Switzerland vs Kosovo Prediction: Dan the man again for Nati

Group B of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in Europe gets underway on Friday, with Switzerland hosting Kosovo at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, and Sweden taking on Slovenia at Stadion Stozice in Ljubljana (both 19:45 BST).

My focus is on the former, and you can check out my Switzerland vs Kosovo predictions, alongside team news and match odds, below.

Team News

Switzerland can no longer call upon the familiar faces of Yann Sommer (Inter Milan) or Xherdan Shaqiri (FC Basel), with both national team stalwarts announcing their international retirements after Euro 2024.

Football Odds

However, there is plenty of experience in September's squad, with captain Granit Xhaka (Sunderland), Ricardo Rodriguez (Real Betis), Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan, on loan from Manchester City) and Romo Freuler (Bologna) among their highest-capped options, with all five playing over 70 times for Nati.

Arjinat Muric (Sassuolo, on loan from Ipswich Town), Amir Rrahmani (Napoli) and Vedat Muriqi (Real Mallorca) are the headline names in Kosovo's squad.

Today's Football Fixtures

However, one of their biggest stars, Milot Rashica (Besiktas), has been left out, as has another, Edon Zhegrova (Juventus), who hasn't played this year due to injury, and will use the international break to adjust to life at his new club in Italy, following his recent switch from French side Lille OSC.

Switzerland vs Kosovo Odds

Switzerland have won their last three games and are 4/11 to rack up a fourth consecutive victory on Friday, implying a 73.3% probability of success, while Kosovo are 7/1, or a 12.5% chance, to extend their winning run to six matches.

All three previous meetings have ended in a goalscoring draw; that outcome can be backed at 5/1, while a simple stalemate is priced at 4/1.

Swiss striker Breel Embolo, who recently completed a move from AS Monaco to Stade Rennais, is 1/1 favourite in the anytime goalscorer market, with Kosovo's all-time leading marksman, Muriqi, first up for the visitors at 11/4.

Anytime Goalscorer - Dan Ndoye (SWI) @ 2/1

Dan Ndoye made his Switzerland senior debut in 2022, but it took him until June 23 last year to net his first international goal, against Germany in a 1-1 draw at Euro 2024.

The winger had to wait nearly 12 months for his second, which came on June 7 in a 4-2 friendly victory over Mexico, but his third quickly followed, in a 4-0 friendly thrashing of the USA three days later.

The 24-year-old now goes in search of a third consecutive strike for his country, and he should take great confidence from his start to life in the Premier League.

Ndoye joined Nottingham Forest from Bologna during the summer, and on his Premier League debut against Brentford, scored his new side's second in a 3-1 win.

He now has four goals in his last eight competitive appearances for club and country, and at 2/1, is a decent price to make it five in nine against Kosovo, who have shipped six goals across four games this year, despite winning all four.

Double Chance & Both Teams To Score - Switzerland or Draw & Yes @ 1/1

The three previous head-to-heads, which have all taken place since the start of 2022, have ended in score draws, and with both nations unbeaten this calendar year, another stalemate with goals could be the way to go again on Friday.

However, I do think there is a good chance that Switzerland pick up all three points, as they made light work of the USA and Mexico during the summer, and boast the superior squad in this contest.

Kosovo, meanwhile, haven't been tested by a top-50 opponent since September 6 last year, when they lost 3-0 at home to Romania, and the last top-50 nation they avoided defeat against was Switzerland, in November 2023.

So, I'm confident the Swiss can at least avoid defeat, but Kosovo's momentum and record in this head-to-head has made me consider the insurance option of Switzerland or Draw in the Double Chance market.

We can get slightly longer odds by also backing both teams to score, which, as previously mentioned, has been a winner in all three previous meetings.

BTTS-Yes has also landed in all four of Kosovo's matches in 2025, while Switzerland's six-game run of both teams scoring was only ended in their last international against the USA in June.

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