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Albania–Serbia football rivalry

Albania–Serbia football rivalry
Location of Albania (green), Serbia (orange)
SportFootball
LocationEurope (UEFA)
Teams Albania
 Serbia
First meeting
  • As Albania–Serbia rivalry
    Serbia 0–3 Albania
    (Belgrade; 14 October 2014)
Latest meetingAlbania 0–0 Serbia
(Tirana, 7 June 2025)
Next meetingSerbia v Albania
(TBD, 11 October 2025)
StadiumsAlbania:
Arena Kombëtare,
Elbasan Arena
Serbia:
Partizan Stadium
Statistics
Meetings totalCompetitive matches: 3
Exhibition matches: 0
Total matches: 3
Most winsCompetitive matches: Albania, Serbia (1)
Exhibition matches: 0
Total matches: Albania and Serbia (1)
Top scorerAleksandar Kolarov
Adem Ljajić (1)
All-time seriesAlbania: 1
Draw: 1
Serbia: 1

The Albania–Serbia football rivalry is a sports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans. The rivalry is considered to be one of the most bitter in the world owing to the events that took place relatively recently during the Kosovo War. Tense relations between the two nations are thus fueled by political and historical differences.[1]

The teams have had only three matches, with both Albania and Serbia having one win.[2] The first match took place between the two respective nations on 14 October 2014, which was a 3–0 victory awarded to Albania. The most recent match took place on 7 June 2025, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

History

[edit]

UEFA Under-19 qualifiers

[edit]

The two countries met at the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification tournament. Albania beat Serbia 2-1 with two goals from Mirgen Bushati.[3] The two teams met again in the UEFA European qualifiers next year, with Serbia winning the match 5-0.[4]

2016 Euro qualifiers

[edit]
See also: Serbia v Albania (UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying)

At the UEFA Euro 2016 qualification game, the first association football match between Albania and Serbia took place on 14 October 2014, at Partizan Stadium in Belgrade.[5] At the beginning of the match, the Serbian crowd chanted Ubij, ubij Šiptara (Kill, kill the Albanian).[6] Chants like "Kill the Serb", "Kill the Croat", and "Kill the Albanian” became part of the Balkan football folklore in stadiums across the region after nationalism rose after wars between the countries.[7] Afterwards, a drone quadcopter carrying the map of Greater Albania appeared on the pitch.[8][9][10] After Serbian player Stefan Mitrović tried to grab the flag, Albanian players attacked him.[11][12] This led to a scuffle between the two sides. After the riot broke out, Branislav Ivanović said that the players shielded the Albanian players while they were going back to the tunnel.[13] The match was abandoned at 0–0 after the fans invaded the pitch.[5] FIFA's president condemned the behavior and UEFA punished both football associations.[14][15][16]

On 10 July 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), awarded a 3–0 victory to Albania, reversing an earlier UEFA ruling that had awarded Serbia a 3-0 victory. Serbia was also deducted three points.[17][18] On 8 October the same year, the second match between the nations took place at the Elbasan Arena in Albania. The Serbian football team's bus was attacked by Albanian protesters with stones.[19] A few hours before the kickoff, the Albanian police carried out riots, firing water cannon bursts as a helicopter buzzed over nearby buildings.[19] The match ended with Serbia defeating Albania by 2–0 score.[19] The second match was mostly free of tensions because heavy security and other measures were imposed to guard against incidents. The only sign of the intense rivalry was the loud booing by Albanian fans during the Serbian national anthem.[19] Albania would qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016 in France finishing runner up to Portugal with 14 points, while Serbia would finish in 4th place with four points in the standings.[20][21] The other teams of the group were Portugal, Denmark and Armenia.

Standings in Group I

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 8 7 0 1 11 5 +6 21 Qualify for final tournament
2  Albania 8 4 2 2 10 5 +5 14
3  Denmark 8 3 3 2 8 5 +3 12 Advance to play-offs
4  Serbia[a] 8 2 1 5 8 13 −5 4
5  Armenia 8 0 2 6 5 14 −9 2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ The Serbia v Albania match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Albania, and Serbia were also deducted three points, after the match was abandoned at 0–0 because home fans invaded the pitch and attacked Albania players when a drone carried a pro-Albanian flag over the stadium.

2026 FIFA qualifiers

[edit]

Albania and Serbia were drawn into Group K of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, with England, Latvia and Andorra.[22][23] Many fans were shocked to see Albania and Serbia put in the same group due to past incidents in the 2016 Euro qualification games.[24][25] Others questioned if another incident would occur during the qualification matches.[26] The first match between the two sides of the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers was hosted by Albania and it ended in a 0-0 draw without significant incidents.

Overall and matches

[edit]

Overall

[edit]
Competition Round Matches Wins Draws Goals
Albania Serbia Albania Serbia
FIFA World Cup Competition 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qualification Process 1 0 0 1 0 0
UEFA European Championship Competition 0 0 0 0 0 0
Qualification Process 2 1 1 0 3 2
Total 3 1 1 1 3 2

Matches

[edit]
14 October 2014 (2014-10-14) UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Serbia  0–3
Awarded		  Albania Belgrade, Serbia
20:45 Report Stadium: Partizan Stadium
Attendance: 25,200
Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)
8 October 2015 (2015-10-08) UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Albania  0–2  Serbia Elbasan, Albania
20:45 Report Kolarov 90+1'
Ljajić 90+4'		 Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Attendance: 12,330
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
7 June 2025 (2025-06-07) 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying Albania  0–0
  Serbia Tirana, Albania
20:45 Stadium: Arena Kombëtare
11 October 2025 (2025-10-11) 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying Serbia  –
  Albania Belgrade, Serbia
20:45 Stadium: Red Star Stadium

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Why Do Serbia and Albania Hate Each Other? - Seeker". www.seeker.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  2. ^ "Albania vs Serbia H2H Results". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  3. ^ "Holders tested but win group". uefa.com. 23 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Serbia and England exploit experience". uefa.com. 12 October 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Serbia-Albania match abandoned after drone carrying flag sparks mass". The Independent. 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  6. ^ "Nga ndeshja Serbi-Shqipëri fitoi UEFA" [UEFA won from the Serbia-Albania match] (in Albanian). Shqiperia.com Shekulli. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2017. Në vend që të përqëndroheshin tek thirrjet raciste të 30 mijë njerëzve që bërtisnin "vrisni shqiptarët", i thanë publikut se një flamur hodhi në erë gjithë takimin.
  7. ^ "Football and ethnic violence in the Balkans". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  8. ^ "Qualifier in Serbia abandoned because of drone carrying Albanian flag". ESPNFC.com. 14 October 2014.
  9. ^ Ames, Nick; Ibrulj, Saša (14 October 2014). "Serbia v Albania abandoned after players and fans brawl on pitch". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Flag of Greater Albania is like the flag of Nazi Germany. Imagine one over Wembley or Stade de France". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  11. ^ "Serbia blames Albania for qualifier abandonment, both charged". Eurosport. 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  12. ^ "Serbia FA blames Albanians for stadium brawl". France 24. 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  13. ^ Lewis, Darren (2014-10-15). "Branislav Ivanovic 'can't comprehend' furious violence which caused abandonment of Serbia-Albania qualifier". mirror. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  14. ^ "UEFA to investigate Serbia-Albania violence". Arab News. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  15. ^ "Serbia condemns drone flag stunt at Albania match". BBC News. 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  16. ^ "Serbia and Albania punished by UEFA after drone brawl". CNN. 24 October 2014.
  17. ^ "FOOTBALL: The CAS rejects the appeal filed by the Serbian FA, upholds in part the appeal filed by the Albanian FA: the match Serbia-Albania is deemed to have been forfeited by Serbia (0-3)". Tribunal Arbitral du Sport / Court of Arbitration for Sport. 10 July 2015. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Albania awarded win over Serbia as CAS overrules UEFA over drone game". ESPN. Associated Press. July 10, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c d "Serbia Defeats Albania In Soccer Match Mostly Free Of Tensions". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  20. ^ Hasic, Albinko (June 6, 2016). "Albania and the rise to Euro 2016". thesefootballtimes.co.
  21. ^ "UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying Final Standings". TSN.ca. March 31, 2015.
  22. ^ "UEFA Preliminary Draw tees up titanic tussles". fifa.com. December 13, 2024.
  23. ^ "The draw of the World Cup qualifiers, Albania in a group with Serbia and England". CNA. December 13, 2024.
  24. ^ "Viral: Fans were stunned to see UEFA put Serbia and Albania in the same WCQ group". The18.
  25. ^ Steven Chicken (December 13, 2024). "I predict a riot: Serbia drawn to host Albania in 2026 World Cup Qualifiers for first time since infamous 2014 abandonment". fourfourtwo.com.
  26. ^ "Albania in front of Serbia, will the "hell" of Belgrade be repeated or will the red and blacks qualify for the World Cup for the first time?". Pamfleti. December 13, 2024.