David Brooks celebratesFAW

Wales are unbeaten in eight matches under Craig Bellamy

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales in Skopje

Wales snatched a dramatic World Cup qualifying draw in North Macedonia after a chaotic finale in which the visitors had fallen behind in added time before David Brooks' scrambled equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game.

The match looked to be drifting towards a goalless draw at 90 minutes, but a sloppy backpass from Wales substitute Joe Allen allowed Bojan Miovski to scamper clear and calmly finish to spark wild celebrations in Skopje.

Then as the visitors desperately hurled bodies forward in an attempt to salvage something from a game they should already have won, Kieffer Moore headed the ball down for fellow substitute Brooks to finish from close range.

Welsh players and staff streamed on to the pitch in celebration, a bizarre sight in many respects as only moments earlier they had seemed frustrated by the prospect of leaving Skopje with only one point.

But in these circumstances, this was a spectacular way to maintain their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying - and Craig Bellamy's unbeaten start as head coach.

North Macedonia remain top of Group J, ahead of Wales on goal difference, with top seeds Belgium yet to play because their Nations League commitments.

Wales return to action in June with a home fixture against Liechtenstein followed by a potentially pivotal trip to Belgium.

On an emotional night in Skopje, there was a highly-charged atmosphere at National Arena Todor Proeski as North Macedonia played their first home match since a nightclub fire in the country had killed 59 people and prompted a period of national mourning.

Wales controlled the game for long periods but struggled to turn their domination of possession into clear scoring opportunities.

On the rare occasions they did manage to carve open the opposition defence, Sorba Thomas mishit a shot from a promising position in the first half and Brennan Johnson had a second-half effort cleared off the line.

Then after 90 minutes of shadow boxing between the two sides, the match burst into life with North Macedonia delivering what seemed like a knockout blow, only for Wales to lift themselves off the canvas just before the bell.

2026 World Cup qualification: David Brooks nets late equaliser for Wales

Wales dominate but only escape with draw

Having not been at their fluent best in their opening 3-1 win over Kazakhstan, Wales knew this visit to an in-form North Macedonia represented an altogether more challenging assignment.

The home side had won their previous six matches and had not conceded a single goal in the process, although Bellamy had made the point beforehand that these fixtures had been in the Nations League's third tier and against this group's bottom seeds, Liechtenstein.

As Group J's second seeds and standing 38 places above North Macedonia in the world rankings, Wales started this game as favourites, but they were careful not to underestimate opponents who had beaten Italy and Germany in recent years.

The match started at a frenetic pace, with both teams pushing forward and counter-attacking as possession changed hands rapidly

Wales midfielder Jordan James had the game's first shot on target after just 30 seconds, before Tihomir Kostadinov fired wide from 20 yards for the hosts.

The tempo dropped as the first half wore on, Wales seeing plenty of the ball and building patiently from the back but lacking incision in the final third.

Their best move saw James exchange passes with his namesake Daniel and whip a fabulous low cross to the back post for an unmarked Thomas, but the Nantes winger mishit his shot into North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Wales continued in the same vein in the second half, monopolising possession without creating much in the way of genuine chances.

Bellamy mixed things up by bringing on Moore, a more conventional striker than anyone else on the pitch and a physical focal point for attacks.

North Macedonia toiled without the ball but offered a reminder of their threat when substitute Darko Churlinov had a powerful shot well saved by Karl Darlow.

Wales thought they had the breakthrough when the hosts failed to clear and the ball fell to Johnson, whose shot was blocked on the goal line.

That looked like a costly miss when Allen's lapse allowed Miovski to score what the jubilant home fans thought would surely be the winning goal in the first minute of added time.

But Moore proved his value as something of a throwback in Bellamy's progressive new team, winning the header for Brooks to score with a shot which just about trickled over the line.

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