Belgium aiming to take top spot in World Cup qualifying group from Macedonia

VIDEO SHOWS: BELGIUM AND MACEDONIA TRAINING AHEAD OF WORLD CUP QUALIFIER IN GHENT/ PRESS CONFERENCE COMMENTS FROM BELGIUM, HEAD COACH, RUDI GARCIA, AND MACEDONIA HEAD COACH, BLAGOJA MILEVSKI COMPLETE SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW SHOWS: GHENT, BELGIUM (OCTOBER 9, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) TO FOLLOW STORY: Belgium host Macedonia in Ghent on Friday (October 9) with the opportunity to leapfrog their visitors and take top spot in their qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup.  Rudi Garcia, who took over as head coach of the Red Devils at the start of 2025, oversaw a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture in Skopje to kick off the qualifying campaign back in June.  Having taken the lead through Maxim De Cuyper early on, Belgium let slip their advantage with just four minutes left of regulation time.  Since then, the 61-year-old Frenchman has guided Belgium to three successive victories beginning with a 4-3 win over Wales in Brussels courtesy of a late winner from captain Kevin de Bruyne. That victory was followed up by lopsided wins against Lichtenstein and Kazakhstan in September by a combined scoreline of 12-0. Speaking to a press conference on Thursday, Garcia urged his side to learn from their mistakes in Skopje.  "It would be the right idea to take the lead again but we have to know how to protect that lead," he explained. "We have to make sure we don't give them any chance to equalise because it was mainly our mistakes that allowed them back in the game," added Garcia, who is best known for his spells at Lille, Roma, Marseille and Lyon before embarking on his first foray into international management with Belgium. As it stands, Belgium sit second in the standings on 10 points from four games, one behind North Macedonia, who have played five matches. Wales also have 10 points but from five outings. (Production: Zoran Mikletic, Conal Quinn)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)