Kosovo, rival of La Roja that Spain does not recognize as an independent country

The draw for the qualifying phase for the 2022 World Cup to be played in Qatar has included the Spanish team and that of Kosovo. A circumstance that is still curious as both teams have never seen each other in an official match due to the short life as a FIFA member that the Balkan team has.

In fact, the Spanish government has not recognized this region as an independent country and supports the government of Serbia in its division with the Kosovar territory that has been in dispute for more than 20 years.

For its part, the RFEF abides by the FIFA regulations, which do recognize the country and allow it to participate in their competitions, as do other regions of a similar nature such as Gibraltar or Saint Marino. Of the rivals in the same group, only the Swedes recognize as an independent country Kosovo while Greece Y Georgia they follow the same line as Spain although they allow their national teams to play between them.