The Kosovo national football team secured a two-goal victory over Slovenia in last night’s 2026 World Cup qualifier, advancing to the playoff stage.
Immediately after the more than 90-minute match, Slovenia’s head coach, Matjaz Kek, publicly congratulated Kosovo for their performance and acknowledged the team’s deserved win.
“First of all, we congratulate our opponents, Kosovo; they fully deserved the victory. We made some mistakes, including a red card and an own goal, but they were faster, won the second balls, and we couldn’t get into the game,” Kek said.
Kek admitted that Slovenia paid the price for their own lapses in responsibility:
“We changed the formation, but when you are irresponsible, you don’t play well at this level and you must pay for it. With only 10 players, we played courageously, but perhaps we should have done this from the start.”
He summarized the match candidly:
“They won and outplayed us. If we dominated this match in Prishtina a month ago, today they dominated us. All the balls were theirs. They also outperformed us in the stands. Absolutely, they dominated us in every aspect.”
Kosovo’s strong and disciplined performance ensured their progression to the World Cup 2026 playoffs, marking a historic achievement for the team.
