Kosovo hosts the Republic of Ireland this Thursday, September 24, for Matchday 1 of 6 in the UEFA Nations League Group G, that is, the League B Group 3 opener.
Both national teams struggled to qualify for the World Cup and were eliminated in the preceding playoff round, so this will be their first competitive match since then. Kosovo and Ireland also share a group with Austria.
Kosovo’s last match was a friendly played on June 7, in which they defeated Andorra 3-0. However, their last official or competitive match was against Turkey in the World Cup qualifiers, in the final, which they lost 1-0. On March 31, Kerem Aktürkoğlu scored the goal that gave Turkey the victory.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s last match was a friendly against Canada on June 5, which ended 1-1. However, as mentioned, Ireland’s last competitive match was in the World Cup qualifiers, where they lost in the semifinal to the Czech Republic after a 2-2 draw in regular time and a 4-3 penalty shootout loss. Troy Parrott and Matej Kovar scored Ireland’s two goals in regular time.
Below is the latest squad status for both national teams.
Kosovo vs. Ireland: Team News & Predicted Starting Lineups
Franco Foda’s team currently has striker Vedat Muriqi as their star, who is the country’s all-time top scorer and also scored four goals in a single match last Sunday with Fenerbahçe in a Turkish Super Lig match against Eyüpspor. Therefore, Muriqi arrives in great form for this fixture.
Amir Rrahmanhi, who was the national team’s captain, will not be available because he retired from international soccer following a dispute with the Kosovo Football Federation. Mergim Vojvoda will take over the captain’s armband.
Kosovo also has several new faces in this call-up, as Erblin Osmani, the second-youngest player in history to appear in a Bundesliga match for Bayern Munich, could have a more prominent role during this international break.
Meanwhile, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team also called up some new players, such as Liam Kitching, Joel Bagan and Owen Elding.
Parrott arrives at this match as the national team’s hero and the standout player to watch, having also started a new chapter at Spanish La Liga side Real Betis, scoring against both Real Madrid and Lille, the latter in the Champions League.
Kosovo predicted starting XI vs. Ireland: Muric; Vojvoda, Dellova, Hajdari, Gallapeni; Zhegrova, Hoxha, Rrudhani, Rashica; Asllani, Muriqi.
Ireland predicted starting XI vs. Kosovo: Kelleher; O’Brien, Egan, O’Shea; Abankwah, Molumby, Knight, Manning; Azaz, Ogbene; Parrott.
Kosovo vs. Ireland Lineup Today: Confirmed Team News & Starting XI