Kosovo vs Faroe Islands Predictions

The UEFA Nations League has been designed to put together teams of similar opposition to allow them to play each other and progress. In general Group D is for the minnows but here we have two sides who I expect both to flourish in this system and improve.

Kosovo are a new FIFA Nation and I’ve been impressed by the start they have made. They have picked up multiple wins and managed to pick up a point in their first ever qualification game away at Finland, a huge feat for such a new nation. They did go on to lose their remaining 9 matches but 6 of those were by 2 or less goals. Since that experience they went on a run of 4 consecutive victories, with wins over Latvia (4-3) Madagascar (1-0) Burkina Faso (2-0) and Albania (3-0). They faced a tricky away trip to Azerbaijan, who’s side features many players that play Champions League football and they came away with a mightily impressive 0-0 draw, a result that stands them in good stead in this group.

Faroe Islands are another side I have admiration for, another side written off as minnows by many. The Faroes have picked up some superb scalps in recent times, most noticeably home and away victories over Greece in Euro 2016 Qualifying. They came into this competition in relatively good form with just 1 loss in 5. They beat Andorra, drew to Latvia and lost to Hungary in 2018 World Cup qualifying and followed those results up with a 1-1 home draw against Latvia and an impressive 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein. They didn’t disappoint in their UEFA Nations League opener either, brushing aside Malta 3-1 at home.

I can really make a case for both sides here as they have both been in good form recently, however Kosovo have made a fantastic rise from being a new FIFA nation to competing well against similar standard sides in such a short space of time. They have kept 4 consecutive clean sheets, including that away shut out in Azerbaijan and I feel they will manage to keep a clean sheet against Faroe Islands here. The win price on Kosovo is too short for my liking but I do like the look of Kosovo win to nil, so will be backing that here. I also feel a repeat of the June 2016 friendly could be on the cards here and 2-0 Kosovo is the scoreline most appealing to me on the Correct Score market.