Kosovo national football team
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| Kosovo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Kuqezinjët (Red and Blacks) |
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| Association | Football Federation of Kosovo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | none | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  Edmond Rugova |
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| Captain | Kristian Nushi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | none | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | none | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | none | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | none | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| First international | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Albania 3 - 1 Kosovo (Tirana, Albania; 14 February 1993) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Kosovo 7 - 1 Monaco  (Cap d'Ail, France; April 22, 2006) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albania 3 - 1 Kosovo (Tirana, Albania; 14 February 1993) |
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The Kosovo national football team represents Kosovo in international men's football. Controlled by the Football Federation of Kosovo[1], the governing body for football in Kosovo, they are unranked in the FIFA World Rankings as the Football Federation of Kosovo is not a member of FIFA nor UEFA.
The Kosovo national football team was formed following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, and has played a number of friendly matches. Most of these friendly matches were played against football clubs, although a number were played against national teams of other countries. The team is currently coached by Edmond Rugova[2], who took charge in September 2006. Players like Lorik Cana, Arjan Beqaj, Armend Dallku, Debatik Curri, Besart Berisha, Besnik Hasi[3], Mehmet Dragusha and others who have played for the Albania national football team might be eligible to play for the Kosovo team if they choose to do so and if there is an agreement between the Football Federation of Kosovo, the Football Association of Albania and UEFA. See the Kosovo dilemma
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[edit] Match record
Kosovo has played a number of international matches. The last international match was a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia[4], played in Ankara, Turkey, on June 15, 2007. It was the first time that Kosovo played a team that has taken part in the FIFA World Cup and the winning goal was scored by Kristian Nushi from the penalty spot on the 84th minute. The biggest win for Kosovo is the 7-1 defeat of Monaco[5], who hosted the event on April 24, 2006. The team that played against Monaco was led by the former Kosovo national team coach, Muharrem Sahiti, who after the match stated that: "I am very pleased with the team's performance even though we had predicted a stronger opponent. However, I want to emphasize that our players have been fantastic. The fact that we do not play many international matches may have inspired the players to give it their all this time"[6].
Previously, Kosovo played two matches against Albania and lost in both of them: 0-1 at home, and 3-1 away. In two other matches the Kosovo team played against Turkey, winning one and losing one: the first match was won by Kosovo 3-0 while the second was a 2-1 defeat, with both matches played in same stadium, but on different dates. The games against Turkey were, however, played with a team consisting of 34-35 year-old seniors. Turkey and Albania on the first match played with their B teams.
In 2005 they partecipated to the KTFF 50th Anniversary Cup in Northern Cyprus, finishing second on three. They lost 1-0 against the host and won 4-1 against Sàpmi.
[edit] Declaration of independence
On February 17, 2008 Kosovo declared independence from Serbia and sought international recognition. A number of states such as France, the United States and the United Kingdom immediately recognised the new state. Others, such as Serbia, Russia and Spain are fiercely opposed to independence.
On May 6, 2008, Kosovo applied for FIFA membership. "It's an historical moment for our country. We hope to be accepted.", said Fadil Vokrri, president of the FFK. Kosovo's applications will be discussed at the FIFA Congress in Sydney, at the end of May 2008.[7] So far FIFA has not adopted a formal position, although its membership criteria implicitly state that new applicants have to be sovereign states, and this may scupper Kosovo's application, as Russia has promised to veto any move towards recognition by the United Nations. The IOC has stated that Kosovo must be a member of the UN before it can enter the Olympics.[8] As with previous controversial applications, such as Gibraltar’s bid to join UEFA[9], this is likely to be an extremely drawn-out process.
| Date | Venue | Home Team | Opponent | Score |
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| Jun 15 2007 | Turkey | Kosovo | Saudi Arabia | 1 - 0 |
| Nov 28 2006 | Kosovo | Kosovo | Albanian All Stars | 4 - 1 |
| Apr 22 2006 | France | Kosovo | Monaco | 7 - 1 |
| Nov 3 2005 | Northern Cyprus | Kosovo | Sápmi | 4 - 1 |
| Nov 2 2005 | Northern Cyprus | Kosovo | Northern Cyprus | 0 - 1 |
| Sep 6 2002 | Kosovo | Kosovo | Albania | 0 - 1 |
| Feb 14 1993 | Albania | Kosovo | Albania | 1 - 3 |
[edit] World Cup record
- 1930 to 1938 - Was part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- 1950 to 1990 - Was part of SFR Yugoslavia
- 1994 to 2002 - Was part of FR Yugoslavia
- 2006 - Was part of Serbia and Montenegro
- 2010 - Did not enter
[edit] European Championship record
- 1960 to 1992 - Was part of SFR Yugoslavia
- 1996 to 2000 - Was part of FR Yugoslavia
- 2004 - Was part of Serbia and Montenegro
- 2008 - Was part of Serbia
[edit] Current squad
[edit] Current Call Up Players
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- Note: Waiting for an agreement between the Football Federation of Kosovo, the Football Association of Albania and UEFA. See the Kosovo dilemma
[edit] Sources
- ^ Kosovo national team info by FFK
- ^ coach of Kosovo Kent national football team (AlbaniaSoccer)
- ^ Besnik Hasi to lead the Kosovo national football team against Saudi Arabia (Futbolli.com)
- ^ Kosovo 1:0 Saudi Arabia (Futbolli.com)
- ^ Kosovo defeated Monaco by a score of 7-1 (AlbaniaSoccer)
- ^ AlbaniaSoccer (2006). Salihi's statement after the Monaco friendly.
- ^ "Kosovo presenta la solicitud para entrar en la FIFA", Marca, 2008-05-06. Retrieved on 2008-05-07. (Spanish)
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021801072.html
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Uefa delays decision on Gibraltar
[edit] External links
- Football Federation of Kosovo Official website
- International results from Roon Ba
- FIFA receives Kosovo football delegation KosovaReport 21 February 2006
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International football
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