During the qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup, the Kosovo national team took second place in Group B, where Switzerland – as first – and Slovenia and Sweden were also located.
Kosovo ended this historic campaign with three wins, two draws and one loss.
But what attracted attention besides the positive results was the massive support that Kosovo enjoyed in the away stadiums.
Considering that the Kosovar diaspora is spread across several European countries, especially in Switzerland, Sweden, and Slovenia where the matches were held, the stadiums were packed with Albanians, and often Albanian songs were heard more than those of the locals.
The Slovaks are also afraid, and they predict a similar situation in Bratislava.
The 2026 World Cup play-off semi-final match between Slovakia and Kosovo will be played there on March 26.
The winner of this match will play the winner of the Turkey-Romania match. If Kosovo wins its first match, then on March 31 it will play at "Fadil Vokrri".
Slovak media "Sportovy.cas" has done a special article about such a scenario – the large presence of Albanians in the stadium – publishing the article with the title "A hot night of football awaits the Slovaks: Kosovo is getting ready to conquer Bratislava."
THIS IS THE FULL ARTICLE, TRANSLATED:
"The Slovakia national team is facing one of the most important matches in recent years. On March 26, coach Francesco Calzona's team will face the Kosovo national team in Bratislava in the semi-final of the "play-off" for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
The match will be played at the 'Tehelné pole' stadium and a very lively atmosphere is expected. The reason is clear: Kosovo fans have sold out all the tickets in their section.
According to the ticket system, the away section filled up very quickly and it is expected that Kosovar fans will come in large numbers to support their team. Such matches are known for their noisy and tense atmosphere, as Kosovar fans are considered among the most passionate in Europe and often create a very strong atmosphere even in the opponents' stadiums.
According to the spokesman for the Slovak Football Association, Juraj Čurný, the Football Federation of Kosovo has received the quota of 1000 tickets for the away section, according to UEFA rules.
After the news of the packed away section was published, some Slovakia fans expressed concern, recalling an incident from 2013. Then, in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Žilina, around 80% of the fans in the stadium supported the away team. The match ended 1-2, even though the Slovaks had taken the lead through a goal by Marek Hamšík.
However, according to the Slovak federation, such a scenario is not expected this time. The match is completely sold out and Slovak fans should have the majority in the stadium, although hundreds of tickets were bought by people of Balkan origin living in EU countries, including Slovakia.
If Slovakia wins against Kosovo, they will have another step towards the World Cup. In the play-off final on March 31, 2026, they will face the winner of the match between Turkey and Romania.
"Bratislava is expected to experience a very passionate night of football, where the support of the fans could be crucial for continuing the dream towards the 2026 World Cup."./GazetaExpres/
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