Ismet Lushaku was one of eleven debutants in the Kosovan jersey, as Kosovo faced Sweden in a friendly in Qatar, January 12th. However, the match was more emotional for him than the others, as he made his senior team debut for Kosovo, against the country where he was born and raised. We had a chat with Ismet who is currently in Sweden & discussed his debut, choosing Kosovo over Sweden & how COVID19 put a potential transfer to Arsenal on hold.
You were born & raised in Sweden, but your parents are from Kosovo, which is also the country you chose to represent at national level. What feelings came up when you were subbed in for Florian Loshaj in the 32nd match minute? - The feeling was of course amazing. The idea of making my debut for my country of origin, against my country of birth had struck me quite a few times ahead of the call-up. Many people dream of representing their country & especially for me who did it against Sweden in which I grew up. It is difficult to describe the feelings that rose through my body there & then because I was so focused on the game & on doing well. But it is definitely a day I will never forget.
The match ended with a 1-0 victory for Sweden. To many's surprise, however, it was Kosovo who was controlling the game, and had both more ball possession & shots on target. How do you rate Kosovo’s performance? I think the team did incredibly well. Everyone was focused & gave their all on the pitch. We had chances that we could have managed better. But it was great to play as we had fantastic pressure & played out Sweden for many periods during the game. I have played against most of the players in the Swedish squad in Sweden and knew ,they were good. But, I was confident on our qualities & I am satisfied with our performance despite the loss.
Kosovo has played very well during the EURO 2021 qualifiers, better than many would have expected beforehand. Unfortunately, they did not manage to qualify through the EURO Qualifiers. There is though still a chance they can qualify, through the Nations League play-offs. . What do you think about our chances of reaching EURO 2021?
- I definitely think we can reach EURO 2021. The players who have been called up have shown the whole world what a good team Kosovo is. I rate the chances of reaching this historical European Championship as high.
Kosovo have Arber Zeneli & Ibrahim Dresevic who, just like you, were born & raised in Sweden, but chose to represent Kosovo at national team level. What made you choose Kosovo over Sweden? - Ever since I was a kid I always went on holiday with my family to Kosovo. I have a lot of relatives in Kosovo who cheer for me and give me great support. Kosovo also showed huge interest in me & this is where I got the chance & confidence from the beginning. Everyone in the squad speaks my home language and it simply feels like home.
According to plan, both Kosovo & AFC would have been playing matches by now. However, the sudden situation with COVID19 has hit the world hard, including football. Sweden is one of the few countries with less strict rules. How do you entertain yourself during these times? We are training as per usual & current informations says that the league is set to start June 14, I can not wait to get started again. I am spending my spare time mostly at home with my family and by playing Playstation with my friends.
Anel Rashkaj who has played with you at AFC chose to split ways with the club this winter, as the team were relegated from Allsvenskan last season. However, you have signed a three-year contract in May 2019 & during the pre-season and the Swedish Cup you were a regular in AFC Eskilstuna's midfield. Is the plan to establish yourself in the starting eleven this season or is there any possibility that you change your club adress during this summer's transfer window? Yes it has gone well during the pre-season, which is why this break came untimely. As soon as the league starts, I’ll do my best to play as many matches as possible. Then, of course, as every player, I want to take the next step in my career. There have been interest from major clubs around Europe. Before the Corona pandemic broke out, I had an invitation from Arsenal's U23 side, where I would play some matches with them as well as train with the first squad. However, due to the current situation, it has been postponed until further notice. There has also been interest from clubs in Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the Swedish top flight Allsvenskan. If I get the chance and the surroundings feel good, I will definitely consider it. I am however happy with my current situation at AFC.
We thank Ismet for his time, and wish him the very best, & hope to see him as an consistent member of Kosovo's squad in the future.