Kosovo national under-21 football team

Kosovo Under-21
Nickname(s)	Dardanët (Dardanians)
Association	Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës (FFK)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Albert Bunjaki (caretaker)
Captain	Rotation
Most caps	Besfort Kolgeci (11)
Top scorer	Florent Hasani (3)
Home stadium	Fadil Vokrri Stadium
FIFA code	KVX
First international
	Ghana 2–2 Kosovo ; (Le Bouveret, Switzerland; 12 June 2013)
Biggest win
	Andorra 0–4 Kosovo ; (Andorra la Vella, Andorra; 6 June 2019)
Biggest defeat
	Egypt 8–0 Kosovo ; (Le Bouveret, Switzerland; 15 June 2013)

The Kosovo national under-21 football team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e futbollit të Kosovës nën 21 vjeç; Serbian: Фудбалска репрезентација Косова до 21. године, romanized: Fudbalska reprezentacija Kosova do 21. godine) is the national under-21 football team of Kosovo and is controlled by the Football Federation of Kosovo.

History

Permitting by FIFA to play friendlies

On 6 February 2013, FIFA gave the permission to play international friendly games against other member associations.[1] Whereas, on 13 January 2014, there was a change of this permit that forbade Kosovo to play against the national teams of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Club teams were also allowed to play friendlies and this happened after a FIFA Emergency Committee meeting. However, it was stipulated that clubs and representative teams of the Football Federation of Kosovo may not display national symbols as flags, emblems, etc. or play national anthems. The go-ahead was given after meetings between the Football Association of Serbia and Sepp Blatter.

Membership in UEFA and FIFA

In September 2015 at an UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Malta was approved the request from the federation to the admission in UEFA to the next Ordinary Congress to be held in Budapest.[2] On 3 May 2016, at the Ordinary Congress. Kosovo were accepted into UEFA after members voted 28–24 in favor of Kosovo.[3][4] Ten days later, Kosovo was accepted in FIFA during their 66th congress in Mexico with 141 votes in favour and 23 against.[5]

Competitive record

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

On 26 January 2017, in Nyon, it was decided that Kosovo should be part in Group 5 of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, together with Azerbaijan, Germany, Israel, Norway and Republic of Ireland.[6] On 25 March 2017, Kosovo made his debut on UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifications with a 1–0 away defeat in against Republic of Ireland.[7]

UEFA European Under-21 Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1978 to 1992	Part of Yugoslavia
1994 to 2006	Part of Serbia and Montenegro
2007	Part of Serbia
2009 to 2015	Not a UEFA member
2017	Could not enter
2019	Did not qualify									5th	10	3	3	4	9	12
2021										5th	10	3	0	7	9	20
2023										5th	6	2	1	3	4	7
Total	—	0/23	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	2/15	26	8	4	14	22	39

Non-FIFA Tournament

Kosovo U21 has so far only participated in one international tournament in Valais Youth Cup, a two-day international football tournament. In which they finished in fourth place. Their first match was against Ghana in which they lost.

Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
2013	Fourth place	4th	2	0	1	1	2	10	Squad
Total	—	1/1	2	0	1	1	2	10	—

Fixtures and results

2021

8 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Kosovo	2–0	Andorra	Pristina, Kosovo
20:00	Dion Berisha 82' Marleku 85'	Report		Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium Referee: Nikolas Neokleous (Cyprus)

7 September 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	England	2–0	Kosovo	Milton Keynes, England
20:00	Brewster 10' (pen.) Palmer 26'	Report		Stadium: Stadium MK Referee: Kaarlo Oskari Hämäläinen (Finland)

7 October 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Kosovo	0–1	Czech Republic	Pristina, Kosovo
19:00		Report	Gabriel 38'	Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium Referee: Rauf Jabarov (Azerbaijan)

12 October 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Czech Republic	3–0	Kosovo	České Budějovice, Czech Republic
18:00	Sejk 10' Gabriel 38' Šulc 57'	Report		Stadium: Stadion Střelecký ostrov Referee: Gal Leibovitz (Israel)

16 November 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Kosovo	2–1	Albania	Pristina, Kosovo
19:00	E. Krasniqi 66' Sejdiu 90+2'	Report	Karrica 58'	Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann (Malta)

2022

25 March 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Kosovo	0–0	Slovenia	Pristina, Kosovo
18:00		Report		Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium Attendance: 600 Referee: Ian McNabb (Northern Ireland)

29 March 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Slovenia	0–0	Kosovo	Maribor, Slovenia
16:00		Report		Stadium: Ljudski vrt Referee: Ioannis Papadopoulos (Greece)

4 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Andorra	v	Kosovo	Andorra la Vella, Andorra
		Report		Stadium: Estadi Comunal

10 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Kosovo	v	England	Pristina, Kosovo
		Report		Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium

14 June 2023 UEFA U-21 Q	Albania	v	Kosovo	Albania
		Report

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Slovenia, on 25 and 29 March 2022.[8]
All caps and goals as of 29 March 2022 after match against Slovenia, only matches as FIFA member are included.^[a]
Players in bold have been called up or have played at least one full international match with national senior team.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	David Nreca-Bisinger	(2002-01-18) 18 January 2002	10	0	Sonnenhof Großaspach
12	1GK	Drilon Ajeti	(2000-06-26) 26 June 2000	0	0	Ulpiana
16	1GK	Ardian Bajrami	(2004-03-08) 8 March 2004	0	0	Young Boys

4	2DF	Edvin Kurtulus (Captain)	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000	12	0	Hammarby
5	2DF	Leard Sadriu (Vice-captain)	(2001-04-22) 22 April 2001	12	0	Skënderbeu Korçë
13	2DF	Valon Zumberi	(2002-11-24) 24 November 2002	7	0	Hamburger SV II
2	2DF	Andi Hoti	(2003-03-02) 2 March 2003	6	0	Inter Milan
19	2DF	Andi Janjeva	(2002-10-11) 11 October 2002	0	0	Watford U23
14	2DF	Ardi Morina	(2003-03-03) 3 March 2003	0	0	Zürich U21

7	3MF	Valmir Veliu	(2000-06-04) 4 June 2000	10	1	Llapi
21	3MF	Kreshnik Krasniqi	(2000-12-22) 22 December 2000	10	0	Strømsgodset
23	3MF	Altin Zeqiri	(2000-07-18) 18 July 2000	8	0	Lahti
6	3MF	Florent Hoti	(2000-12-11) 11 December 2000	7	0	Dundee United
10	3MF	Qëndrim Zyba	(2001-01-03) 3 January 2001	4	0	Prishtina
8	3MF	Adrion Pajaziti	(2002-11-16) 16 November 2002	3	0	Fulham
22	3MF	Arlind Sejdiu	(2001-08-11) 11 August 2001	2	1	Lahti
15	3MF	Ilir Krasniqi	(2000-04-02) 2 April 2000	2	0	Llapi
11	3MF	Patriot Sejdiu	(2000-05-05) 5 May 2000	1	0	Malmö
3	3MF	Florian Haxha	(2002-04-06) 6 April 2002	1	0	Hertha BSC II
20	3MF	Behar Neziri	(2003-01-06) 6 January 2003	1	0	Bayern Munich

9	4FW	Mark Marleku	(2000-04-27) 27 April 2000	7	1	Kriens
18	4FW	Ardit Tahiri	(2002-10-06) 6 October 2002	5	0	Drita
17	4FW	Baton Zabërgja	(2001-04-18) 18 April 2001	3	0	Drenica

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	Léo Besson	(2002-10-27) 27 October 2002	2	0	Servette U21	v. Albania, 16 November 2021^PRE
GK	Flamur Gashi	(2000-06-06) 6 June 2000	0	0	Malisheva	v. Czech Republic, 12 October 2021
GK	Petrit Terziu	(2001-12-03) 3 December 2001	0	0	Ferizaj	v. Czech Republic, 7 October 2021^PRE
GK	Egzon Bislimi	(2000-01-15) 15 January 2000	0	0	Ramiz Sadiku	v. England, 7 September 2021^PRE
GK	Laurit Behluli	(2000-05-17) 17 May 2000	0	0	Kika	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021^PRE
GK	Agron Kolaj	(2001-03-19) 19 March 2001	0	0	Besa Pejë	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021^PRE

DF	Florian Hoxha	(2001-02-22) 22 February 2001	5	0	Grasshoppers	v. Albania, 16 November 2021
DF	Bujar Pllana	(2001-10-29) 29 October 2001	3	0	Prishtina	v. Albania, 16 November 2021
DF	Donart Vitija	(2000-04-25) 25 April 2000	0	0	Malisheva	v. Albania, 16 November 2021
DF	Altin Bytyçi	(2001-01-14) 14 January 2001	0	0	Kukësi	v. Albania, 16 November 2021^PRE
DF	Melos Bajrami	(2001-09-29) 29 September 2001	0	0	Skënderbeu Korçë	v. Albania, 16 November 2021
DF	Leonat Vitija	(2000-08-22) 22 August 2000	5	0	Skënderbeu Korçë	v. Czech Republic, 7 October 2021^WD
DF	Albion Pllana	(2000-08-20) 20 August 2000	3	0	Trepça '89	v. England, 7 September 2021
DF	Loti Celina	(2000-06-05) 5 June 2000	0	0	Partizani Tirana	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021^PRE
DF	Ardi Ajdini	(2002-11-04) 4 November 2002	0	0	2 Korriku	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021^PRE

MF	Ismet Lushaku	(2000-09-22) 22 September 2000	10	0	Varbergs BoIS	v. Slovenia, 25 March 2022^COVID
MF	Gentrit Limani	(2000-04-01) 1 April 2000	3	0	Hamburger SV II	v. Albania, 16 November 2021
MF	Behadil Sabani	(2000-01-26) 26 January 2000	2	0	Mainz 05 II	v. Albania, 16 November 2021
MF	Erolind Krasniqi	(2000-03-15) 15 March 2000	1	1	Rot-Weiss Essen	v. Albania, 16 November 2021
MF	Altin Kryeziu	(2002-01-03) 3 January 2002	6	0	Tabor Sežana	v. Czech Republic, 12 October 2021
MF	Diamant Berisha	(2000-07-22) 22 July 2000	5	0	Schalke 04 II	v. Czech Republic, 12 October 2021
MF	Dion Berisha	(2003-05-09) 9 May 2003	3	1	FC Augsburg II	v. Czech Republic, 12 October 2021
MF	Erion Sadiku	(2002-01-23) 23 January 2002	1	0	Genoa	v. Czech Republic, 12 October 2021
MF	Rilind Hetemi	(2002-02-11) 11 February 2002	3	0	VfB Stuttgart II	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021
MF	Drilon Islami	(2000-07-18) 18 July 2000	0	0	Drita	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021^PRE
MF	Blerind Morina	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001	0	0	Unattached	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021^PRE

FW	Veton Tusha	(2002-12-29) 29 December 2002	4	1	Termalica	v. England, 7 September 2021
FW	Edi Sylisufaj	(2000-03-08) 8 March 2000	2	0	Sirius	v. England, 7 September 2021^PRE
FW	Rilind Nivokazi	(2000-01-26) 26 January 2000	3	0	Chiasso	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021
FW	Arian Kastrati	(2001-07-15) 15 July 2001	2	0	MVV Maastricht	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021^PRE
FW	Albion Rrahmani	(2000-08-31) 31 August 2000	0	0	Ballkani	v. Andorra, 8 June 2021
Notes ^PRE = Preliminary squad/standby. ^WD = Player withdrew from the current squad due to non-injury issue. ^COVID = The player is not part of the current squad due to has been tested positive for COVID-19.

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Albert Bunjaki (caretaker)
Assistant coach	Bekim Isufi
Goalkeeping coach	Naser Prapashtica
Team manager	Zgjim Sojeva

Head-to-head records against other countries

As of 11 June 2019
Head-to-head records are included only matches as FIFA member.

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Andorra	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Azerbaijan	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2	050.00
Germany	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	000.00
England	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8	000.00
Israel	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7	000.00
Malta	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Norway	2	2	0	0	6	2	+4	100.00
Republic of Ireland	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Turkey	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Turkmenistan	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	100.00
10 Countries	15	7	3	5	20	23	−3	046.67

Notes and references

Notes

^
Caps of the friendly matches against Turkmenistan (24 March 2019) and Malta (26 March 2019) are missing.

References

"FIFA Circular no.1342" (PDF). FIFA. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2019.
"UEFA shqyrton në mars të vitit të ardhshëm anëtarësimin e Kosovës" [UEFA reviews in March next year Kosovo's membership] (in Albanian). Voice of America. 19 September 2015.
"Football Federation of Kosovo joins UEFA". UEFA. 3 May 2016.
"Kosovo accepted as member of Uefa after Congress vote". The Guardian. 3 May 2016.
"Zyrtare: Kosova pranohet në FIFA, jemi të barabartë me të gjitha vendet e botës" [Official: Kosovo is admitted to FIFA, we are equal to all countries in the world] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 13 May 2016.
"Kosova U21 në grup me Gjermaninë, ja orari i ndeshjeve" [Kosovo U21 in group with Germany and the match schedules] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2018. Kosova u përfshi në Grupin 5, me kundërshtarë shumë të fortë si Gjermania, Izraeli, Norvegjia, Irlanda dhe Azerbajxhani
"Kosova U21 e pafat kundër Irlandës, humb me rezultat të ngushtë" [Kosovo U21 unlucky against Ireland, loses with a close result] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 25 March 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
"Bunjaki publikon listën e futbollistëve të Kombëtares U21" [Bunjaki publishes the list of players of the national U21 team] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 15 March 2022.

External links

Official website (in Albanian and English)
Kosovo U21 News about the team

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[cnote_a] 
Caps of the friendly matches against Turkmenistan (24 March 2019) and Malta (26 March 2019) are missing.

[1] "FIFA Circular no.1342" (PDF). FIFA. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2019.

[2] "UEFA shqyrton në mars të vitit të ardhshëm anëtarësimin e Kosovës" [UEFA reviews in March next year Kosovo's membership] (in Albanian). Voice of America. 19 September 2015.

[3] "Football Federation of Kosovo joins UEFA". UEFA. 3 May 2016.

[4] "Kosovo accepted as member of Uefa after Congress vote". The Guardian. 3 May 2016.

[5] "Zyrtare: Kosova pranohet në FIFA, jemi të barabartë me të gjitha vendet e botës" [Official: Kosovo is admitted to FIFA, we are equal to all countries in the world] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 13 May 2016.

[6] "Kosova U21 në grup me Gjermaninë, ja orari i ndeshjeve" [Kosovo U21 in group with Germany and the match schedules] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2018. Kosova u përfshi në Grupin 5, me kundërshtarë shumë të fortë si Gjermania, Izraeli, Norvegjia, Irlanda dhe Azerbajxhani

[7] "Kosova U21 e pafat kundër Irlandës, humb me rezultat të ngushtë" [Kosovo U21 unlucky against Ireland, loses with a close result] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 25 March 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2018.

[8] "Bunjaki publikon listën e futbollistëve të Kombëtares U21" [Bunjaki publishes the list of players of the national U21 team] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 15 March 2022.

[a]