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World Cup preparations continue for Turkey, who welcome North Macedonia to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium for a tasty international friendly this Monday night.
The Crescent Stars have a big year ahead as they will follow up their first World Cup appearance since 2002 with some huge games in the top tier of the UEFA Nations League.
North Macedonia, on the other hand, are simply looking to end their seven-match winless run across all competitions.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Turkey vs. North Macedonia key stats
- Turkey have won five of their last six matches, with the only result going against the trend being a 2-2 draw with Spain.
- Across their last four outings, North Macedonia have kept two clean sheets but also conceded 11 goals.
- Since the summer of 2024, Turkey have only lost one game at home – a 6-0 thumping against Spain.
Turkey vs. North Macedonia preview: Huge year for the hosts
Turkey vs North Macedonia — Squad Comparison
| Turkey | vs | North Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | FIFA Ranking | 67 |
| Hakan Calhanoglu – 104 | Most Caps | Ezgjan Alioski – 90 |
| Hakan Calhanoglu – 22 | Most Goals | Eljif Elmas – 13 |
| 950 | Total Caps | 722 |
| 92 | Total Goals | 59 |
| 4 | Uncapped Players | 3 |
Turkey's boss Vincenzo Montella has taken the national side to a new level since taking over the side in September 2023.
Overseeing a successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign and then taking the team to the quarter-final of the tournament marked an incredible start to his journey.
Since then, Montella ended Turkey’s 24-year wait for a World Cup by qualifying for the tournament via the playoffs, beating Romania and Kosovo to secure their ticket to North America.
Unbeaten in six games, Turkey have serious momentum going into the World Cup, and they will be looking to build on that when they welcome North Macedonia to the home of Fenerbahce.
The Crescent Stars will take on Australia, Paraguay and the United States in their World Cup group, and given they have only lost one competitive game since the end of 2024, Turkey will be confident about their chances.
In terms of absentees, there are a handful of players who are unavailable due to injuries, mainly Kenan Yildiz and Hakan Calhanoglu.
North Macedonia are also dealing with a couple of injury problems ahead of Monday’s fixture, with winger Daniel Musovski being their high-profile absentee.
Goce Sedloski’s side endured a shocking end to their World Cup qualifying campaign, with the side losing 7-1 away at Wales before crashing out in the playoffs following a 4-0 defeat to Denmark.
Solving their defensive issues was a priority for Sedloski, and the head coach certainly got a response from his players who delivered successive clean sheets in goalless draws against the Republic of Ireland and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The next task for North Macedonia is to earn their first international win since their 5-0 thumping of Liechtenstein last September.
The Lynxes have gone on a seven-match winless run since then, and they will be looking to build confidence ahead of a big UEFA Nations League campaign later in the year.
Turkey vs. North Macedonia form guide & betting tips
| Turkey | vs | North Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
WWDWW |
Form | DLLDD
|
| 10 | Goals For | 1 |
| 3 | Goals Against | 11 |
WWDWW |
Form (All Comps) | DLLDD
|
Whispers predicts: Turkey 1-0 North Macedonia
Turkey are in great form, but there is no reason to go all-out just before the start of the World Cup and risk any unnecessary injuries.
Nevertheless, the hosts should have enough quality to pick up their first win over North Macedonia since 2003, and they are available at around the 11/50 mark in the outright market.
Given that Turkey are not expected to go all guns blazing, and that North Macedonia have just produced successive goalless draws, the under 2.5 goals market looks the smart play at 5/4.
Serious value is provided by the correct score market, with Turkey available at 6/1 to win the match 1-0 – the same bet which has landed in their last two outings.
> Turkey to win at 11/50 | Likelihood: Probable
> Under 2.5 goals at 5/4 | Likelihood: Probable
> Correct score Turkey 1-0 North Macedonia at 6/1 | Likelihood: Outsider