What Foreign Media Write About Northern Macedonia match Kosovo

Someone might say it's just a football game, but for Kosovo a match means more than that.

Not only can Thursday's Skopje game take Kosovo a step closer EURO 2021, but it is also seen as a chance for the Kosovo people to rise and be seen as an independent country.

Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, will meet with its neighbours Northern Macedonia in the Euro play-oof semi-finals. Victory in Skopje will bring Kosovo for the first time near a more prestigious country at the sports table.

AFP news agency, co-united with students

“I live to raise our flag among the 24 flags of the best nations in Europe,” said 23-year-old psychology student Besart Morina.

The game has been dubbed by the media as the most important “in Kosovo's history”, and even the leading coach, 69-year-old Bernard Challandes, sees Skopje facing as “not just a football game”.

“We are in Kosovo's new country, and the football team is so important to people,” said Switzerland's Swiss-born coach at a news conference.

Refugees Team 

Sports are a frequent arena for tensions with Serbia. The signs still deepen after the bitter war between the two, which lasted from February 1998 to June 1999.

Serbs tried to block Kosovo from entering UEFA and FIFA in 2016, but their failure to that challenge makes Kosovars the newest team in qualifying.

The fact that none of the 24 players selected for the match play in the domestic league is a remnant of Kosovo's violent past ʹ a majority of the team are descendants of ethnic Albanian refugees who fled the violent regime of Slobodan Milosevic during the 1990s.

Many of the players born after the bloody conflict began their career in Sweden, Switzerland and other countries, but decided to play for “Dardians”, the Metro newspaper broadcast.

Some of them play in Europe's best and strongest leagues.

Captain Amir Candman plays for Naples in Italy, Samir Wolfan and Mergim Vojvoda both play in the same league as Kosovo captain and defend Turin's colors.

Another “Luan” has recently been transferred to Serie A, is Vedat Muriqi, who is joined by Lazio but who will not be present in Skopje. At the same time, Candman's case is still in question.

Other players play in France's League 1 in the Netherlands and Bundesliga.

“Many players received good contracts, but they should never forget their roots and what it means to play with the Kosovo fanele,” said Challandes.

Despite being labeled foreign to the EURO qualifications, Kosovo was a discovery.

They set an impressive record when for 15 games they were invincible, including the friendlys, before winning England 5-3 against them in September 2019. Kosovo has finished third in their group, where they even secured a place in play-off, broadcast Metro newspaper.

The historic match will only be played around 100km (62 km) by Kosovo's capital Pristina, but because of the virus no fan will be allowed to enter the stadium.

Kosovo also faces a staunch opponent -- North Macedonia -- has waited 30 years to reach this point.

“We will give everything to process their weaknesses so that we can win,” said North Macedonia attacker Vlatko Stojanovski.