After making a splash in their last World Cup campaign, Kosovo have designs on maintaining that surge by scalping Ireland in front of a full-house.
The side managed by former German international Franco Foda beat Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia along their trail to a playoff final, only to slip up at the final juncture against Turkey.
They no longer have the influence of captain Amir Rrahmani, the Napoli defender one of several players who’ve quit the Kosovo team in protest at governance under president Agim Ademi.
“We as a team have high expectations,” outlined Foda about a group that also features Israel and Austria.
“This, for us, is the start of qualifying for the European Championships in 2028.
Given the country’s history, gaining independence in 2008 and commencing competitive matches from 2016, there’s a pipeline of successors at the ready.
Bayern Munich’s Erblin Osmani is the latest of those but his story mirrors that of several predecessors. Having represented his homeland of Germany at underage level, he has become the latest member of the diaspora. The winger, who only turned 17 in May, will make his debut against Ireland.
Also on the attacking front, Edon Zhegrova of Juventus is relied on, as is Vedat Muriqi. Known as ‘The Pirate’, he’s captured many defenders this season, scoring six in six games for his new club Fenerbahce. Four of those came on Sunday in the 8-0 win over Eyupspor.
“He scored 32 goals in 68 matches last season for Mallorca in Spain,” noted Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson. “When Kosovo played Iceland, my home country, he just took them apart. That is one player to watch but there are others.”
The Ireland manager has confessed this window to be a ‘tricky time’, due to the controversy over the two upcoming Israel games but Foda, for one, doesn’t feel Ireland will be distracted when they step out before 14,000 fans.
“A lot of talk has been about Israel but the next game for Ireland is here in Kosovo,” reasoned the German.
“I don’t think that is an advantage to us because I’m pretty sure that every coach has on his head the upcoming game, not the one afterwards.
“I think that every coach is doing that. Of course, They will prepare accordingly. For the Irish team, the upcoming game is against us. I think they are focused on this game, not on the game afterwards.” He added: “We know the qualities of Ireland, having analysed many of their players.
“It’s always our goal to win every game, then you will see how the game goes. Maybe we have to be satisfied with a draw but we always play to win. We know the qualities of Ireland.
We want to take our ideas and principles, the way we want to play football, out onto the pitch.” John Egan is best positioned to replace missing captain Nathan Collins while the right-wing spot usually reserved for Séamus Coleman may be allocated to his former clubmate Jake O’Brien.
Jason Knight will fancy partnering Jayson Molumby in midfield but there will be a familiar complexion to Ireland’s attack, with in-form Troy Parrott leading the line.
A top-two finish in the pool guarantees Ireland a second seeding in the Euro 2028 qualification draw, set for Belfast on December 6. The other Nations League B3 game sees Austria host Israel in Linz.
A Muric; M Vojvoda, I Krasniqi, A Hajdari, D Gallopini; L Avdullahu, D Rrudhani; E Zhegrova, E Osmani, M Rashica; V Muriqi.
C Kelleher; J Egan, D O’Shea, L Scales; J O’Brien, J Molumby, J Knight, R Manning; C Ogbene, F Azaz; T Parrott.