Fisnik Asllani and Albion Rrahmani are in good form for their teams. But there is no doubt that Kosovo’s main striker remains Vedat Muriqi.
Muriqi is expected to be the main attacking player in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. And how could it be otherwise when Muriqi scores often against the biggest club in the world, Real Madrid?
The 31-year-old did the same on Saturday night. He put Mallorca ahead against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, with a goal scored in the 18th minute. The Prizren player scored after a corner kick. Real Madrid nevertheless won 2:1, while three more goals were disallowed. The disallowance of two goals by Kylian Mbappe and especially that of Arda Guler for handball took all the attention from the match in Madrid.
But for Kosovo fans, the best news is Muriqi’s goal. It came at a very important moment, on the eve of the start of Kosovo’s qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
The Kosovo national team gathers on Monday, while on Friday it plays in Basel against Switzerland. Immediately on September 8 at “Fadil Vokrri” is the Kosovo – Sweden match.
These are two very difficult matches for the “Dardans”, but the form of Muriqi and several other players gives hope.
“Vedati was coming off suspension and had a great game. I saw him looking sharp after the break,” said Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate.
Muriqi’s sharpness is indispensable for Kosovo. The national team’s attacking play has so far gone mainly through him. And that is not expected to change.
Muriqi did not start the season in La Liga in the best way, while weeks ago he continued his stay at Mallorca. In the opening match, in an unfortunate moment, he hit the Barcelona goalkeeper in the face and was punished directly with a red card. He played only 39 minutes. For this reason he missed the second match against Celta Vigo. But he returned with a goal against Real Madrid.
Now he is teaming up with Kosovo, hoping for positive results against two very strong opponents.
In Kosovo’s last match, against Iceland on March 23, in the Nations League play-offs, Muriqi scored a hat-trick. He was rested for the June matches, while he had scored two goals in September last year against Cyprus. In September 2023, he had also scored two goals in a 2:2 draw with Switzerland in Pristina.
With 31 goals in 60 matches, the “pirate” is by far Kosovo’s top scorer. Second on the list is Milot Rashica with 12 goals in 61 matches. The others have fewer than ten goals.
Kosovo now has competition for the striker spot. However, when Muriqi is physically fit, Franco Foda’s starting lineup is hard to imagine without him.