KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vladimir Petkovic has signed an extension to remain as coach of the Algerian national team through July 2028, the country's soccer federation announced shortly before its departure Sunday for the United States and the start of the World Cup.
The extension comes four days after the Desert Foxes beat the Netherlands 1-0 in a friendly in Rotterdam, and just ahead of a final World Cup tune-up against Bolivia on Wednesday night.
Algeria will play its opening match at the World Cup against defending champion Argentina on June 16 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Originally from Bosnia but a longtime Swiss resident, the 62-year-old Petkovic had a long run as coach of Switzerland before a brief stint leading French club Bordeaux. Petkovic was hired by Algeria in February 2024 after it missed two World Cups, and he quickly turned the Desert Foxes into one of the top teams in Africa.
Members of the Algerian technical staff, including assistant coach Davide Morandi, goalkeeping coach Guido Nanni and head trainer Paolo Rongoni, also had their contracts extended through July 2028.
Algeria planned to practice Sunday at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Center near Algiers before departing for Kansas City later in the day. The team will make its home base at the University of Kansas in nearby Lawrence for the duration of the World Cup.
Its first practice at the school's Rock Chalk Park soccer complex is scheduled for Monday.
After their World Cup opener against Argentina, the Desert Foxes play Jordan on June 22 in Santa Clara, California. Their final group match is June 27 against Austria at Arrowhead Stadium, which is about an hour drive from their Lawrence training base.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Algeria players celebrate after Algeria's Anis Hadj Moussa scored his side's opening goal during the international friendly soccer match between Netherlands and Algeria in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ Patrick Post)
Vladimir Petković, head coach of Algeria's national soccer team, speaks during a press conference in Algiers, Algeria, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Prime Minister Albin Kurti's party won the most votes in an early parliamentary election in Kosovo on Sunday, early results showed. But it remained unclear whether the outcome will bring an end to a political impasse in the small Balkan nation seeking to move closer to the European Union and NATO.
The vote was Kosovo's third in less than 18 months. It was scheduled after the main political parties failed to agree by a March deadline on who should replace former President Vjosa Osmani. The first inconclusive election in February 2025 left the country without a functioning government for much of last year, forcing a second election in December.
Kurti's ruling Vetevendosje party won around 43% of the votes followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21,7% and the Democratic League of Kosovo with 18%, the state election authorities said after counting nearly 90% of the ballots cast on Sunday. The final tally also will need to include some 100,000 votes of Kosovars living abroad.
Kurti and his party had a comfortable majority of more than 50% of the votes in a previous early election in December. Coupled with a lower turnout, the fall in support appears to reflect voter disappointment with mainstream politicians who have kept the small Balkan nation in a state of a prolonged crisis.
The political stalemate has negatively affected Kosovo’s economy, already hit hard by the global energy crisis and rising fuel prices. Kosovo, one of the youngest and poorest countries in Europe, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO bombing that forced Serbia to withdraw.
Kosovo’s president is elected by at least 80 lawmakers in the 120-member assembly, requiring a broader political consensus. The newly elected lawmakers will face the same task once the new assembly is formed after Sunday's vote despite a reshuffle in the their numbers.
Kurti told supporters in Pristina that the election confirmed the dominance of his party. He promised to “communicate, meet and cooperate with all political parties ... because public interest comes first for us.”
The main opposition parties have accused Kurti of seeking to impose full control over all political institutions in the country.
Osmani joined the opposition LDK in the election, having turned against Kurti after he refused to back her for a second term. Osmani earlier Sunday expressed “great optimism” that the election will “take us out of the repeated crisis that has damaged our country, both domestically and beyond our borders.”
While the key players blamed each other for the crisis, their inability to reach a compromise has fueled frustration among Kosovo’s just under 2 million voters, who want the government to focus on the economy and living standards instead.
The turnout on Sunday was 36,3% while it was nearly 45% in December.
Arton Smajli, 42, a resident of the capital, Pristina, said that “we are tired, but the will for change is greater than that.”
Sejdi Shala, 73, was also optimistic that the election will bring “stability of the institutions and the society.”
The institutional vacuum, without a stable government, has delayed access to the EU and other international funds available to the country. European Council President António Costa, during a visit last week, urged Kosovo to end the political stalemate and unite over the goal of EU integration.
Kosovo has been recognized by the United States and most EU countries, but not by Serbia and its allies, Russia and China. Pristina and Belgrade have been told that they must mend relations to move forward with their EU membership bids.
A voter signs an election document at a polling station for an early parliamentary election, the third in 18 months, in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Dejan Simicevic)
People wait in line at a polling station for an early parliamentary election, the third in 18 months, in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Dejan Simicevic)
A man votes during parliamentary election in Kosovo capital Pristina, on Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Kosovo's former president Vjosa Osmani votes during parliamentary election in Kosovo capital Pristina, on Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Blerim Berisha)
Kosovo's acting Prime Minister and Vetevendosje party leader Albin Kurti votes during parliamentary election in Kosovo capital Pristina, on Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
People wait at a bus station displaying election posters in capital Pristina, Kosovo, Friday, June 5, 2026, ahead of snap parliamentary elections on June 7. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Vjosa Osmani, Kosovo former president, waves to supporter at the closing political rally of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), in capital Pristina on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
People pass by a giant election poster of acting prime minister Albin Kurti, in capital Pristina, Kosovo, Friday, June 5, 2026, ahead of snap parliamentary elections on June 7. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
