Sports Mole previews Friday’s World Cup Qualifying – Europe clash between Kosovo and Slovenia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Kosovo will be looking to stun the footballing world for the second time in two months when they host Slovenia this Friday night in a tasty World Cup qualifier.
The Dardanians made global headlines in September after beating Sweden, while the Slovenians are yet to get a win on the board following a slow start to their campaign.
Match preview
Ranked 165th by FIFA less than 10 years ago, Kosovo have managed to drag themselves up the international football ladder, picking up significant momentum in recent years.
The Dardanians head into Friday’s game ranked 91st after enjoying a sensational 2025, which included promotion to the second tier of the UEFA Nations League.
On top of that, Kosovo are currently second in their World Cup qualifying group, courtesy of their shock 2-0 victory over Sweden – a nation ranked 32nd.
Franco Foda and his men now turn their attention to a struggling Slovenia side, as they look to pick up an unprecedented second group victory and move a step closer to North America.
Kosovo have only lost two of their last 11 games, scoring 26 goals along the way and picking up successes against the likes of Iceland, Lithuania, Cyprus and the aforementioned Swedes.
Slovenia, meanwhile, are already fighting an uphill battle after kicking off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a home 2-2 draw against Sweden and a thumping 3-0 loss against group leaders Switzerland.
Matjaz Kek’s side were somewhat fortunate to get a point out of those two games, considering they were rescued by a last-minute Zan Vipotnik equaliser against the Swedes.
Generally speaking, things have not been going well for Slovenia in recent times, with the national side managing just three competitive victories since the start of 2024 – two of which came against Kazakhstan.
Slovenia have played Kosovo twice in competitive fixtures, winning both games by a single-goal margin almost exactly five years ago.
The Dardanians have come a long way since 2020, and they are expected to give the Slovenians a run for their money in what is becoming a tantalising group battle.
Kosovo World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
L W
Kosovo form (all competitions):
W W W W L W
Slovenia World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
D L
Slovenia form (all competitions):
D W W W D L
Team News
Kosovo head into October’s international break without Florian Haxha, with the right midfielder pulling out of the squad due to a health problem.
Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi is the nation’s all-time goalscorer with 32 goals to his name from 62 international appearances.
The 31-year-old is expected to lead the attack, while Mergim Vojvoda will be looking to lead his defence to successive clean sheets for the first time since 2021.
Slovenia, on the other hand, will be without Miha Zajc after the player made it clear he will not be returning to the national team.
The Dinamo Zagreb midfielder was a high-profile omission from the Euro 2024 squad, which led him to retire from international duties. Despite recent rumours of a comeback, the 30-year-old will not be involved in October’s fixtures.
Despite this, manager Kek still has a lot of quality at his disposal, namely Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak, Leeds United defender Jaka Bijol, and Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko.
Kosovo possible starting lineup:
Muric; Gallapeni, Aliti, Dellova, Krasniqi, Vojvoda; Muslija, Rexhbecaj, Avdullahu; Rrahmani, Muriqi
Slovenia possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Janza, Bijol, Drkusic, Karnicnik; Lovric, Elsnik, Gnezda Cerin, Stojanovic; Vipotnik, Sesko
We say: Kosovo 2-1 Slovenia
Picking up back-to-back World Cup qualifying victories would mark a monumental achievement for Kosovo, and we are backing the team to pull it off.
Despite boasting a lot of quality, Slovenia are not in great form, and they are certainly there for the taking. With that in mind, we are backing the hosts to pull off a famous win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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