When Kosovo had run out of last chances, they sunk to the floor as one. They had taken Turkey the distance, every drop of perspiration spent and the once unthinkable prospect of a World Cup spot remaining real until Michael Oliver finally called time.
The emotion was overwhelming, Lumbardh Dellova among the players clearly covering up tears. In the end Edon Zhegrova, the playmaker whose introduction from the bench had sparked a late flurry of pressure, beckoned his teammates to face their support. They had nothing to fear, departing to an ovation from a crowd who had been allowed the giddiest of fantasies.
Turkey, dancing in front of their 700-strong travelling contingent at the other end, had fulfilled a burning ambition of their own and broken a hex. In 2002 few could have imagined this teeming hotbed would take 24 years to produce another team capable of performing on the highest stage. They were semi-finalists in Japan and Korea, ultimately finishing third, before enduring multiple failures to qualify. Now they are back, thanks to a scruffy finish from Kerem Akturkoglu, and perhaps a richly talented generation will summon the consistency to mount a challenge.
On another day, though, they would have lost against a Kosovo side that could not have given more. Had Fisnik Asllani’s first-half shot not been tipped brilliantly on to the bar by Ugurcan Cakir, the tide of euphoria accompanying them here might have swept them over the line. Ultimately they ran out of steam, not before Asllani had been denied one last time, and the consolation is that this will surely not be the final fling for a young nation whose impressive production line is burgeoning.
“I feel sorry for the whole team and the entire country,” said the Kosovo captain Vedat Muriqi, who cut a devastated figure when he was finally led down the tunnel. “I’m very proud of the players, very proud of myself, but fate didn’t want it.”
Muriqi is a warrior-like totem in attack and had occupied Turkey’s defenders while Kosovo’s technicians, scintillating in bursts, rotated around him.
Had they been more clinical, a party of epic scale would have erupted. Pristina had fizzed with electricity all day. It felt as if Kosovo’s entire 1.6 million population, along with a sizable proportion of neighbouring Albania, had crammed into the city centre for an occasion without parallel since the country declared independence in 2008. A decade ago they had yet to be accepted into Fifa or Uefa; standing on the threshold of the world’s elite so soon was cause for celebration in itself.
Any dampening of spirits was always likely to stem from the speed and craft of Kenan Yildiz, who tormented Kosovo throughout an affair contested amid wind and driving rain. Yildiz came close early on and, from his perch on the left, teed up other sights of goal for Turkey.
While Kosovo settled and fought back with a blistering series of attacks midway through the first half, there was always the sense Asllani’s near miss would prove a turning point.
The deciding moment duly arrived eight minutes after the restart when Yildiz, scorching away again, centred for Orkun Kokcu to place a bobbly first-time effort across Arijanet Muric. It was nicked in by Akturkoglu near the line and the complaint from Kosovo, ultimately proved futile, was that the scorer had been offside. Yildiz came close to making things safe shortly afterwards and wielded more influence than Arda Guler, who never quite found the space to pick a fiercely competitive Kosovo open.
Roared on from around this open, low-slung bowl, Kosovo went for the kitchen sink but were largely held at arm’s length. Florent Muslija, whose fluency unsettled Turkey’s midfield, shot wide and there was the moment when Cakir dived left to repel Asllani’s curler. Eventually Turkey’s extra savvy earned its reward and Kosovo, who had dared to imagine the impossible, must pick themselves up for the Euro 2028 qualifiers.
Reaching that tournament had originally been the goal for their impressive manager Franco Foda, who once led Austria. He has worked wonders but Kosovo have more in the tank. “The future is bright,” he said. “I’m not concerned about the future of this team. We are going in a good direction and I’m sure it will soon reach its potential.”
Even if their dream faded, a country has rarely felt more alive.
