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The positive result against Serbia is the 'key' that opens a 'door' to the World Cup, for the first time in history...
The Serbian national team hosts the Albanian national team tonight at 20:45, in the decisive match for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The situation in the qualifying round in Group K so far does not differ much from the first predictions. The match between Serbia and Albania is seen as decisive in the fight for second place in the group.
It was known that the English were untouchable, which was confirmed on the pitch, and now it remains to be seen who will be the traveler to the knockout stage. It is also clear that Andorra and Latvia are not competitive.
-Change of stadium, tickets and number of fans
Although football officials have been trying to defuse tensions for days, the situation was not as calm as before the match with the other teams. It was known that Albanian fans would not attend, while Serbia was fined 80,000 francs and the capacity of the Dubocica stadium was reduced due to incidents during the match with England.
The match was subsequently declared a match with the highest security risk and the Serbian Federation decided that tickets for the match would not go on sale. Serbian authorities even arrested an Albanian who tried to bring into Serbia T-shirts, flags and hats with the KLA emblem.
-Team form
Albania: With a 1-0 home win over Latvia last month, Albania remains unbeaten in its last five matches (3 wins, 2 draws) and is aiming for a third consecutive win for the first time since October 2023.
Albania has managed to get only 1 point in its two away matches in Group K. (Draw with Latvia and loss to England). Mathematics does not allow them to lose points even in the match against Serbia, as things get complicated. A positive result against Serbia is the key that opens a door to go to the World Cup for the first time in history.
Serbia: An unbeaten start to qualifying in Group K (2 wins, 1 draw), coupled with three clean sheets, had Serbia looking like a strong contender for first place, but a crushing 5-0 home defeat to England in their final match brought the Serbs back to their feet. This heavy defeat came somewhat unexpectedly, as Dragan Stojković's side were unbeaten in their previous seven matches (3 wins, 4 draws). It was also their first home defeat since September 2023 (4 wins, 3 draws). The match against Albania requires just three points if the Serbs are to secure a third consecutive appearance at the World Cup finals.
-List of players recruited by each team:
Albania List:
Goalkeepers: Thomas Strakosha, Mario Dajsinani, Simon Simoni
Defenders: Elseid Hysaj, Ivan Balliu, Mario Mitaj, Naser Aliji, Ardian Ismajli, Enea Mihaj, Berat Gjimshiti, Arlind Ajeti, Klisman Cake
Midfielders: Ylber Ramadani, Juljan Shehu, Kristjan Asllani, Medon Berisha, Qazim Laçi, Adrion Pajaziti, Nedim Bajrami, Arbër Hoxha, Jasir Asani
Forwards: Armando Broja, Myrto Uzuni, Rey Manaj, Mirlind Daku
Serbia's list:
Goalkeepers: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Djordje Petrovic, Predrag Rajkovic and Dragan Rosic.
Defenders: Nikola Milenkovic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Milos Veljkovic, Strahinja Erakovic, Jan-Karlo Simic and Veljko Milosavljevic.
Midfield: Sasha Lukic, Nemanja Gudelj, Nemanja Maksimovic, Andrija Zivkovic, Lazar Samardzic, Filip Kostic, Stefan Mitrovic, Aleksandar Stankovic, Filip Ugresic and Dejan Zukic.
Attack: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Vlahovic, Luka Jovic and Andrej Ilic.
-Who will judge the Serbia-Albania match?
Istvan Kovac from Romania will be the main referee of the match, assisted by Mihai Marica and Ferenc Tunjogi.
UEFA has appointed Horacio Fesnica, also from Romania, as the fourth official. The VAR room will be occupied by Germans Bastian Dankert and Pascal Müller.
-The mistake that cost Albania dearly
Albania made a mistake and is in a slightly worse position than Serbia before the most important match in Group K. Our national team managed to defeat Andorra, but a draw in the first match against Latvia cost us dearly. In the second, we won with a minimal score, 1-0. This false step puts us in second place with 1 point more than Serbia, which has one match less than us.
In the last two years, Silvinho has built a very strong and combative team that finds it difficult to concede goals, but on the other hand, finds it difficult to score them.
-Head-to-head matches
Serbia and Albania have played three matches so far, but none have been as important as today's to open a door to the World Cup.
However, the first one will be remembered for a very long time, mainly for what happened off the pitch. In the Euro 2016 qualifiers, there was the famous drone incident, which caused the match to be abandoned due to chaos in the stadium. Later, the points were awarded to Albania on the table.
In the return match in Tirana, Serbia defeated Albania 2:0 with goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Adem Ljajić in the final minutes of the match.
Meanwhile, the third match was played in June this year and there were no goals. Albania had a golden opportunity to score with a penalty awarded at the end of the first half, but Manaj's shot was stopped by Serbian goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović./ Pamphlet
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