Albania confirms June friendlies, Kosovo in talks

On June 3 and 6, Albania will play two friendly matches in Tirana. The first friendly will be against Israel, Kosovo's opponent in the Nations League, while the second friendly will be against Luxembourg.

The Albanian Football Federation announced the friendly against Israel on Thursday, while a day earlier it announced the friendly against Luxembourg.

Albania will play both friendly matches on "Air Albania" from 20:00 PM.

"The month of June brings another important test for the national team, which will take to the field for two friendly matches at the 'Air Albania' stadium. The Reds will face Israel on June 3, at 20:00, in what will be the first test of the month. This will be the seventh match in history between the two teams and the first friendly, as all previous meetings have been held within the framework of the World and European Championship qualifiers. As for the balance of matches, the Reds have won two of the matches and lost four. Meanwhile, on June 6, at 20:00, Albania will play another friendly against Luxembourg, again at 'Air Albania'", the Albanian Football Federation wrote in a statement.

These are the first matches for Albania after the 2026 World Cup qualifying playoff. Albania was eliminated by Poland in the semifinals of the playoff on March 26 after a 2:1 loss in Warsaw. 

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Poland is one of Kosovo's potential opponents in June.

Polish media reported earlier this month that the Polish Football Federation is in talks with the Kosovo Football Federation to arrange a friendly in June.

In addition to Poland, Kosovo is also in talks with several other representatives that have not secured a place in the 2026 World Cup.

The "Dardans" were close to securing their first appearance in the World Cup. 
Kosovo successfully passed the playoff semi-finals by defeating Slovakia in Bratislava 4:3 on March 26, while in the final in Pristina on March 31, they lost to Turkey with a score of 1:0.

"We should play the friendlies at the beginning of June. But they are not yet confirmed. It will be decided these days, maybe next week. Our requests and those of the coach are to play one match at home and one away. But it doesn't hurt if we play both friendlies at home. We'll see. Apart from Italy, which has scheduled the friendlies, we are in talks with the others. But each one is looking for the opponent that suits them. There is still no confirmation," said the director of the Kosovo national team, Muharrem Sahiti, for KOHĖNA on Thursday.

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Sahiti says that for selector Franco Foda it will be an opportunity to test a new name and also a new scheme. 

"It's a good opportunity for the coach to see players who haven't had much playing time. But there could also be new arrivals. More details will be known next week, after the friendlies are made official," said Sahiti. 

After the June friendlies, Kosovo begins the Nations League matches in September.

Thanks to the great rise of the last two years, Kosovo will play in League B of the Nations League for the first time. It will be in a group with Israel, Austria and Ireland.

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Kosovo starts on September 24 at home against Ireland. Immediately on September 27, the "Dardans" play on the road against Austria. On October 1 is the match Israel - Kosovo, and on October 4, Kosovo - Austria. The last two matches are in November. On November 14, Kosovo hosts Israel, and on November 17 is the match Ireland - Kosovo.

Kosovo aims to win the group and appear in League A of the Nations League next season.
But Kosovo's big goal will be to qualify for the 2028 European Football Championship.