TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The roar of the crowd or the thrill of the game are hallmarks of international soccer. But when Albania and Serbia meet Saturday in a 2026 World Cup qualifier, the energy will be different.
The match in Tirana isn’t just about three points as echoes of past confrontations are impossible to ignore. It’s a clash deeply rooted in national identities that organizers are fighting hard to put aside.
It is one of the most politically charged and emotionally intense rivalries in European football, rooted in deep historical and ethnic tensions, especially relating to the Kosovo conflict and broader Balkan history.
Serbia and Albania are in the same European qualifying group — alongside England, Latvia and Andorra.
The last time they met on Albanian soil was in 2015, when Serbia won 2-0 even though Serbian fans were banned from the match.
A 2014 game between the teams in Belgrade was abandoned when a drone carrying an Albanian flag sparked a full-scale brawl. Albania was awarded a 3-0 victory after a ruling said the match couldn’t be continued due to the hostile environment at the stadium. That clinched Albania's qualification to the 2016 European Championship — a first for the team.
That match had already been considered high risk. Kosovo, which has a majority Albanian population, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 — a move Serbia does not recognize. Football, often a mirror of nationalism and politics, reflected this deep divide.
As Tirana braces for the latest showdown, memories of that night — and the nationalistic fervor it unleashed — hover just beneath the surface.
Serbia and Albania remain at odds over the status of now-independent Kosovo, and fan rivalry is still intense.
Almost half of the Albanian squad is of Albanian origin from Kosovo, North Macedonia or southern Serbia.
For players, this is a contest overshadowed by history, politics, and national pride — a reminder that sometimes sport is anything but just a game.
Albania defender Elseid Hysaj, who was part of the 2014 match, said the chaos "should not be repeated."
“We should be calm and be conscious that we are football players," he said. “We are here to please the fans and give our best for the victory.”
Armand Duka, president of the Albanian Football Federation, called on Albanians to see the match as a sports event “where the team gets support and positive energy from the fans to achieve the goal.”
“We want to give the message: let’s live it as a sport festivity,” Duka told The Associated Press.
There will be a heavy police presence, road closures, and searches of fans entering the stadium. Serbian fans are barred, which "will contribute to a quieter environment,” Duka said.
The sides have taken steps to forge a better relationship. Albania and Serbia will co-host the men’s Under-21 European Championship in 2027 in a project that aims to overcome political tensions.
“Players do not bear the burden of history or of the political tensions,” Duka said. “They compete on the pitch to win, to give the best for the jersey they represent and, above all, to build the bridge of respect through the game.”
Although political tensions have somewhat subsided in recent years, nationalists and soccer fans on both sides are deeply at odds. Both Albania and Serbia have faced sanctions from European soccer’s governing body because of politically-charged incidents involving fans.
Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic, however, recently added fuel by telling Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic at a big rally of his supporters that Serbia must win.
“Go there and beat them,” he said, addressing Stojkovic who was in the crowd.
Stojkovic and some players have tried to ease tensions, saying it is just another match.
“Everyone says that the first game is very important," Stojkovic said of Serbia's opener in Group K. “We are very focused on starting the way we want to and we will prepare to play the best we can in that sense, with all due respect to Albania.”
Associated Press writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Serbia's Nemanja Matic, right, fights of the ball with Albania's Migjen Basha during the group I Euro 2016 qualifying match between Albania and Serbia at the Elbasan Arena in Elbasan, central Albania, Oct. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina, File)
FILE - Albania fans wait to be searched by police before the Group I Euro 2016 qualifying match between Albania and Serbia in Elbasan, central Albania, Oct. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
