In June 2016, while Europe was getting ready for the upcoming Euro’s, the national team of Kosovo made history in Frankfurt.
A few months after FIFA has accepted Kosovo's full membership, the team played its first officially recognized match against the Faroe Islands. 7000 people came to support Kosovo, and the team won 2-0.
More than three years later, the national team that was almost unwanted by FIFA is getting ready for their last home match in Euro 2020 qualifying against England, while they are closer than ever to their first-ever international tournament. Although they have lost to the Czech Republic in the last match, Kosovo is still two wins away from the qualification through the playoffs.
Kosovo’s journey to that moment was long and difficult. Kosovo was declared as independent in 2008 unilaterally, and it still unrecognized by the United Nations. As a result, FIFA refused to recognize Kosovo. In its first six years as an independent country, the Kosovo national team played only one friendly match against Albania in 2010.
In 2013, FIFA decided to allow official matches in Kosovo, although it didn't support Kosovo's full membership. They had two conditions for that: The first was disallowing using national symbols, such as showing the flag or playing the anthems before the match. The second condition was getting permission from the Serbian FA.
The first match was played in March 2014, when Haiti arrived at the stadium in Mitrovica for the first-ever FIFA recognized game of Kosovo. As a part of the first permission, four players joined the local players. The most famous was Samir Ujkani, who was Palermo's goalkeeper and also the first goalkeeper of the Albanian national team. Other players that joined were Albert Bunjaku, originally from Switzerland, Ardian Gashi, who played for Norway, and Lum Rezhepi, former Finland national team player. All together led the team to a 0-0 draw.
When Kosovo became a full member of FIFA in 2016, all was set. The International Olympic Committee already accepted Kosovo as a member, even though one of the requirements is to be a UN member. For the first full international match against the Faroe Islands, more players change their nationality. Albert Bunjaku, who already played for Kosovo, scored the first goal. Elba Rashani that was part of Norway's youth teams, scored the second goal.
Still, the official debut of Kosovo in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers was much harder. There was no stadium in Kosovo that was eligible to host international matches, so the team had to host its matches in Shkodër, Albania. In their first match, away against Finland, FIFA approved the nationality change of five former Albania national team players only seven hours before the kickoff. The politics also had their place, when Ukraine hosted Kosovo in Krakow because Ukraine doesn't recognize Kosovo's independence.
Their first campaign ended with a single draw, in the away match against Finland, and nine defeats. For Kosovo, participating in this qualifying campaign was just their first achievement. The next competition, playing in the UEFA Nations League, was their chance to compete against teams at the same level. They didn't lose in their six matches, and winning the last game against Azerbaijan 4-0 was decisive to assure at least a playoff spot.
During the Nations League campaign, Kosovo has shown more combinations between local-based players and players from abroad. Bersant Celina, who played for the Manchester City Academy, was one of them. He preferred to play for Kosovo instead of keeping playing for Norway. Arbër Zeneli, who scored a hat-trick in the last match against Azerbaijan, left the Swedish youth teams. There were also local youngsters, like Vedat Muriqi, that currently plays for Fenerbahçe. All played together for their nation.
113.1k Likes, 1,233 Comments - Vedat Muriqi (@vedatmuriqi) on Instagram: "More than teammates..."
When the Euro 2020 qualifiers draw was made, the matches against England brought most of the attention. It wasn't only the transition from being an unrecognized team to hosting one of the leading national teams. For many Kosovars, England is one of the countries that helped them in their way to independence. Tony Blair was one of the leaders that led to the NATO bombings over Serbia in 1998, and the United Kingdom was one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo as an independent state in 2008.
The qualifying campaign became successful than expected. In the Nations League, Kosovo returned home and hosted their matches in Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina. Their first two matches were ended in draws against Bulgaria and Kosovo. Then came the two games that changed the whole campaign. In June, Kosovo defeated Bulgaria 3-2 away from home with a winning goal of Elba Rashani in added time. Three months later, in front of the home crowd, Kosovo surprised the Czech Republic and won 2-1.
Unfortunately, on Thursday, Kosovo has lost 2-1 against the Czech Republic, after they already led 1-0. It left Kosovo with no chance to win the automatic qualification. For the local fans in Kosovo, it doesn't matter. They have an opportunity to host England and to honor their team for a successful campaign. In March, Kosovo will play in the Nations League playoffs, and all they need to do is to win twice. It is a long journey that can end with a history in Euro 2020.