Kazakhstan Draws 1:1 with North Macedonia in World Cup Qualifier

The Kazakhstan national football team drew 1:1 with North Macedonia in the eighth round of the World Cup qualifying tournament, Orda.kz reports.

The match took place in Skopje. Midfielder Dinmukhamed Karaman opened the scoring in the 54th minute with a spectacular overhead kick, but Enis Bardhi equalized for the hosts in the 74th minute.

After this result, Kazakhstan sits on seven points and remains fourth in Group J, effectively out of contention for the World Cup finals.

Group J standings:

• Belgium — 14 points
  
• North Macedonia — 13
  
• Wales — 10
  
• Kazakhstan — 7
  
• Liechtenstein — 0

Kazakhstan will play its final qualifying match on November 15 at home in Astana Arena, facing group leader Belgium.

Kazakhstan began its qualifying campaign with a 3:1 defeat to Wales away, followed by a 2:0 win over Liechtenstein. The team then suffered two narrow 1:0 losses — first to North Macedonia, then again to Wales.

A heavy 6:0 loss to Belgium led to the resignation of head coach Ali Aliyev. Under new coach Talgat Baysufinov, Kazakhstan achieved a 4:0 home victory over Liechtenstein on October 10, showing signs of recovery ahead of the final matches.

Original Author: Rustam Muratov