 Location of Albania (green), Serbia (orange) | |
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| Location | Europe (UEFA) |
| Teams |  Albania Serbia |
| First meeting |
|
| Latest meeting | Albania 1–0Serbia (Leskovac, 11 October 2025) |
| Next meeting | Serbia v Albania (TBD) |
| Stadiums | Albania: Arena Kombëtare, Elbasan Arena Serbia: Partizan Stadium, Dubočica Stadium |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | Competitive matches: 4 Exhibition matches: 0 Total matches: 4 |
| Most wins | Competitive matches: Albania (2) Exhibition matches: 0 Total matches: Albania and Serbia (4) |
| Top scorer | Rey Manaj,Kolarov Adem Ljajić (1) |
| All-time series | Albania: 2 Draw: 1 Serbia: 1 |
TheAlbania–Serbia football rivalry is asports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans. The rivalry is considered to be one of the most bitter in the world owing to the events of theKosovo War.Tense relations between the two nations are thus fueled by political and historical differences.[1]
As of October 2025, the teams have played four matches against each other, withAlbania winning two of them andSerbia one.[2] The first match between the two countries took place on 14 October 2014, which ended in a 3–0 victory for Albania. The most recent match, on 11 October 2025, which Albania won 1–0.
At the UEFA Euro 2016 qualification game, the first association football match betweenAlbania andSerbia took place on 14 October 2014, atPartizan Stadium inBelgrade.[3] At the beginning of the match, the Serbian crowd chanted Ubij, ubijŠiptara (Kill, kill the Albanian).[4] Chants like "Kill the Serb", "Kill the Croat", and "Kill the Albanian” became part of the Balkan football folklore in stadiums across the region afternationalism rose after wars between the countries.[5] Afterwards, adrone quadcopter carrying the map ofGreater Albania appeared on the pitch.[6][7][8] After Serbian playerStefan Mitrović tried to grab the flag, Albanian players attacked him.[9][10] This led to a scuffle between the two sides. After the riot broke out,Branislav Ivanović said that the players shielded the Albanian players while they were going back to the tunnel.[11] The match was abandoned at 0–0 after the fans invaded the pitch.[3]FIFA's president condemned the behavior andUEFA punished both football associations.[12][13][14]
On 10 July 2015, theCourt of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), awarded a 3–0 victory to Albania, reversing an earlier UEFA ruling that had awarded Serbia a 3-0 victory. Serbia was also deducted three points.[15][16] On 8 October the same year, the second match between the nations took place at theElbasan Arena in Albania. The Serbian football team's bus was attacked by Albanian protesters with stones.[17] A few hours before the kickoff, the Albanian police carried out riots, firing water cannon bursts as a helicopter buzzed over nearby buildings.[17] The match ended with Serbia defeating Albania by 2–0 score.[17] The second match was mostly free of tensions because heavy security and other measures were imposed to guard against incidents. The only sign of the intense rivalry was the loud booing by Albanian fans during the Serbian national anthem.[17] Albania would qualify for theUEFA Euro 2016 in France finishing runner up to Portugal with 14 points, while Serbia would finish in 4th place with four points in the standings.[18][19] The other teams of the group werePortugal,Denmark andArmenia.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Portugal | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 21 | Qualify forfinal tournament |
| 2 | Albania | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 14 | |
| 3 |  Denmark | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 12 | Advance toplay-offs |
| 4 | Serbia[a] | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 4 | |
| 5 |  Armenia | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 2 |
Albania and Serbia were drawn intoGroup K of2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, withEngland,Latvia andAndorra.[20][21] Many fans were shocked to see Albania and Serbia put in the same group due to past incidents in the 2016 Euro qualification games.[22][23] Others questioned if another incident would occur during the qualification matches.[24]The first match between the two sides of the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers was hosted by Albania in theAir Albania Stadium it ended in a 0-0 draw without significant incidents except the penalty who Manaj missed at the 45th minute by an save fromĐorđe Petrović.[25] In the second match held in Serbia in Dubočica Stadium, it ended in a 1-0 win for Albania afterRey Manaj scored the sole goal in the 45+1 Minute and celebrates it with andouble-headed eagle celebration that gave him a yellow card[26] givingAlbania the three vital points needed in this group. After this Match Albania secured the second Place after beating awayAndorra tight with 0-1 thanks to an goal fromKristjan Asllani[27] to secure a spot for Albania in theFIFA-play-offs. Earning 14 Points in the process,[28][29]whilst Serbia would finish in 3rd place with 13 Points in total and also for the second time finishing behind Albania in the standings, for an UEFA or FIFA qualification in their football rivaly, Albania finished for the second time above Serbia during an qualification match up in this rivaly, as of now.[30]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  England | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | +22 | 24 | Qualification for2026 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | Albania | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 14 | Advance toplay-offs |
| 3 | Serbia | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 13 | |
| 4 |  Latvia | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 5 | |
| 5 |  Andorra | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 1 |
| Competition | Round | Matches | Wins | Draws | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Serbia | Albania | Serbia | ||||
| FIFA World Cup | Competition | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qualification Process | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| UEFA European Championship | Competition | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qualification Process | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
v Albania| 14 October 2014 (2014-10-14)UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying | Serbia | 0–3 | Albania | Belgrade, Serbia |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium:Partizan Stadium Attendance: 25,200 Referee:Martin Atkinson (England) |
v Serbia| 8 October 2015 (2015-10-08)UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying | Albania | 0–2 | Serbia | Elbasan, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report | Kolarov 90+1'Ljajić 90+4' | Stadium:Elbasan Arena Attendance: 12,330 Referee:Nicola Rizzoli (Italy) |
v Serbia| 7 June 2025 (2025-06-07)2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying | Albania | 0–0 | Serbia | Tirana, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) | Stadium:Arena Kombëtare |
v Albania| 11 October 2025 (2025-10-11)2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying | Serbia | 0–1 | Albania | Leskovac, Serbia |
| 20:45 | Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) | Rey Manaj 45+1' | Stadium:Dubočica Stadium |
Në vend që të përqëndroheshin tek thirrjet raciste të 30 mijë njerëzve që bërtisnin "vrisni shqiptarët", i thanë publikut se një flamur hodhi në erë gjithë takimin.