2016 Euro qualifiers At the UEFA Euro 2016 qualification game, the first association football match between
Albania and
Serbia took place on 14 October 2014, at
Partizan Stadium in
Belgrade. At the beginning of the match, the Serbian crowd chanted Ubij, ubij
Šiptara (Kill, kill the Albanian). Chants like "Kill the Serb", "Kill the Croat", and "Kill the Albanian” became part of the Balkan football folklore in stadiums across the region after
nationalism rose after wars between the countries. Afterwards, a
drone quadcopter carrying the map of
Greater Albania appeared on the pitch. After Serbian player
Stefan Mitrović tried to grab the flag, Albanian players attacked him. 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. The match was abandoned at 0–0 after the fans invaded the pitch.
First ever Line Up between: Albania VS Serbia On 10 July 2015, the
Court 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. On 8 October the same year, the second match between the nations took place at the
Elbasan Arena in Albania. The Serbian football team's bus was attacked by Albanian protesters with stones. A few hours before the kickoff, the Albanian police carried out riots, firing water cannon bursts as a helicopter buzzed over nearby buildings. The other teams of the group were
Portugal,
Denmark and
Armenia.
Standings in Group I 2026 FIFA qualifiers Albania and Serbia were drawn into
Group K of
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, with
England,
Latvia and
Andorra. Many fans were shocked to see Albania and Serbia put in the same group due to past incidents in the 2016 Euro qualification games. Others questioned if another incident would occur during the qualification matches. The first match between the two sides of the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers was hosted by Albania at
Air Albania Stadium on 7 June. It ended in a 0-0 draw without significant incidents. Albanian forward
Rey Manaj missed a penalty at the 45th minute as Serbian goaltender
Đorđe Petrović made the save. The second match was held in Serbia at Dubočica Stadium, and ended in a 1-0 win for Albania after Rey Manaj scored the lone goal in the 45+1 minute. Manaj celebrated the goal with a
double-headed eagle gesture which earned him a yellow card. The win gave Albania three vital points. Albania secured second place in the group in its subsequent match after beating Andorra 0-1 as visitors, thanks to a goal from
Kristjan Asllani. The win secured a spot for Albania in the
FIFA-play-offs with a total of 14 points. Meanwhile, Serbia finished in 3rd place with 13 Points.
Standings in Group K == Overall and matches ==