North Macedonia have made an excellent start to their qualifying campaign, most notably avoiding defeat against the two heavyweights in the group in Belgium and Wales which will encourage them to believe that they can be real disruptions in Group J with no strong favourite to top the group.

As well as holding both Wales and Belgium to a draw, North Macedonia claimed a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein in their opening game of the qualifying stage. This indicates that North Macedonia sit somewhere in between the minnows tag and the elite international side label which can make them a tricky opposition to navigate, especially for a side like Kazakhstan who have won one and lost one of their opening qualifying fixtures.

North Macedonia topped their Nations League C group which also featured Armenia, Faroe Islands and Latvia. They won five of their six games in the group and only conceded one goal which is an imperious record that indicates that Kazakhstan may struggle to break down this stubborn North Macedonian side who will be encouraged by their positive performances against Belgium and Wales in the group already.

Croatia made a powerful statement in their opening qualifier, thrashing Gibraltar 7-0 to immediately establish themselves as serious contenders in Group L. While Czechia had initially looked like the group's frontrunners, Croatia's dominant performance has shifted expectations, with Zlatko Dalić's side now favored to finish top despite Czechia's strong start.  

Under Dalić's leadership since 2017, Croatia have consistently reinvented themselves, reaching both a World Cup final and a Nations League final. Their recent Nations League campaign saw them finish a respectable second behind Portugal in a group that included Scotland and Poland, demonstrating their ability to compete against strong opposition.  

Czechia will enter this match with confidence after their perfect start to qualifying, but their victories have come against weaker opponents - Montenegro, Gibraltar, and Faroe Islands - whose average FIFA ranking sits at 136. Facing 11th ranked Croatia will be a far greater test. While Czechia topped their Nations League B group ahead of Ukraine, Georgia, and Albania, they struggled away from home, failing to win any of their three road matches while conceding five goals and scoring just twice. This suggests they may find it difficult to contain Croatia's superior quality.

Norway look like a side that is determined to be at the World Cup next year having missed out on each of the last two international tournaments, a slightly embarrassing record when considering the quality that is scattered throughout the Norwegian squad.

They’ve won all three of their games in qualifying so far with this selection landing in each of these fixtures. They fired five goals past Moldova before running out 4-2 winners over Israel and finally established themselves as front runners in the group with a convincing 3-0 win over Italy who are their main challengers in Group I.

They face an Estonia side that has conceded seven goals across their three games so far, losing two of these encounters. These two defeats were both against Israel who managed to win by more than one goal in the second meeting between the sides. Given Norway’s electric start to qualifying, they can be backed to record a comprehensive victory over Estonia who are priced at 26.00 to record a victory here.

Wales have made a strong start to their qualifying campaign, finding the net in all three of their opening matches. With seven goals already scored, they currently sit atop Group J, showing their attacking prowess early in the competition. Players like Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson provide plenty of firepower that could trouble Belgium's vulnerable defense.  

During their Nations League campaign, Wales demonstrated consistent scoring ability, netting nine goals across six matches. They only failed to score in two games - both against Türkiye - showing they can generally find ways to break down opponents. This offensive consistency gives them confidence heading into the Belgium clash.  

Belgium's defensive frailties have been evident in recent matches. In their sole qualifier, they allowed North Macedonia to create chances worth 1.29 expected goals. Their Nations League campaign saw them concede nine goals in six games without keeping a single clean sheet. These vulnerabilities suggest Wales have a genuine opportunity to continue their scoring run against Rudi Garcia’s side.