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By:
Arsim Magjera
- December 23, 2025 10:57
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Kosovo started 2025 in 99th place in the FIFA ranking of the most successful national football teams. The Kosovo national football team is ending its most successful year so far in 80th place in the International Football Federation rankings.
The 18-place advance is the largest that any football team has made in 2025. This is a serious achievement that demonstrates the rapid development of the "Dardan" team.
FIFA has also confirmed that Kosovo has made the greatest progress in 2025 out of all the national teams in the world.
"Prior to qualifying for the World Cup, Kosovo had won only one of their 18 World Cup qualifying matches. They had scored eight goals and conceded 39. However, that changed this year, as Franco Foda's team recovered from a first-round defeat to Switzerland to remain unbeaten in their remaining five matches. They won three of them and secured a place in the European play-offs for the first time," FIFA wrote after publishing the latest rankings for this year on Monday.
"These results, coupled with four victories in the UEFA Nations League and in friendlies, enabled the 'Dardans' to obtain 89,02 points in the rankings and climb from 99th place to 80th place, which is their best ever," FIFA's article continues.
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FIFA has named Kosovo "the representative with the biggest rise in the rankings of the year."
There are several other representatives who have made serious climbs in the rankings, but none like Kosovo.
Kosovo's successes this year were multifaceted. But of course, those on the green field are the most valuable.
In March, Kosovo won 2:1 and 3:1 against Iceland and advanced from League C to League B of the Nations League. In June, Kosovo won 5:2 against Armenia and 4:2 against Comoros in friendlies in Pristina. On September 5, came the shocking 4:0 defeat by Switzerland in Basel. But then came the reaction, namely the great 2:0 victory over Sweden in Pristina on September 8. In October, two more positive results were obtained, a goalless draw at home with Slovenia and a 1:0 victory away against Sweden. In November, Foda's selected team won 2:0 against Slovenia in Ljubljana and drew 1:1 with Switzerland in Pristina.
All wins and draws earned points in the FIFA rankings. Furthermore, the wins and draws in the fall secured the team a place in the playoff for qualification to the World Cup in the United States.
For a long time, one of Kosovo's goals was to enter the top 100 of the FIFA rankings. When it was included in the rankings, in July 2016, Kosovo was 190th. It finished 2016 in 165th place. It finished 2017 in 177th place. It was 131st at the end of 2018, and 115th at the end of 2019.
That it was a period of stagnation, or rather a slight decline, is evidenced by the 117th position at the end of 2020. There was little progress in 2021, at the end of which Kosovo was 111th. It reached 108th place at the end of 2022 and 101st place at the end of 2023.
Only on November 28, 2024, did Kosovo enter the top 100. It took 99th place, which it also held in December of last year.
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Kosovo's decade in UEFA
In 2025 the rise was continuous – 97 in April, 95 in June, 91 in September, 84 in October, 80 in November and 80 in December.
Kosovo has its next match in March. A win over Slovakia would bring it closer to the World Cup. A win over Slovakia and then over Turkey or Romania would secure the World Cup. And a new position, the best in the rankings, would be an additional reward.
