CARDIFF, Wales (Interstat) — Wales opened its World Cup qualifying campaign with a stunning 7-1 victory over North Macedonia on Tuesday at Cardiff City Stadium, dramatically outperforming expectations in a lopsided affair.

Harry Wilson recorded a hat trick to lead the Welsh attack. David Brooks, Brennan Johnson, Daniel James and Nathan Broadhead also scored for Wales, which netted six unanswered goals after Bojan Miovski temporarily equalized for the visitors in the 23rd minute. The result defied a pregame projection of a 1-1 draw, handing North Macedonia a decisive loss to start the competition.