21 January 2023 – The Kosovo U19 National Team passed to the “Main Round” for the qualifications of “Poreçi 2023” European Futsal Championship. After the 3:3 draw with Germany in the first match, the Dardanians led by Suad Keçi defeated North Macedonia with 6:3 in Skopje. This duel brought a very interesting and dramatic game, especially in the second half. North Macedonia scored twice in the first 20 minutes. Jusuf Josifovski unlocked the numbers in the 9th minute while Igor Skeoarovski added the lead to 2:0 in the 18th minute. However, Dardanians had an excellent performance in the second half, overturning the result with two goals scored by Blend Krasniqi (29′ and 31′) and Jetnor Kabashi (21′) and Ideal Abdullah (32′) one goal each. The hosts managed to narrow the lead in the 34th minute from the penalty through Bojan Janev 34′ but the celebration of the Dardanians was confirmed by Jetnor Kabashi with his second goal in the 37th minute and Blend Bajraktari with in the 39th minute thus deciding the final score to 6:3. Thus, Kosovo U19 will play the qualifying matches of the ‘Main Round’ stage from 21 to 26 March where along with host Portugal in Group 3, there are also Slovakia and Belarus.
Statement of head coach Suad Keçi:
As today’s game was the deciding factor of who would continue on the road to the European Championship 2023 qualifications, it was a great final for both North Macedonia and us. Even in the first half, we were better, as we had many chances but the result was not in our favour. However, in the second half our boys showed high character and morale, reversing the result. I thank the boys for their commitment and concentration in the second 20 minutes of the match. These boys deserved the qualification. This is a great achievement for us, considering that Kosovo will be part of the ‘Main Round’ stage for this age group for the first time. I also want to thank my staff and the rest of the National Team expedition because we worked to achieve this goal together.
