North Macedonia v Wales LIVE: Reaction and result as Brooks rescues a point in stoppage time madness

Brooks levelled the scoring moments after North Macedonia bagged what looked like the winner

Bellamy hopes Wales’ tie with North Macedonia brings some comfort after nightclub tragedy

David Brooks scored with the final kick of the game in stoppage time drama to spare Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten record as Wales rescued a point against North Macedonia.

The hosts thought they’d won it as Bojan Miovski capitalised on a defensive error from Joe Allen to slot home past Karl Darlow in the 91st minute.

But in the sixth minute of added time - two minutes more than the allotted four - Brooks poked into the opposition net to equalise and ensure his side didn’t lose ground early in the race for World Cup qualification.

The game looked destined to end goalless after an uneventful 90 minutes - but reached its crescendo in mind-blowing fashion to leave both sets of fans stunned come the final whistle.

Relive all the action and reaction from tonight’s match with our live blog below:

North Macedonia vs Wales LIVE

• 90+6' GOAL! David Brooks rescues a point with the final kick [MKD 1-1 WAL]
• 90+1' GOAL! Bojan Miovski wins it after disastrous defensive error [MKD 1-0 WAL]
• 71' OFF THE LINE! Brennan Johnson denied after defensive blunder [MKD 0-0 WAL]
• 65' SAVE! Superb Karl Darlow save denies Darko Churlinov volley [MKD 0-0 WAL]
• 34' CLOSE! Sorba Thomas gets finish all wrong from close range [MKD 0-0 WAL]

[25 March 2025 18:31 · Will Castle]

Confirmed Wales lineup

Wales XI: Darlow; Mepham, Rodon, B. Davies, Williams; Sheehan, J. James; Thomas, Broadhead, D. James; Johnson.

Subs: Ward, A. Davies, Cabango, Allen, Lawrence, Matondo, Brooks, Moore, Roberts, Cullen, Koumas, Harris.

[25 March 2025 18:30 · Will Castle]

Odds for tonight's clash

North Macedonia win 2/1

Draw 9/4

Wales win 11/8

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[25 March 2025 18:15 · Will Castle]

Predicted lineups

We’re just a few minutes out from team news, so here are our predicted lineups...

North Macedonia XI: Dimitrievski; Dimoski, Zajkov, Musliu, Alioski; Elmas, Bardhi, Alimi, Churlinov; Trajkovski, Miovski.

Wales XI: Darlow; Roberts, Rodon, Davies, Williams; Sheehan, Cullen; Thomas, Brooks, James; Johnson.

[25 March 2025 18:00 · Will Castle]

North Macedonia team news

Luka Stankovski was handed his first international call-up for North Macedonia ahead of these two qualifying fixtures, and will hope to press for a debut having been an unused substitute against Liechtenstein.

Strike partners Bojan Miovski and Aleksandar Trajkovski both scored on Saturday and are set to continue up front.

[25 March 2025 17:45 · Will Castle]

Wales team news

Aaron Ramsey, Harry Wilson and Ethan Ampadu were among the Welsh absentees from the squad named for this international period.

Beyond injuries, Craig Bellamy is likely to stick with a relatively settled side against North Macedonia.

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey is unavailable after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury (PA Archive)

[25 March 2025 17:30 · Will Castle]

Is North Macedonia v Wales on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch

When is North Macedonia vs Wales?

North Macedonia vs Wales is due to kick off at 7.45pm GMT on Tuesday 25 March at the Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje, North Macedonia.

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on BBC Three and BBC One Wales, with coverage from 7.30pm GMT. A live stream will be available via the BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer.

[25 March 2025 17:15 · Will Castle]

North Macedonia in mourning after tragic nightclub fire

Tonight’s World Cup qualifier takes place as the North Macedonian people continue to mourn after a devastating nightclub fire claimed 59 lives in the Balkan state on Saturday.

North Macedonia will be playing their first home fixture on Tuesday since the tragedy in Kocani – 101 kilometres south-east of the capital Skopje – left another 155 injured from burns, smoke inhalation and being trampled amid a bid to escape towards the building’s single exit.

The Football Federation of Macedonia (FFM) has lined up various way to pay respect to those that lost their lives on March 16, including both teams wearing black armbands.

Craig Bellamy hopes tonight’s meeting between North Macedonia and Wales provides some comfort for the bereaved.

[25 March 2025 17:00 · Will Castle]

North Macedonia vs Wales LIVE

Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage as Wales travel to Skopje for their World Cup qualifier against North Macedonia.

Wales will look to continue their unbeaten run under Craig Bellamy, with the former Liverpool and Manchester City winger yet to taste defeat since being appointed manager last July.

They take on North Macedonia, who opened their qualifying campaign with a solid win against Liechtenstein and top Group J, though presumed favourites Belgium are yet to play.

All the build-up and match action, right here.

Wales got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start against Kazakhstan (Action Images via Reuters)