Is Turkey ready for the 2026 World Cup?
On Monday, June 1, 2026, Turkey and North Macedonia will face off at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. This match is particularly important for the Turkish national team, as they aim to build up their confidence just a few weeks before competing in the 2026 World Cup.
For the visiting team, however, this is just a regular friendly match, as Blagoja Milevski’s squad will be watching the tournament from the sidelines after failing to qualify for the World Cup. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that the roles are clearly defined ahead of this match, and we’re only being offered maximum odds of 1.25 for a home win in our Turkey vs. North Macedonia prediction.
In our Turkey vs. North Macedonia prediction, we now want to examine to what extent odds of just 1.25 are justified. While the home team must win this match with an eye toward the World Cup, that doesn’t automatically mean they will. After all, the same was true for the Bosnian squad, which couldn’t get past a 0-0 draw against the same opponent last Friday. At this point, however, we must of course make a distinction, as Vincenzo Montella’s team is naturally on a completely different level than the Bosnian national team. To put that in numbers—the Turks have an estimated market value of around 530 million euros. Sergej Barbarez’s team has a squad value of only about 150 million euros.
If we also consider that the North Macedonians have only a fraction of Bosnia’s market value, there’s hardly any point in discussing individual quality when comparing them to the Turkish national team.
So the question isn’t really about who will win, but rather by how many goals the Turkish team will win this match. This question is not easy to answer, because in addition to great results against Belgium (1-1 and 0-0), Blagoja Milevski’s team also suffered bitter defeats against Wales (1-7) and Denmark (0-4).
Turkey – North Macedonia Head-to-Head Record
In the first three paragraphs, we noted that the Turks will not only be significantly more motivated heading into this match but are also individually far superior. On top of that, the North Macedonians are nowhere near the Turkish team’s level in terms of form.
By comparison, Vincenzo Montella’s team has won seven of their last ten games—the visitors only two. The home team also has the edge in the head-to-head record, as the North Macedonian national team has rarely had much to show for its efforts, with just a single win in eight matches. All things considered, the Turkey vs. North Macedonia betting odds rightly point to a home win.
Turkey – North Macedonia Tip
Taking all the above facts into account, we have decided on a Turkey vs. North Macedonia tip for a home win with a -1 handicap. Vincenzo Montella’s team is clearly in better form, possesses far superior quality, and also has home-field advantage on its side.
Furthermore, the visitors seem to lack the necessary motivation to give 100% in this match. When we also consider that North Macedonia failed to score even against Ireland and Bosnia, a goal against the Turkish team is not necessarily to be expected.
Alternatively, you can also add the Turkey vs. North Macedonia odds for “Both Teams to Score: No” or “Turkey to Win to Nil” to your betting slip. Offensively, Blagoj Milevski’s team has little to offer and failed to score even in matches against significantly weaker opponents. Chances were few and far between, as the visitors managed only two shots on goal in their matches against Bosnia and Ireland. But it gets worse: even in the World Cup playoffs against Denmark—a do-or-die match—the North Macedonian team failed to register a single shot on the opponent’s goal.
