Andi Janjeva is “delighted” to have been called up to the Kosovo Under-21 national team ahead of their qualifying games for the 2023 UEFA European U21 Championship later this month.
The Watford Under-23 defender, who had previously been invited to Kosovo’s Under-19s, will be in the squad as they play a double-header against Slovenia’s Under-21s on March 25 and March 29, with the first game taking place at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina - Kosovo’s national footballing venue.
The 19-year-old joined the Hornets in 2011 and is extremely proud to have been given the opportunity to play for Kosovo, with his family hailing from the European country.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to represent Kosovo since I was young,” said Janjeva.
“Where I’m from is something that I take a lot of pride in. I think it’s a big achievement and hopefully, this is the start of my progression into the first team because that’s the ultimate dream.
“I was delighted to receive the news especially because it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been with them, so to be called back into the squad is a great feeling. It shows that I’m being looked at and they value me quite highly.”
Janjeva, who received the call from the Director of the Kosovo Football Association, explained how he reacted to the news of his call-up.
“Straight away I told my parents of course,” he said. “They love seeing me play for Kosovo, especially my family back home.
“My grandparents and my cousins still haven’t had a chance to see me play a live game, so hopefully they can be there to watch the first game at home.”
The centre-back is now fully focused on using the call-up to further his progress as a footballer and continue his momentum.
“For my development it’s very good because this is the European Championships,” he added.
“It’s a big tournament, and hopefully if we manage to qualify that would be a very big achievement, not just for myself, but for the whole country because you get a chance to play some big names from big countries.
“Both matches against Slovenia are going to be tough, but I think we have loads of talent in our team so I think we will do really well.”
