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Kosovo

Nickname(s)	Dardanët (Dardanians)
Association	Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Alain Giresse
Captain	Amir Rrahmani
Most caps	Amir Rrahmani (49)
Top scorer	Vedat Muriqi (23)
Home stadium	Fadil Vokrri Stadium
FIFA code	KOS[1]
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	NR (6 October 2022)[2]
Highest	106 (June 2022–present[3])
Lowest	190 (July–August 2016[3])
First international
Unofficial  Albania 3–1 Kosovo  (Tirana, Albania; 14 February 1993) Official  Kosovo 0–0 Haiti  (Mitrovica, Kosovo; 5 March 2014)
Biggest win
Unofficial  Monaco 1–7 Kosovo  (Cap d'Ail, France; 22 April 2006) Official  Malta 0–5 Kosovo  (Ta' Qali, Malta; 17 November 2018)  Kosovo 5–0 Burkina Faso  (Pristina, Kosovo; 24 March 2022)
Biggest defeat
Kosovo 0–6 Croatia  (Shkodër, Albania; 6 October 2016)

The Kosovo national football team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e futbollit të Kosovës; Serbian: Фудбалска репрезентација Косова, romanized: Fudbalska reprezentacija Kosova) represents Kosovo in international men's football. It is controlled by the Football Federation of Kosovo, the governing body for football in Kosovo.

History

Pre-independence

First ever match

On 29 November 1942, Kosovo for first time in its history played a friendly match as part of the celebrations for 30th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania against Tirana[lower-alpha 1] and the match ended with a 2–0 away defeat and the starting line-up of that match was Mustafa Daci (GK), Ballanca, Ahmet Zaimi, Mazllum Xërxa, Veseli, Hajdar Hamza, Nebil Dylatahu, Ramadan Vraniqi, Dobrica Barbaroga,[lower-alpha 2] Bajrami and Henci.[5][6][4]

Yugoslav era

On 8 November 1967, Kosovo for first time as autonomous province of SFR Yugoslavia played a friendly match against Yugoslavia and the match ended with a 3–3 home draw and the starting line-up of that match was a mix between Albanian and Serbian players as Milosavlević, Stevanović, Mušikić, Abrashi, S. Džukić, V. Džukić, Brovina, Hatibi, Radović, Prekazi and Pindović, for Yugoslavia this match it was a pre-preparation before the UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying match against Albania.

As part of Yugoslavia national team

Yugoslav squads at international competitions often included players from Kosovo, such as Fadil Vokrri and Stevan Stojanović. Three other footballers from Kosovo, Fahrudin Jusufi, Milutin Šoškić and Vladimir Durković, were part of the Yugoslav team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 1960 European Nations' Cup.

After breakup of Yugoslavia

On 20 January 1993, The Football Federation of Kosovo signed a cooperation protocol with the Albanian Football Association and in the framework of this protocol it was decided to play on 14 February a friendly match between Albania and Kosovo, which was the first match of Kosovo following the breakup of Yugoslavia,[7] and this match ended with a 1–3 defeat and the starting line-up of that match was Ahmet Beselica (GK), Ardian Kozniku, Bardhec Seferi, Fadil Berisha, Gani Llapashtica, Genc Hoxha, Isa Sadriu, Kushtrim Munishi, Muharrem Sahiti, Sadullah Ajeti and Selajdin Jerliu.[8]

After Kosovo War

On 7 September 2002, Kosovo for first time after the Kosovo War played a friendly match against Albania and the match ended with a 0–1 home minimal defeat and the starting line-up of that match was Ahmet Beselica (GK), Ardian Kozniku, Arsim Abazi, Besnik Kollari, Fadil Ademi, Faruk Statovci, Ismet Munishi, Mehmet Dragusha, Sunaj Keqi, Xhevdet Llumnica and Zenun Selimi.[10]

One of the most important international matches was a 1–0 win over Saudi Arabia played on 15 June 2007. It was the first time that Kosovo played against a team that has taken part in the FIFA World Cup and the winning goal was scored by Kristian Nushi from the penalty kick on the 84th minute.[11] On 22 April 2006, Kosovo achieved their biggest win, defeating Monaco 7–1. If one included matches played before Kosovo became a FIFA member, this scoreline is their best result yet.[12]

After independence

First match

On 17 February 2010, for the first time since its declaration of independence, Kosovo played a friendly match against Albania (the match ended with a 2–3 home defeat for Kosovo). The starting line-up of that match was Kushtrim Mushica (GK), Anel Rashkaj, Dukagjin Gashi, Enis Zabërgja, Fisnik Papuçi, Ilir Nallbani, Liridon Kukaj, Robert Gjeraj, Shpëtim Hasani and Yll Hoxha. This match had a charity character as the profits gathered from this meeting went to those affected by floods in Shkodër.[13]

Efforts for internationalization

On 6 May 2008, after its declaration of independence from Serbia, Kosovo applied for FIFA membership. On 24 October 2008, Kosovo's application was discussed at the FIFA Congress in Zürich and Kosovo's bid was rejected. At the occasion, FIFA's determined Kosovo could not even play friendly matches against FIFA members' national teams.[14]

In September 2012, Albania international Lorik Cana, along with Swiss internationals Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami and Xherdan Shaqiri, all of them with Kosovo Albanian origin, wrote a declaration to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, asking him to allow Kosovo to play friendly matches. The declaration was also signed by eight other Albanian footballers hailing from Kosovo as Ahmed Januzi, Alban Meha, Armend Dallku, Burim Kukeli, Etrit Berisha, Fatmire Bajramaj, Lorik Cana, Mërgim Mavraj and Samir Ujkani.[15] Some players, especially Kosovo Serbs as Milan Biševac and Miloš Krasić, continued to play for Serbia.[16][17]

Permission by FIFA to play friendlies

On 6 February 2013, FIFA decided to allow Kosovan club teams to play friendly games against clubs from countries whose national teams were members of FIFA.[20] However, it was stipulated that Kosovan clubs and teams could not display national symbols such as the Kosovan flag, emblem, etc., or play the Kosovan anthem.[20]

On 5 March 2014, the Kosovan football team was finally allowed by FIFA to play its first international friendly match, against Haiti; the match ended in a 0–0 draw.[21][22] Before the match, some players of Kosovo posed with guns at a shooting range, causing a stir in Serbia.[23] On the eve of the match, supporters of Kosovo burned the flag of Serbia.[24] This incident prompted the Football Association of Serbia to request that FIFA revoked Kosovo's right to play international friendlies.[25]

After the match against Haiti, six more matches were held in 2014, against Turkey, Senegal, Oman, Equatorial Guinea and Albania. The first win in these friendlies was against Oman, by 1–0,[26] while the biggest defeat a 1–6 against Turkey.[27]

Membership in UEFA and FIFA

In September 2015, at an UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Malta, the request from Kosovo for admission in UEFA was scheduled for deliberation in the next Ordinary Congress, to be held in Budapest.[28] On 3 May 2016, at the Ordinary Congress, Kosovo was accepted into UEFA after members voted 28–24 in favor of Kosovo.[29][30] Ten days later, Kosovo was accepted in FIFA during their 66th Congress in Mexico, with 141 votes in favour and 23 against.[31]

First tournament

Debut in World Cup qualification and nearly successful first Euro attempt

Kosovo began to make their debut in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, where Kosovo was drawn with Croatia, Finland, Iceland, Turkey and Ukraine.[32][33] The Kosovars created its first major surprise, holding host Finland to a 1–1 draw,[34] but it turned to be the lone point of Kosovo in the qualification, as the team lost the remaining games and finished last.

Following the failure to qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup, Kosovo participated in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D sharing group with Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands and Malta,[35][36] where the Kosovars topped their group undefeated to reach the country's first-ever play-offs in its attempt to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020.[37] After the successful Nations League, Kosovo entered the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, where they shared group A with Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Montenegro and 2018 World Cup fourth place finisher England.[38] As the dark horse of the qualification, Kosovo however created a major phenomenon, managed to beat Bulgaria, Montenegro and especially, a shock home win over the Czechs to take the second place behind England, being 15 matches and on that time nearly two years without defeat winning 11 of these 15 matches. The game against England away even saw the Kosovars took an early lead in the surprise, even though they were unable to protect it and fell 3–5 away, ending the longest unbeaten run in the football history of Kosovo.[39] In the decisive match against the Czechs away, which Kosovo needed a win to directly qualify for the first time, Kosovo gained a shock lead, but failed to protect it again as they lost 1–2 and could only participate in the play-off,[40] but this remained to be Kosovo's greatest success up to date.

Setback

After successfully obtained a play-off position, Kosovo headed to the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C, being drawn with Greece, Moldova and Slovenia.[41] After impressive performance in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, Kosovo was tipped favorably to promote to League B. Yet, Kosovo began the Nations League with a disappointing 1–1 away draw to Moldova,[42] before the team which was halved due to the absences of key players suffered a 1–2 home loss against Greece.[43]

In Kosovo's first ever competitive UEFA Euro play-offs, Kosovo was drawn against North Macedonia.[40] However, Kosovo was eliminated after losing 1–2 to the Macedonians in Skopje.[44] After the elimination in the play-off's semifinals, the Kosovo's setback continues and the year 2020 was ended six losses, two draws and a victory in the last match of the year against Moldova, a victory which secured the attitude even for another season in the League C of the UEFA Nations League.[45]

Team image

Nicknames

The Kosovo national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Dardanët" ("Dardanians"). In addition to the official nickname, the Kosovo national team had different nicknames in different periods as:

• "Shqipëria B" ("Albania B") — During the period before 2016, the national teams of Kosovo and Albania have exchanged players with each other, which influenced these two teams to be nicknamed reserve (B) teams of each other, the Kosovo national team was nicknamed Albania B due to many players came to play for Kosovo as they had no space to play for Albania, but the same thing happened with the Albanian national team which was nicknamed Kosovo B due to of the large number of players of Kosovo Albanian descent in its composition.[46]
• "Ekipi i Kosovës" ("Team Kosovo") — The Kosovo national team during the 2009–10 period was introduced with the nickname that was used as an alternative name in order to avoid possible sanctions by UEFA and FIFA against Kosovo and the opponents that Kosovo played. After Kosovo was allowed on 6 February 2013 by FIFA to play against FIFA member associations in international friendlies,[20] this alternative name was no longer used.
• "Brazili i Ballkanit" ("Brazil of the Balkans") — The Kosovo national team was nicknamed the Brazil of the Balkans during their fourteen-match unbeaten run during the 2018–19 season.[47][48]

Kits and crest

The Kosovo kit has been mostly red and black before declaration of independence with few changes throughout the years and after the independence the kits are mostly blue and yellow. On 5 October 2016, Kosovo signed with Spanish sportswear company Kelme to a four-year contract and was the first official kit suppliers of Kosovo after membership in UEFA and FIFA.[49] On 16 June 2018, Kosovo signed with Swiss sportswear company Fourteen to a four-year contract for it to the kit suppliers of Kosovo.[50][51]

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier	Period	Contract
		Announcement	Duration
Legea	2014	March 2014
Puma	2014	May 2014
Legea	2014	September 2014
Umbro	2015	October 2015	November 2015
Puma	2016	June 2016
Kelme	2016–2018	5 October 2016	2016–2020 (4 years)
Fourteen	2018–present	16 June 2018	2018–2022 (4 years)

Home stadium

Kosovo's home stadium is the Fadil Vokrri Stadium. The stadium capacity is 13,500, which makes it the second largest national stadium in Kosovo. Kosovo's previous national stadium was the Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium which is currently under renovation. Kosovo also used Loro Boriçi Stadium during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign,[52][53] and this happened after the two stadiums in Pristina and Mitrovica at that time were under renovation and do not meet UEFA standards.[54] On 12 July 2019, the construction of Kosovo National Stadium began,[55] and two days later the project of this stadium was presented which would have a capacity of 30,000 seats,[56] but after the presentation, the construction was suspended for political reasons related to the location.[57]

As of 24 March 2022[58]

Kosovo national football team home stadiums
Stadium	Capacity	Location	Pld	W	D	L	Win %	First match		Last match		UEFA category	Ref
								Opponent	Date	Opponent	Date
Fadil Vokrri Stadium	13,500	Pristina, Kosovo	26	12	5	9	046.15	Yugoslavia	8 November 1967	Burkina Faso	24 March 2022		[59]
Loro Boriçi Stadium	16,000	Shkodër, Albania	5	0	0	5	000.00	Croatia	6 October 2016	Ukraine	6 October 2017		[60]
Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium	18,500	Mitrovica, Kosovo	3	1	1	1	033.33	Haiti	5 March 2014	Latvia	13 November 2017		[61]

Rivalries

Albania

This derby is otherwise known as Brotherly derby (Albanian: Derbi vëllazëror), also known as the Brotherly (Albanian: Vëllazërorja). The documented beginnings of this derby date back to the time during the World War II, respectively on 29 November 1942, where they played a friendly match as part of the celebrations for 30th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania and the match ended with a 2–0 win for Tirana,[lower-alpha 1][5][6][4] this derby is back 50 years after the first match, when the Football Federation of Kosovo signed a cooperation protocol with the Albanian Football Association and in the framework of this protocol it was decided to play on 14 February a friendly match between these two national teams,[7] and this match ended with a 3–1 win for Albania.[8]

Media coverage

Fixtures and results

2021

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Alain Giresse
Assistant coach(es)
	David Le Goff
	Sébastien Bichard
	Ramush Gashi
	Genc Hoxha
Fitness coach	Thomas Richard
Goalkeeping coach	Ahmet Beselica
Physiotherapist(s)
	Ismet Shalaj
	Zheralldin Durguti
Doctor	Murat Berisha
Device manager	Sahit Salihi
Team manager	Bajram Shala
Sports director	Muharrem Sahiti

Manager history

No.	Name	Period	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
1	Ajet Shosholli	1993–2002	1	0	0	1	000.00
2	Bylbyl Sokoli	2002–2005	1	0	0	1	000.00
3	Muharrem Sahiti	2005–2006	3	2	0	1	066.67
4	Edmond Rugova	2006–2009	1	1	0	0	100.00
5	Albert Bunjaki	2009–2017	18	3	3	12	016.67
C	Muharrem Sahiti	2017–2018	1	1	0	0	100.00
6	Bernard Challandes → Muharrem Sahiti[lower-alpha 4]	2018–2021 2020	40	17	8	15	042.50
C	Primož Gliha	2021–2022	2	0	1	1	000.00
7	Alain Giresse	2022–	8	4	1	3	050.00

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Armenia and Faroe Islands, on 16 and 19 November 2022.[66]
• Caps and goals are correct as of 27 September 2022 after the match against Cyprus.[67]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Visar Bekaj	(1997-05-24) 24 May 1997 (age 25)	4	0	Tirana
	1GK	Jozef Pukaj	(2000-02-13) 13 February 2000 (age 22)	0	0	Winterthur
	2DF	Ibrahim Drešević	(1997-01-24) 24 January 1997 (age 25)	21	0	Fatih Karagümrük
	2DF	Lirim R. Kastrati	(1999-02-02) 2 February 1999 (age 23)	10	0	Újpest
	2DF	Lumbardh Dellova	(1999-01-01) 1 January 1999 (age 23)	1	0	Ballkani
	2DF	Jetmir Haliti	(1996-09-14) 14 September 1996 (age 26)	0	0	Mjällby
	2DF	Kreshnik Hajrizi	(1999-05-28) 28 May 1999 (age 23)	0	0	Lugano
	2DF	Leard Sadriu	(2001-04-22) 22 April 2001 (age 21)	0	0	Mura
	3MF	Donat Rrudhani	(1999-05-02) 2 May 1999 (age 23)	6	1	Young Boys
	3MF	Blendi Idrizi	(1998-05-02) 2 May 1998 (age 24)	6	0	Jahn Regensburg
	3MF	Muharrem Jashari	(1998-02-21) 21 February 1998 (age 24)	1	0	Drita
	3MF	Ilir Krasniqi	(2000-04-02) 2 April 2000 (age 22)	1	0	Llapi
	3MF	Valmir Veliu	(2000-06-04) 4 June 2000 (age 22)	1	0	Gaziantep
	3MF	Lindon Emërllahu	(2002-12-07) 7 December 2002 (age 19)	1	0	Ballkani
	3MF	Arianit Ferati	(1997-09-07) 7 September 1997 (age 25)	0	0	Fortuna Sittard
	3MF	Eris Abedini	(1998-08-29) 29 August 1998 (age 24)	0	0	Winterthur
	3MF	Uran Bislimi	(1999-09-25) 25 September 1999 (age 23)	0	0	Lugano
	4FW	Lirim M. Kastrati	(1999-01-16) 16 January 1999 (age 23)	17	1	Fehérvár
	4FW	Mirlind Daku	(1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 24)	5	0	Mura
	4FW	Jetmir Topalli	(1998-02-07) 7 February 1998 (age 24)	3	0	İstanbulspor
	4FW	Ermal Krasniqi	(1998-09-07) 7 September 1998 (age 24)	0	0	Ballkani
	4FW	Agon Sadiku	(2003-03-10) 10 March 2003 (age 19)	0	0	Honka

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Samir Ujkani	(1988-07-05) 5 July 1988 (age 34)	36	0	Empoli	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
GK	Arijanet Muric	(1998-11-07) 7 November 1998 (age 24)	28	0	Burnley	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
DF	Amir Rrahmani	(1994-02-24) 24 February 1994 (age 28)	49	6	Napoli	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
DF	Fidan Aliti	(1993-10-03) 3 October 1993 (age 29)	44	1	Zürich	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
DF	Florent Hadergjonaj	(1994-07-31) 31 July 1994 (age 28)	25	1	Kasımpaşa	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
DF	Betim Fazliji	(1999-04-25) 25 April 1999 (age 23)	16	0	St. Pauli	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
DF	Mirlind Kryeziu	(1997-01-26) 26 January 1997 (age 25)	8	0	Zürich	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
DF	Mërgim Vojvoda	(1995-02-01) 1 February 1995 (age 27)	45	2	Torino	v.  Northern Ireland, 24 September 2022INJ
DF	Leart Paqarada	(1994-08-10) 10 August 1994 (age 28)	24	1	St. Pauli	v.  Northern Ireland, 24 September 2022INJ
DF	Valon Zumberi	(2002-11-24) 24 November 2002 (age 19)	0	0	Hamburger SV	v.  Cyprus, 2 June 2022PRE / U21
MF	Toni Domgjoni	(1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 24)	4	1	Vitesse	v.  Armenia, 16 November 2022
MF	Milot Rashica	(1996-06-28) 28 June 1996 (age 26)	46	8	Galatasaray	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
MF	Bersant Celina	(1996-09-09) 9 September 1996 (age 26)	33	2	Kasımpaşa	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
MF	Arbër Zeneli	(1995-02-25) 25 February 1995 (age 27)	31	9	Reims	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
MF	Hekuran Kryeziu	(1993-02-12) 12 February 1993 (age 29)	28	0	Winterthur	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
MF	Zymer Bytyqi	(1996-09-11) 11 September 1996 (age 26)	17	1	Konyaspor	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
MF	Florian Loshaj	(1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 (age 26)	17	0	Cracovia	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
MF	Florent Muslija	(1998-07-06) 6 July 1998 (age 24)	13	1	SC Paderborn	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
MF	Valon Berisha	(1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 29)	36	4	Melbourne City	v.  Greece, 12 June 2022
MF	Benjamin Kololli	(1992-05-15) 15 May 1992 (age 30)	24	4	Shimizu S-Pulse	v.  Greece, 12 June 2022INJ
MF	Emir Sahiti	(1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 (age 23)	2	0	Hajduk Split	v.  Greece, 12 June 2022
MF	Edon Zhegrova	(1999-03-31) 31 March 1999 (age 23)	28	3	Lille	v.  Northern Ireland, 9 June 2022INJ
MF	Qëndrim Zyba	(2001-01-03) 3 January 2001 (age 21)	0	0	Ballkani	v.  Cyprus, 2 June 2022PRE / U21
FW	Vedat Muriqi	(1994-04-24) 24 April 1994 (age 28)	44	23	Mallorca	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
FW	Elbasan Rashani	(1993-05-09) 9 May 1993 (age 29)	24	5	Clermont	v.  Cyprus, 27 September 2022
FW	Shkelqim Vladi	(2000-09-21) 21 September 2000 (age 22)	0	0	Aarau	v.  Northern Ireland, 24 September 2022INJ
FW	Astrit Selmani	(1997-05-13) 13 May 1997 (age 25)	5	1	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	v.  Switzerland, 29 March 2022
Notes INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury. SUS = Not available in next match due to red card suspension. PRE = Preliminary squad/standby. U21 = Was called up from national U21 squad. DEC = The player has refused to join. WD = Player withdrew from the current squad due to non-injury issue.

Records

Players in bold are still active with Kosovo.

Most capped players

As of 27 September 2022[68][69]

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Pos.	Career
1	Amir Rrahmani	49	6	DF	2014–present
2	Milot Rashica	46	8	MF	2016–present
3	Mërgim Vojvoda	45	2	DF	2017–present
4	Vedat Muriqi	44	23	FW	2016–present
	Fidan Aliti		1	DF	2017–present
6	Valon Berisha	36	4	MF	2016–present
	Samir Ujkani		0	GK	2014–present
8	Besar Halimi	34	3	MF	2015–present
9	Bersant Celina	33	2	MF	2014–present
10	Arbër Zeneli	31	9	MF	2016–present

Top goalscorers

As of 27 September 2022[70]

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Vedat Muriqi	23	44	0.52	2016–present
2	Arbër Zeneli	9	31	0.29	2016–present
3	Milot Rashica	8	46	0.17	2016–present
4	Amir Rrahmani	6	49	0.12	2014–present
5	Elbasan Rashani	5	24	0.21	2015–present
6	Benjamin Kololli	4	24	0.17	2016–present
	Valon Berisha	4	36	0.11	2016–present
8	Albert Bunjaku	3	6	0.5	2014–2016
	Atdhe Nuhiu	3	19	0.16	2017–2020
	Edon Zhegrova	3	28	0.11	2018–present
	Besar Halimi	3	34	0.09	2015–present

Captains

As of 27 September 2022[71]

Rank	Pos.	Name	As captain		Total
			Career	Caps	Career	Caps
1	GK	Samir Ujkani	2015–present	30	2014–present	36
2	DF	Amir Rrahmani	2019–present	24	2014–present	49
3	MF	Valon Berisha	2018–present	3	2016–present	36
	MF	Anel Rashkaj	2014	3	2014–2020	14
5	MF	Herolind Shala	2019–present	2	2016–present	27
6	DF	Fidan Aliti	2020–present	1	2017–present	44
	FW	Vedat Muriqi	2022–present	1	2016–present	44
	MF	Hekuran Kryeziu	2019–present	1	2015–present	28
	MF	Florian Loshaj	2021–present	1	2020–present	17
	MF	Enis Alushi	2014	1	2014–2017	10
	GK	Visar Bekaj	2021–present	1	2015–present	4
	MF	Besnik Hasi	2007	1	2007	1
	MF	Genc Hoxha	1993	1	1993	1

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

On 9 June 2016, the UEFA Emergency Panel decided that Kosovo would join Croatia, Finland, Iceland, Turkey and Ukraine in Group I, and also decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should not play against Kosovo for security reasons.[32][33] On 5 September 2016, Kosovo made its debut in the FIFA World Cup qualifications with a 1–1 away draw against Finland, with Kosovo's equalizing goal being scored by the newcomer Valon Berisha from a penalty kick in the 60th minute.[34] On 2 September 2021, Kosovo achieved their first win in the FIFA World Cup qualifications a 1–0 away win against Georgia.[72]

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1938	Part of  Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1950 to 1990	Part of  SFR Yugoslavia
1994 to 2002	Part of  FR Yugoslavia
2006	Part of  Serbia and Montenegro
2010	Not a FIFA member
2014
2018	Did not qualify										6th	10	0	1	9	3	24
2022											5th	8	1	2	5	5	15
2026	To be determined										To be determined
Total	—	0/2	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		2/2	18	1	3	14	8	39

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 14 November 2021 after the match against  Greece.[73]

UEFA European Championship

On 2 December 2018, in Dublin, it was decided that Kosovo should be part in Group A of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, together with Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Montenegro and 2018 World Cup fourth place finisher England.[38] On 25 March 2019, Kosovo made their debut on UEFA European Championship qualifying with a 1–1 home draw against Bulgaria and the draw goal was scored by Arbër Zeneli on the 61st minute.[74] On 11 June 2019, Kosovo won their first ever qualifying match for a major tournament by defeating Bulgaria 3–2.[75]

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960 to 1992	Part of  SFR Yugoslavia
1996 to 2000	Part of  FR Yugoslavia
2004	Part of  Serbia and Montenegro
2008	Part of  Serbia
2012	Not a UEFA member
2016
2020	Did not qualify										3rd	9	3	2	4	14	18
2024	To be determined										To be determined
Total	—	0/1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		1/1	9	3	2	4	14	18

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 8 October 2020 after the match against  North Macedonia.[76]

UEFA Nations League

Kosovo's Nations League record
First match	Azerbaijan 0–0 Kosovo  (Baku, Azerbaijan; 7 September 2018)
Biggest win	Malta 0–5 Kosovo  (Ta' Qali, Malta; 17 November 2018)
Biggest defeat	Kosovo 1–2 Greece  (Pristina, Kosovo; 6 September 2020)
	Slovenia 2–1 Kosovo  (Ljubljana, Slovenia; 15 November 2020)
Best result	39th place in 2022–23
Worst result	44th place in 2020–21

On 24 January 2018, in Lausanne, it was decided that Kosovo should be part of League D in Group 3 of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, together with Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands and Malta.[35][36] On 7 September 2018, Kosovo made their debut in the UEFA Nations League with a 0–0 away draw against Azerbaijan.[77] On 10 September 2018, Kosovo achieved their first win in the UEFA Nations League, which was also the team's first-ever competitive win, a 2–0 home win against the Faroe Islands.[78] Kosovo finished the league unbeaten (with four wins and two draws) and will be promoted to the next tier (C league) for the next edition.[37]

UEFA Nations League record
League phase													Finals
Season	LG	GP	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK		Year	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
2018–19	D	3	1st	6	4	2	0	15	2		42nd		2019	Did not enter
2020–21	C	3	3rd	6	1	2	3	4	6		44th		2021
2022–23	C	2	3rd	6	3	0	3	11	8		39th		2023
2024–25	C	To be determined											2025
Total				18	8	4	7	30	16	39th			Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	—

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 27 September 2022 after the match against  Cyprus.[79]

Non-FIFA Tournament

Kosovo for first time after the Kosovo War participated in a tournament held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Turkish Football Association. Kosovo lost against the host with result 1–0 and won against Sàpmi with result 4–1.[80]

Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
KTFF 50th Anniversary Cup	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	4	2	Squad
Total	Runners-up	1/1	2	1	0	1	4	2	—

FIFA ranking history

As of 10 February 2022[3]

  Best ranking   Worst ranking   Best mover   Worst mover

Rank		Year	Pld	W	D	L	Win %	Ranking		Move
								Best	Worst	Best (+)	Worst (−)
	109	2022	6	3	1	2	050.00	To be determined
	111	2021	14	5	2	7	035.71	109	120	6 (September)	4 (October)
	117	2020	9	1	2	6	011.11	115	117	0 (February)	1 (October)
	115	2019	10	4	3	3	040.00	114	130	6 (June)	1 (November)
	131	2018	9	7	2	0	077.78	131	178	24 (August)	1 (January)
	177	2017	7	1	0	6	014.29	164	184	9 (November)	6 (April)
	165	2016	5	1	1	3	020.00	164	190	22 (September)	190 (July)

Head-to-head record

As of 24 September 2022[81]

For head-to-head record before 1993, see this article.

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Reference
1993–present
Albania	6	1	1	4	9	11	−2	016.67	H2H results
Azerbaijan	2	1	1	0	4	0	+4	050.00	H2H results
Bulgaria	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1	050.00	H2H results
Burkina Faso	2	2	0	0	7	0	+7	100.00	H2H results
Croatia	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7	000.00	H2H results
Czech Republic	2	1	0	1	3	3	+0	050.00	H2H results
Cyprus	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00	H2H results
Denmark	1	0	1	0	2	2	+0	000.00	H2H results
England	2	0	0	2	3	9	−6	000.00	H2H results
Equatorial Guinea	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00	H2H results
Faroe Islands	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4	066.67	H2H results
Finland	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00	H2H results
Gambia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00	H2H results
Georgia	2	1	0	1	2	2	+0	050.00	H2H results
Gibraltar	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00	H2H results
Greece	6	0	3	3	3	7	−4	000.00	H2H results
Guinea	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00	H2H results
Haiti	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00	H2H results
Iceland	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	000.00	H2H results
Jordan	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00	H2H results
Latvia	1	1	0	0	4	3	+1	100.00	H2H results
Lithuania	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00	H2H results
Madagascar	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00	H2H results
Malta	3	3	0	0	10	2	+8	100.00	H2H results
Moldova	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	050.00	H2H results
Monaco	1	1	0	0	7	1	+6	100.00	—
Montenegro	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	050.00	H2H results
North Macedonia	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00	H2H results
Northern Ireland	2	1	0	1	4	4	+0	050.00	H2H results
Northern Cyprus	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00	—
Oman	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00	H2H results
San Marino	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00	H2H results
Sápmi	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00	—
Saudi Arabia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Senegal	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00	H2H results
Slovenia	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	000.00	H2H results
Spain	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	000.00	H2H results
Sweden	3	0	0	3	0	7	−7	000.00	H2H results
Switzerland	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00	H2H results
Turkey	3	0	0	3	2	12	−10	000.00	H2H results H2H results*
Ukraine	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	000.00	H2H results
41 countries	74	27	13	34	103	106	−3	036.49	All H2H results

See also

Men's

• Under-21
• Under-19
• Under-17
• Under-15
• Futsal

Women's

• National team
• Under-19
• Under-17

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

• Official website (in Albanian and English)
• Kosovo at National-Football-Teams.com
• Kosovo at RSSSF

На других языках

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- [en] Kosovo national football team

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[ru] Сборная Косова по футболу

Сбо́рная Ко́сова по футбо́лу (алб. Përfaqësuesja e futbollit të Kosovës, серб. Фудбалска репрезентација Косова) — сборная, представляющая частично признанное государство Косово на международных футбольных соревнованиях. Собирается под руководством Футбольной федерации Косова.По состоянию на 21 октября 2021 года сборная в рейтинге ФИФА занимает 113-е место[1], а в рейтинге УЕФА на 11 октября 2017 года — 53-е[3].

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