Kosovo’s Foda and Vojvoda ahead of Austria clash: ‘We must give our maximum’

Kosovo are getting ready for their second Nations League match, on Sunday against Austria at 18:00 at Vienna’s “Ernst Happel”. Coach Franco Foda and defender Mërgim Vojvoda appeared at Saturday’s press conference to preview the challenge.

“I’ve said it before, Austria are the favorites in this group,” coach Foda stressed. “Anything can happen tomorrow. We beat Ireland, we must show up as well as possible in this next challenge. Let’s keep playing aggressively like last time. We have many Kosovar fans in the stadium. We have confidence, we have played against strong national teams. And tomorrow I hope for a good game.”

“The important thing is to play with confidence. We know Austria’s quality, they are the favorites, but we must not sell ourselves short. We must give our maximum. The important thing is to try to go higher. The goal is ‘Euro 2028’. Qualifying for Euro 2028 has been my aim from the start. When someone plays football, they play to win. Both the players and the coach.”

Vojvoda also said everyone is ready for another big performance. “Austria have more experience and are the favorites in this group. We took three points against Ireland and we must take it game by game. I strongly believe there will be Albanian fans like in Sweden or Switzerland, or wherever we have played. That makes us stronger and feel at home.”