MX23RW : Thursday, March 20 19:25:46| >> :600:126868:126868:
[monks data]
Kosovo national football team
Nations League | Playoffs B/C | 1st Leg
Mar 20, 2025 at 7.45pm UK
Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri
Iceland national football team

Kosovo
vs.
Iceland

Preview: Kosovo vs. Iceland - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Nations League clash between Kosovo and Iceland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Kosovo will host Iceland at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri on Thursday evening in the first of their two-legged matchup in the UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation playoffs.

The hosts will be competing for a place in League B after finishing second in their group, while Iceland are battling to avoid relegation to League C after placing third in their group.


Match preview

Vedat Muriqi of Kosovo, June 2024© Imago

Kosovo had a largely impressive Nations League campaign, finishing second in a League C, Group 2 that featured Romania, Cyprus and Lithuania, earning them a chance to compete for promotion to League B.

The Dardanians won four and lost two of their six fixtures, both 3-0 losses against Romania, meaning they placed second in the table with 12 points - six behind Romania and six above third-placed Cyprus.

That leaves Kosovo with four wins and only one defeat from their last five fixtures heading into this matchup, a marked improvement on the one victory and three losses that manager Franco Foda recorded in his initial four games in charge.

While the winning streak will give Kosovo confidence heading into the clash with Iceland, the Dardanians have struggled in this fixture, losing each of the last two encounters.

Iceland, however, are in extremely patchy form coming into the game, with three wins, four losses and one draw from their last nine outings across all competitions.

Those results included two wins, one draw and three defeats in League B Group 4 in the Nations League, leaving Iceland to finish third in the table with seven points - four behind second-placed Turkey and four above bottom-placed Montenegro.

New head coach, Arnar Gunnlaugsson, will be looking to make an immediate improvement with Iceland in the upcoming two clashes with Kosovo, hoping to keep their League B status in the Nations League.

Iceland have faced particular difficulties away from home in recent times, though, suffering four defeats from their last six matches on the road, alongside two victories.

Kosovo Nations League form:


Kosovo form (all competitions):


Iceland Nations League form:


Team News

Foda's squad list includes the regular starters of Amir Rrahmani, Valon Berisha, Milot Rashica, Edon Zhegrova and Vedat Muriqi, and all five are likely to start here.

Arijanet Muric may have fallen out of favour at Ipswich Town in recent months, but the goalkeeper is expected to start for Kosovo, especially after a star performance for his nation in their last match.

As for Iceland, Orri Steinn Oskarsson has been named the new captain of the national team despite being just 20-years-old, and the striker is likely to start in this one.

Hakon Arnar Haraldsson has been named the vice-captain, and in the absence of Gylfi Sigurdsson, the 21-year-old attacking midfielder will play behind Oskarsson on Thursday.


Kosovo possible starting lineup:
Muric; Hadergjonaj, Rrahmani, Dellova, Rrudhani, Emerllahu, Berisha; Zhegrova, Rashica, Krasniqi; Muriqi

Iceland possible starting lineup:
Valdimarsson; Lunddal, Ingason, Palsson, Tomasson; Johannesson, Traustason, Willumsson, Porsteinsson; Haraldsson, Oskarsson


SM words green background

We say: Kosovo 1-2 Iceland

While Kosovo are in significantly better form than Iceland, the visitors have won each of the last two meetings between the two teams, and we expect another victory for the visitors in this one.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.




ID:568190:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9874:
Written by
Ellis Stevens

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Data Failed

Who will win Wednesday's Nations League clash between Kosovo and Iceland?

Kosovo
Draw
Iceland
Kosovo
54.3%
Draw
16.3%
Iceland
29.3%
92
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Spain's Alvaro Morata celebrates with the UEFA Nations League trophy on June 18, 2023
Read Next:
Confirmed draw, fixtures for UEFA Nations League knockout stage and playoffs
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France641113
Q Italy Italy641113
3 Belgium Belgium61144
4 Israel Israel61144

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
3 Hungary Hungary61326
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
4 Albania national flag Albania62137

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan60151

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg60333

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
4 Latvia Latvia61144

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q San Marino flag San Marino42117
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein40222

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta42117
3 Andorra flag Andorra40131


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!