The lost passport that kick-started Wales' epic journey

Chris Coleman won 32 caps for Wales before managing the team from 2012 to 2017

2026 World Cup qualifying: North Macedonia v Wales

Venue: National Arena Todor Proeski, Skopje Date: Tuesday, 25 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Coverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app, plus S4C via iPlayer. Text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website & app. Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

A missed flight and an absent manager on the eve of a World Cup qualifier.

As Wales take on North Macedonia on Tuesday as part of a campaign they hope will result in a trip to north America next summer, they return to the city made memorable for the time Chris Coleman forgot to check his luggage.

It is 12 years since Skopje was the setting for one of the more bizarre tales of Welsh football history, one that drew sniggers and sneers, not to mention damning headlines for their under-pressure manager.

But while it will be long remembered as the time the Wales manager lost his passport – before losing the game – it was also the night the team found their voice.

And with it, discovered a path to qualification they still travel upon today.

'Where's the manager?'

"Good to see you Kit, but with the greatest respect, where's the manager?"

It is September 2013 and Kit Symons had just taken his seat in front of the waiting media at the Tose Proeski Arena, the same venue Wales will play on Tuesday night.

The former Manchester City, Crystal Palace and Fulham defender had been part of the backroom staff since Coleman had accepted the unenviable task of replacing his close friend Gary Speed in the most trying of circumstances.

There was little more than 24 hours until Wales – including a soon-to-retire Craig Bellamy and Gareth Bale just weeks into his status as the world's most expensive player – were to face Macedonia at the tail-end of a failing campaign to reach the 2014 World Cup.

The inquisitor already knew the answer. As did most in the room.

"Skopje wasn't quite as developed as it is now, but it was a glorious day and we had walked along the river from the city to the stadium," recalls newspaper journalist Neil Moxley, who had covered Wales for several campaigns.

"As we walked, I can remember thinking what kind of questions we were going to ask Chris Coleman, who was a great guy to work with but hadn't had the easiest of rides.

"You had the Bale angle, but it was a bit of a dead-rubber of a game – and then the whispers had started. The manager had forgotten his passport and hadn't travelled."

As the team – Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Ben Davies and all – began to train on the uninviting pitch on the other side of the wall, Football Association of Wales (FAW) officials were simply saying Coleman was delayed by "passport issues".

"That's all I was told I could say," laughs Symons now, having had the uncomfortable job of trying to show all was normal.

"It was going to be resolved and he'd be there in plenty of time for the game – but I knew I was going to get battered."

Coleman had realised his "passport issue" the previous night, but Symons only knew the former Fulham and Crystal Palace defender's dash to the nearby Newport passport office for an emergency replacement was in vain when he was not boarding the chartered flight in the morning.

Instead, a convoluted alternative flight with stops via other European hubs awaited Coleman, as did the headlines.

For a football nation still smarting from some of the mockery of the years under Bobby Gould – with training ground wrestling and practice matches on prison grounds – the words embarrassing and farcical again found their way into the copy filed.

"We knew what was coming, but in reality all your work is done by that point," recalls Symons.

"The training the night before a game is by and large a stretch of the legs after travelling.

"You don't even go through set pieces or shape because you know some of the locals will be watching.

"It didn't really matter – but it didn't look good either."

Not when Bale's presence alone - followed all week by Spanish photographers with his move to Madrid still fresh – put a global focus on matters.

And certainly not for a manager still trying to win over critics and supporters.

FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford had conceded defeat on trying to downplay things on the night, but later put it: "We've all misplaced wallets or passports or whatever, it's just when you're in the position of national team manager you do it with a megaphone."

And, even in the early days of social media, the unusual tale had long since found its way back home.

"Sometimes you write stories with a heavy heart because you like them as a person," adds Moxley.

"They try and say there's no new stories in football – but an international manager missing the night before a game because he'd lost his passport? This was definitely one."

'You won't write about that!'

"Do I have anything to say? No, but you have obviously. You write it. We are building a good little team here, but you won't write about that."

Chris Coleman was not so much defensive as on the attack as he faced up to questions over his blunder in the aftermath of a 2-1 defeat.

He had a point too; performances had been increasingly promising and there had been signs of a team and manager finding their feet together.

"That was the thing, we actually played well that night and deserved something from the game," recalls midfielder Joe Ledley.

"I remember the conditions being quite difficult; the pitch was really dry and bobbly, and they were really physical against us as a relatively young side.

"The manager not being there the night before didn't make any difference – we didn't even really notice until we were on the plane, and even then we had a bit of laugh about it.

"We lost and were gutted, but I remember feeling we still felt we were progressing and getting close to being where we wanted to be and taking the next step to achieving what we wanted.

"But it's Wales for you - nothing's ever straightforward."

Chris Coleman is currently in charge of Belgian top flight side OH Leuven

A deflected free-kick had given the hosts the lead before Ramsey won and converted a penalty to equalise, only for Aleksandar Trajkovski to make the most of a late lapse of concentration.

Injuries had hit the squad too. Bale's only involvement in the game was to fend off a couple of local autograph hunters who rushed onto the pitch at half-time.

Not able to shake off a foot problem, he had been named on the bench by Coleman - but only to keep the opposition guessing, something that had confused supporters.

The result officially ended 2014 World Cup qualification hopes and – with a new contract still not agreed between the FAW and the manager – some wondered if it would be the end of his reign, well before the Euro 2016 success that was to come.

"We had been going along nicely, but I'd brought it upon myself and I was angry that I'd done that," said Coleman a few years later.

"I'd messed up but I just knew if they could stay with me, then we could be ready to take things on in the next campaign."

Bellamy – who would call time on his Wales playing days the following month – spoke glowingly of Ramsey's potential, as the playmaker showed he was back to his best form since his horrific leg break a few years earlier.

But it was what players said in private to officials and the media in the hours afterwards that was most significant.

After the publication of the headlines which hit out at Coleman for the defeat and his passport gaffe, a number of senior players made their feelings known that – after some initial struggles together – they were fully on board with Coleman and his aims.

Captain Ashley Williams was one of those who texted out his feelings to "lay off the gaffer", saying the players should not escape criticism but together they would get it right.

"We loved him [Coleman] and nights like that when he was under pressure, which we thought was unfair, made those bonds stronger," says Ledley, one of the players from that night who went on to reach the semi-finals of the Euros less than three years later.

"We knew we were onto something. It had been difficult for us and him after Gary, but we could see he was the right person."

Coleman was unaware of the texts of support that made their way to journalists that night but officials picked up on the fact senior players were now clearly behind the manager. A new contract was offered and signed.

"He had such a strong relationship with the players," said Symons.

"He knew he messed up and what people would think on the outside but inside he had their trust and those messages showed they wanted to protect him.

"People talk about Together Stronger for Wales, and that was it there.

"And because we all know what happened after, you can smile at it – and probably helped."

No laughing matter at the time, Coleman has since raised a smile at the events of Skopje that started with shambles but eventually led to a sense of where Wales were going under his charge.

"It didn't mean we didn't give him loads of stick about it," laughs Ledley.

Symons adds that every subsequent away fixture would see scores of smiling team officials ask Coleman to check he knew where his passport was.

And it does not diminish the tale's claim to be one of the more weird and wonderful in Welsh football.

"I've been privileged enough to cover some incredible moments and occasions following Wales," adds Moxley.

"But that trip to Skopje was the stand out story – especially when you know what happened next."