David Owen: Kosovo dream of emulating Montenegro and playing at Wembley

At Wembley tonight, England’s footballers take on Montenegro in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Improbably enough, it is the visitors who head the group with three wins out of three - pretty remarkable given that the country declared independence just four years ago and, at some 5,000 square miles, is a touch smaller than Northern Ireland and a touch bigger than Death Valley National Park.

As star player Mirko Vucinic and his team-mates pursue their dream tonight at one of world sport’s most famous venues, spare a thought for the sportsmen and women of Kosovo, another (Jamaica-sized) fragment of the former Yugoslavia, most of whom are still waiting to represent their state in international competition, even though its independence is recognised by some 70 other countries.