Kosovo vs Rep. Of Ireland — UEFA Nations League: stats, lineups & analysis
HighlightsUEFAUEFA.comMatch Events
play_arrow1 clip- 61′Rep. Of Ireland, substitution:off
- 66′Rep. Of Ireland, yellow card:Foul
- 68′Rep. Of Ireland, yellow card:Foul
- 73′Kosovo, substitution:off
- 73′Kosovo, substitution:off
- 80′Rep. Of Ireland, substitution:off
- 80′Rep. Of Ireland, substitution:off
- 83′Kosovo, goal:1–0
- 87′Kosovo, substitution:Erblin Osmanioff
- 88′Kosovo, substitution:off
- 88′Rep. Of Ireland, substitution:off
- 88′Rep. Of Ireland, substitution:off
- Full-time1 – 0
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Kosovo
Rep. Of Ireland
Match report
Muriqi's late strike gives Kosovo win over Republic of Ireland
Kosovo beat Republic of Ireland 1-0 in their UEFA Nations League League B, Group 3 opener, a result settled by a single goal deep in the second half. The match at kick-off on 24 September carried significance for both sides in a group still taking shape after matchday one.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
The opening period passed goalless, with Ireland holding out against increasing pressure. Kosovo dominated territory and chances throughout, and their persistence paid off in the 83rd minute when Vedat Muriqi struck to make it 1-0, a lead the home side would not relinquish before the final whistle.
Kosovo's control was reflected in the numbers, with 22 shots to Ireland's three and eight on target compared to just one for the visitors. Ireland were also shown two yellow cards to Kosovo's none, though neither side had a man sent off, and Kosovo's territorial dominance never quite translated into an avalanche of goals despite the volume of attempts.
Muriqi settled the contest with the only goal of the game, arriving in the 83rd minute, and was rated the top performer on the pitch with a mark of 8.2.
Kosovo's 22 shots to Ireland's three underlined how one-sided the attacking play was over the 90 minutes.
Kosovo beat Rep. Of Ireland 1–0 (half-time 0–0).
Kosovo met Rep. Of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League (League B - 1). Kick-off was Thursday, 24 September 2026, 18:45 UTC at Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri. Referee: Lawrence Visser.
Team pages: Kosovo · Rep. Of Ireland · UEFA Nations League
Key moments
- 83' Goal: Vedat Muriqi — 1–0 · Watch Vedat Muriqi's goal video (83')
Starting line-ups
Kosovo (3-4-2-1)
- 1 Arijanet Murić
- 4 Ilir Krasniqi
- 5 Lumbardh Dellova
- 15 Mërgim Vojvoda
- 20 Veldin Hodža
- 10 Edon Zhegrova
- 13 D. Gallapeni
- 21 Albian Hajdari
- 14 Baton Zabërgja
- 23 Leon Avdullahu
- 18 Vedat Muriqi
Rep. Of Ireland (3-4-2-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Kosovo 38%, the draw 30%, Rep. Of Ireland 32%. It finished Kosovo 1–0 Rep. Of Ireland.
Home ground outweighs Rep. Of Ireland's rating edge — Rep. Of Ireland are the stronger side on our strength rating, but home ground gives Kosovo the lean. The draw at 30% is lifted by a low-scoring environment.
Why Kosovo at 38%?
Home ground, against the rating. Rep. Of Ireland sit 56 points higher on our strength rating — 1614 to 1670. Sides with a 40–80-point rating edge on the road won 32.5% of 10,276 such games.
Why only 38%?
Because Rep. Of Ireland are the stronger side on our strength rating. The rest is the draw at 30% and Rep. Of Ireland at 32%.
Why the draw at 30%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 28.9%. These teams' recent games average 2.6 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 26.3% of 27,935. The goals environment adds 1.5 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Kosovo (8 fully-tracked matches with us) and Rep. Of Ireland (7) carry strength ratings anchored to the official international ratings list, so the class read stands on far more than our own short records. National sides play too few games for a record built from scratch, so their rating chain starts from the published international ratings instead of a blind first guess.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Kosovo vs Rep. Of Ireland final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this UEFA Nations League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Kosovo 1–0 Rep. Of Ireland. Explore more on the Kosovo and Rep. Of Ireland team pages or the UEFA Nations League page.