Kosovo competitive debut ends in draw
September 6, 2016
Kosovo's Valon Berisha made history on Monday night as he scored Kosovo's first goal in its competitive debut. The newcomers came from behind to draw 1-1 away to Finland in the European qualifier for the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Berisha, a midfielder with Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg, equalized from the penalty spot in the 60th minute.
The goal gave Kosovo a precious point in qualifying Group I after Paulus Arajuuri put Finland in front from close range in the 18th minute.
In an extremely tough group, coach Albert Bunjaki's side will next play Croatia on October 6 before visiting Ukraine three days later.
Croatia drew 1-1 at home to Turkey on Monday, while Ukraine played out a 1-1 stalemate with Iceland in Kyiv.
Last-minute decision
Ahead of Monday night's match, Bunjaki and his players spent most of the day at the team's hotel in the Finnish city of Turku, waiting to find out who would be eligible to play later that evening.
Less than five hours before kickoff, FIFA announced that it had approved the applications of the final six players, including goal scorer Berisha, who previously played competitive matches for Norway.
Goalkeeper Samir Ujkani was also among the players authorized to represent Kosovo, having previously played competitive matches for Albania, as had midfielder Alban Meha.
FIFA's players' status committee met all day to consider the applications, approving the first nine early in the day.
Rule exceptions
Players are usually unable to change national teams once they've played a competitive international. FIFA has opened exceptions for the Kosovar team, however, which was only accepted as a member in May in the face of fierce opposition from Serbia.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognized by around 100 countries. It has not been recognized by Belgrade, which lost control over its Albanian-majority southern province during a 1999 NATO bombing campaign which ended an inter-ethnic conflict. The territory was under United Nations administration for the years preceding its declaration of independence.
ksb/cmk (Reuters, AP)