For the 2018 World Cup qualifications, Macedonia will remain in pot 5 when the draw takes place on July 25, 2015.

Despite the bad results, Macedonia will hold on to its pot 5 spot for the 2018 World Cup qualifications. For the UEFA members, each national team will learn their opponents next month, on July 25, when the draw takes place.

The 2018 World Cup will be held in Russia, so that country automatically qualifies for the tournament. Meanwhile, Gibraltar will not partake in the draw because they are not recognized by FIFA. Gibraltar is a UEFA member, but not of FIFA. So, excluding Russia and Gibraltar, the other 52 UEFA members will be drawn into nine groups. Seven of the groups will feature six teams, while two groups will feature five teams.

Pot 1: Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, England, Wales, Portugal, Spain, Croatia.

Pot 2: Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Denmark, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Pot 3: Poland, Ukraine, Scotland, Hungary, Sweden, Albania, Northern Ireland, Serbia, Greece.

Pot 4: Turkey, Slovenia, Israel, Ireland, Norway, Bulgaria, Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Estonia.

Pot 5: Cyprus, Latvia, Armenia, Finland, Belarus, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Moldova.

Pot 6: Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Malta, San Marino, Andorra.

Looking at these six pots, you can’t help but notice Wales. They were a pot 6 team in the 2014 World Cup qualifications, and now they will be in pot 1. That is some kind of rise in a short period of time.

Wales was in Macedonia’s group for those 2014 World Cup qualifiers. In their two meetings, Macedonia beat Wales 2:1 at home before losing 0:1 on the road.

Who would you want to see in Macedonia’s group?