While nine Werder squad members are away on international duty, the remaining players will face Kosovo on Friday, 27th March (18:30 CET) at the Eintracht-Stadion, Nordhorn...
While nine Werder squad members are away on international duty, the remaining players will face Kosovo on Friday, 27th March (18:30 CET) at the Eintracht-Stadion, Nordhorn...
While nine Werder squad members are away on international duty, the remaining players will face Kosovo on Friday, 27th March (18:30 CET) at the Eintracht-Stadion, Nordhorn. The match offers many young players a good opportunity to feature and get themselves noticed by Viktor Skripnik.
You don't have to go too far back in history to find a record of the fledgling nation's first official international match. Albert Bunjaku's team only played their first official international friendly on 05.03.2014 against Haiti. The game, which took place in front of 17,000 fans in the Pristina-Stadion, ended 0-0. It had been a long road to get to that point after the team was formed in 1993 following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. On 21.05.2012, FIFA decided to grant Kosovo permission to officially play against other national teams. The team had previously only featured in unofficial matches. Following discussions with Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini, Kosovo is neither a member of UEFA or FIFA.

There are several familiar faces from the Bundesliga in Kosovo's squad, including Enis Alushi (FC St. Pauli), Fanol Perdedaj (FC Energie Cottbus) and Donis Avdijaj (currently at Sturm Graz, on loan from Schalke 04). Former 1. FC Kaiserslautern and 1. FC Nürnberg striker Albert Bunjaku, not to be confused with his managerial namesake, is also in the squad.
Some potential future first-team players from the U23s will have the chance to showcase their talents and prove their abilities in the match against Kosovo. Werder will be without Zlatko Junuzovic, Sebsastian Prödl, Jannik Vestergaard, Theodor Gebre Selassie, Izet Hajrovic, Davie Selke, Levin Öztunali, Koen Casteels and Michael Zetterer, who are all currently on international duty with their respective countries. Looking ahead to the next Bundesliga game against FSV Mainz 05 (04.04.2015, 15:30 CEST), the test against Kosovo is a real opportunity for the remaining players to put themselves in contention for first team selection.
