It has been a surprising start for all four sides in Group B of UEFA qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Kosovo now take on Slovenia in Prishtina this weekend.
Key stats
- Kosovo are aiming to win successive World Cup qualifying matches for the first time.
- Slovenia won the previous two international matches between these teams: 1-0 away and 2-1 at home in the UEFA Nations League in 2020.
- Slovenia have won only one of their last nine World Cup qualifying matches away from home (D1 L7).
Kosovo vs Slovenia prediction
An entertaining Kosovo side, with a lot of depth now, under the management of former Austria boss Franco Foda, come into this one on the back of a win and a defeat in their opening two matches. They managed to defeat Sweden by two goals to nil at the Pristina City Stadium last month.
The Friday clash between Kosovo and Slovenia in Group B of the UEFA World Cup Qualification presents us with a value bet in favour of the away side? Slovenia’s abysmal start to the tournament has left a crucial aspect of their history overlooked, and we think there’s a sharp pick here. See our best Kosovo vs Slovenia match prediction below.
Slovenia is last placed in Group B, after losing one and drawing one, while Kosovo sits in second place with three points after a win and a loss. However, we think their opening games have weighed too heavily on public betting sentiment, which has led most to back the Dardanians in this game.
However, just as Slovenia has beaten Kosovo in their only two meetings in recent history, we expect another repeat here or at least a draw. Another important thing to note is that Slovenia has only lost one of their last seven games, and that defeat was in their latest outing, which was a 3-0 loss to group leaders Switzerland.
Then, if we zoom out a bit, we see that Slovenia is also undefeated in 22 of its last 27 games, dating back to 2023. Now we must also give credit to Kosovo, who’ve won nine of their last ten games. But we must also point out the strength of the opposing teams, as they faced Cyrus twice, Lithuania twice, and Comoros once, representing half of their games.
They now face a Slovenia side that qualified for UEFA EURO 2024 but they have underwhelmed at the start of this qualifying campaign. They began with a 2-2 draw against Sweden in Ljubljana before then suffering a 3-0 defeat to Switzerland a few days’ later.
Slovenia head to Pristina as slight favourites but the form and performances of the two sides, as well as home advantage, means that Kosovo have to remain favourites for this one.
