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They are a World Cup fairytale, a footballing nation barely a decade old with fewer people than South Australia. A Balkan West Virginia, but with a fraction of the area, and a checkered past.
Minnows Kosovo are just one game away from their first appearance at a World Cup, and a place beckons in group D alongside Australia, Paraguay and co-hosts the United States.
All that stands in their way is a single, all-or-nothing playoff against Turkey at home in Pristina on Tuesday. It is a marvellous climax to a qualification campaign that has become a rallying cry for national optimism and pride.
Kosovo coach Franco Foda said Tuesday’s match would attract 100,000 people – close to half the number of residents in the capital Pristina – if the Fadil Vokrri Stadium was large enough to fit them all in. Unfortunately, its capacity is just 14,000, although 25,000 squeezed in for a 2007 performance by rapper 50 Cent in what was a significant moment of postwar healing.
This is a place where conflict is not easily forgotten. Not far from the stadium, a police station was bombed by Nato during the 1998-99 war. In the country’s north, tensions still simmer with neighbouring Serbia.
For a nation like Kosovo, football means something more. “As a national team, we became a symbol that anything is possible,” says Melbourne City winger Elbasan Rashani, who played 29 times for Kosovo between 2016 and 2024. “We showed the way for the people of Kosovo, of being recognised.”
After Thursday’s dramatic 4-3 victory over Slovakia in the playoff semi-final in Bratislava, president of the Kosovo Football Federation, Agim Ademi, called the Kosovo players “gladiators”. Kosovans celebrated the win with fireworks on the streets of Pristina, and in comment threads on social media. Slovakia, like Serbia, does not recognise Kosovan independence. Neither country’s football team, it was noted, will be going to North America.
Kosovo may be closer than ever to a historic World Cup appearance, but Foda said people must not get carried away. “We have emotional fans, but we must be careful and not allow ourselves to make mistakes. Success is only achieved by maintaining calm.”
Kosovo’s star striker Vedat Muriqi, who plays for Mallorca in Spain, said reaching the World Cup is the pinnacle of a footballer’s career and just “one small step” was left. “Then we can also bring happiness to people all over Kosovo,” he said.
Turkey – ranked 23 in the world – present a formidable challenge, however. “We know Turkey’s qualities. They are a better team than Slovakia. We also know their weaknesses,” the forward said. “We will give our best. With the support of the fans, I believe it will be a little easier.”
In 2021, Kosovo finished bottom of their World Cup qualification group, winning just one match. Ahead of the draw for the 2026 edition, the Kosovans were ranked 99th when they entered qualification, behind even historic easy beats Luxembourg.
They were clear outsiders in a group made up of Sweden, Switzerland and Slovenia, and qualification looked all but impossible after a 4-0 loss in Basel in their first match. But two shock wins against Sweden, plus another upset against Slovenia, booked Kosovo a place in the play-offs.
A World Cup appearance would be a stirring achievement for a nation whose independence was only declared in 2008, and who only joined Fifa and Uefa in 2016.
Rashani – born in Sweden and raised in Norway by Kosovan parents who fled their homeland in 1992 – was there for much of the team’s formative period, as one of several Kosovan players from the diaspora invited to play. “We always had the belief,” he said.
“I remember our first coach Albert Bunjaki at the time when they wanted to create a national team. He took his car and he was driving all around Europe to see us one by one, the players, and tell us about the project and convince us to play for Kosovo. So from early on, you could feel that this is something special.”
Kosovo came within 90 minutes of qualifying for Euro 2020, when a side depleted by several absences due to Covid-19 restrictions lost 2-1 in a playoff to North Macedonia. Rashani played in that match in Skopje, and knows the advantage the home crowd will offer this time around. “I always say to my friends, you don’t need a warm up before playing for Kosovo, you get chills just by listening to the supporters.”
This time however, Rashani will wake up before 5am to watch the playoff as a fan, from his home in Australia. “People all around the world who have some connection to Kosovo will watch. It’s such a huge game for us, and hopefully, we can make it.”
