Kosovo’s achievements in the field of football have helped the “Dardans” to be known all over the world. Even in England, the story of Foda’s trustees is considered a “fairy tale”.
In its report, “The Guardian”, helped by a “guide” like Elbasan Rashani, appreciates the Dardan formation for the game shown in Bratislava as well as the great grit of the players. The well-known British newspaper points out that the great achievements in the field take on even more value if you look at the small population of the country in question.
“Tiny Kosovo are just one match away from their first appearance in the finals of a World Cup. Their place is already set as if they get past Turkey they will be part of Group D along with Australia, Paraguay and the United States of America,” the article reads.
Another aspect touched on in this article is the difficult history of the newest state of Ballalkan. “In that country, the conflict is not easily forgotten. Not far from the stadium where the match between Kosovo and Turkey will be played, NATO bombed the Police area during the 1998-99 war. In the north of the country, tension still prevails with its neighbor, Serbia,” the article read.
For a country like Kosovo, football is something more. “We have become the symbol of the expression that everything is possible”, Melbourne City winger Elbasan Rashani tells “The Guardian”. “We have shown the people in Kosovo that there are other ways to recognize us as a country”, continued the player, who played 29 matches with Kosovo between 2016-2024.
Rashani was a “guide” for “The Guardian”. In the article he shows that just a few years ago the new national team started everything from scratch. “I remember the team’s first technical commissioner, Albert Bunjaki, who at that time traveled around Europe with his personal car to see the players up close. He met us convincing us with the project he had in mind. At that time it was about something special,” said Rashani, who was born in Sweden and grew up in Norway after his family left Kosovo in 1992 due to the war.
