s side have scored 17 goals in those four games, while conceding four times and none in the last two games.
Their last two games against Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan ended in identical 6-0 wins, and now they will aim to get the better of North Macedonia. Winning the upcoming clash with the Group J leaders will take Garcia’s side to the top of their group table, which will be a necessary boost before they take on Wales to end the current international break.
Meanwhile, Group J leaders, North Macedonia, have had a tremendous qualification campaign so far. Much like their next opponents, Belgium, Blagoja Milevski’s side are unbeaten in the group so far and have played a game more than the Red Devils.
Milesevski’s side thrashed Liechtenstein in their most recent qualification clash with a 5-0 scoreline. With two key games coming up against Belgium and Kazakhstan, there’s a big opportunity for North Macedonia to assert their dominance in this group and stay top.
Should they manage to get favourable results against Belgium and then Kazakhstan, North Macedonia will find themselves in a strong position. They will also hope Belgium can defeat Wales to have a much clearer path to finish in the top two places, but the priority for Milevski would be to finish as group winners.
Garcia has called up a strong squad for the current international break, although he is missing key midfielder Youri Tielemans. The Aston Villa star is sidelined with an injury issue, as his club teammate Amadou Onana could get a start in midfield alongside Nicolas Raskin.
Onana himself has not played much owing to a fitness issue since the start of the season, as these minutes in this international break will help him in a big way for the season ahead. Zeno Debast and Arthur Theate are the likely candidates for central defence, with Maxim De Cuyper and Timothy Castagne in the full-back roles.
Garcia does have a few in-form players to select, including an attacking line consisting of Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and Leandro Trossard. Charles De Ketelaere will assume the central role up front in the absence of the injured Romelu Lukaku, as this could be his chance to shine for Garcia’s side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Castagne, Debast, Theate, De Cuyper; Onana, Raskin; Doku, De Bruyne, Trossard; De Ketelaere
Milesevski is not expected to make too many changes to his style or formation, as he will set up in his iteration of the 4-4-2. Defenders Gjoko Zajkov and Andrej Stojchevski are expected to marshal the central defensive zone, with Bojan Ilievski and Ezgjan Alioski in the full-back areas.
Enis Bardhi and Isnik Alimi will manage the central midfield roles for North Macedonia, as the manager will deploy Darko Churlinov and Eljif Elmas in the wide areas, as these have been the manager’s main stars during the ongoing qualification campaign so far.
North Macedonia will go along with two strikers up front as Bojan Miovski and Aleksandar Trajkovski will lead from the front against Belgium.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Dimitrievski; Ilievski, Zajkov, Stojchevski, Alioski; Churlinov, Bardhi, Alimi, Elmas; Miovski, Trajkovski
De Bruyne was criticised for a bad season at Manchester City, but has been a player reborn since his move to Napoli in the summer. The Belgian star is also the main man for the Red Devils ahead of the next few crucial games.
His form for Napoli will be crucial, and Garcia will count on his experience and star power to get them through his qualification stages as Group winners. Hence, all eyes will be on De Bruyne to perform at his best and help out the attack by being the central creator on this side.
North Macedonia have surprised many with their performances in Group J so far, and they could take confidence from their defensive resilience so far in the five games played. However, the prospect of facing this in-form Belgian side may end their unbeaten run so far.
Belgium are in a relentless vein of form heading into the latest international round of games. Garcia’s men are determined to overtake North Macedonia at the top of Group J, and this is a chance they do not want to miss. Given their form on home soil, the Red Devils are expected to win comfortably, although they are still in with a chance to concede an odd goal against the Group leaders.
