Kosovo and Austria drew 1-1 in Pristina as TSG Hoffenheim's attacker Fisnik Asllani ended his goal drought. The 24-year-old last scored in Hoffenheim's 2-1 win in Hamburg on matchday 31 of last season.
Since then, the Berlin-born striker missed out on a big-money transfer to RB Leipzig after an unsuccessful medical check. He also missed the start of the season due to a knee injury before coming off the bench in the last three Hoffenheim games before the international break.
Similarly, Franco Foda used him as a substitute against the Republic of Ireland and Israel before he played 90 minutes in the goalless draw with Israel. Asllani was back on the bench on Sunday, but he only needed four minutes to put the hosts ahead against the group leaders.
Austria, also coached by a German in Ralf Rangnick, found an equalizer five minutes before time through LASK Linz midfielder Christoph Lang. FC Bayern's Konrad Laimer returned to the starting lineup for the visitors as they maintained their unbeaten start.
Republic of Ireland and Israel will go head-to-head in Serbia with the other game from the group. Ireland would climb past Kosovo in the group if they completed the double in this fixture, which was initially in danger of a boycott due to geopolitical tensions.
Meanwhile, in a high-profile League A fixture, Portugal will remain without Cristiano Ronaldo as they host Erling Haaland's Norway in Porto. HSV's David Møller Wolfe and RB Leipzig's Antonio Nusa start for the visitors, while Julian Ryerson is out of the game as the Dortmund fullback suffered a second injury in the extended international break.
