Albania defeated Serbia in Leskovac 1:0 and took over the race for second place in Group K, which is convincingly led by England, before the end of the World Cup qualifiers.
In front of only four thousand spectators at the "Dubočica" stadium, Ray Manaj's goal in the first minute of injury time in the first half decided the game.
Albania has a four-point advantage over Serbia in the race for second place, with a game in hand. A win in Andorra next month could see the Albanians promoted to the play-offs, unless Serbia beats England at Wembley.
And in that case, Albania would have a match with England in Tirana in the final round.
The authorities in Serbia - and the media reported, and the President of the country Aleksandar Vučić himself - decided that the decisive match would be played in Leskovac, at a stadium with a capacity of 8.000 seats, which was further reduced by 20 percent due to UEFA's penalty.
All because the match against England at the Marakana last month saw mass protests from the stands against Vučić's regime, and demands for the resignation of coach Dragan Stojković Piksi from the start. There was also a fight in the stands when a group of hooligans close to the regime began hitting fans who were chanting against Vučić.
Because of all this, the match with Albania was moved to Leskovac, and there were no tickets on sale - the few thousand available were distributed to fans.
Even they, at the end of the match, asked for Dragan Stojković to leave.
A well-deserved victory for Albania, although Serbia was more dangerous in the first half hour. After taking the lead, the Albanians took control and maintained their lead without any major problems.
Pixie's Serbia is facing a major fiasco, although the theoretical chance for the "eagles" to get their hands on the barrage remains.
The Pixies, however, will have to pull out against England in London.
There were sporadic tensions in Leskovac. The Albanian anthem was booed before the start of the match, and Manaj provoked the crowd by showing a double-headed eagle, which raised the spirits in the stands.
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