Albania national football team results (2010–present)
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The Albania national football team ( sq, Kombëtarja e futbollit të Shqipërisë) represents Albania in men's international
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, and is governed by the Albanian Football Association, the governing body for
football in Albania Football is the most popular sport in Albania, both at a participatory and spectator level. The sport is governed by the Football Association of Albania (FSHF) ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit). History of football in Albania Football arrived ...
. Albania competes in the three major international football tournaments; the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and UEFA Nations League. Albania was the winner of the
1946 Balkan Cup The 1946 Balkan Cup was the 8th edition of this tournament. The participanting teams were Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and for the first time ever, Albania, who ended up winning the tournament in their first try. Squads *The four men ...
and the 2000 Malta Rothmans International Tournament. At
Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
, Albania made its second appearance at a major men's football tournament after 50 years. Since its completion in 2019,
Arena Kombëtare Arena Kombëtare (; known for sponsorship reasons as the Air Albania Stadium) is an all-seater, multi-purpose football stadium located in the capital city of Tirana which was built on the ground of the former Qemal Stafa Stadium. The stadium ha ...
( en, National Arena), known as Air Albania Stadium for sponsorship reasons, has been the team's home ground. Albania's highest FIFA World Ranking was 22nd in August 2015. The colours of the team are red, white and black, and the double headed eagle its symbol. Its supporters are collectively known as the '' Tifozët Kuq e Zi'' and display as well as the country's national flag colours, red and black. In 2020, Albania won for the first time a group by finishing first in group 4 of UEFA Nations League C and has been promoted in UEFA Nations League B.


History


20th century

Although it never played any matches, the Albania national football team existed before the Albanian Football Association (Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) was created on 6 June 1930. Albania joined
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
during a congress held between 12 June and 16 June. Albania played its first international match against Yugoslavia in 1946, which ended in a 3–2 home defeat at Qemal Stafa Stadium. In 1946, Albania also participated for the first time in the Balkan Cup in which Albania won by beating Romania 1–0 in the final. In 1954, Albania was one of the founding members of UEFA. Albania waited until 1962 to compete in a Euro Cup competition and the only time Albania was between the best 16 teams of the Continent, the reason being Albania got past the first leg as Greece, for political reasons forfeited the game. At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe. Albania participated at the
1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...
in the Men's qualification tournament, and closely lost both matches against Bulgaria in the Preliminary round. They would participate for the second and last time at the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
in which they faced Romania at the Men's European Qualifiers in the Playoffs. Albania would lose both matches close with 2–1 in the first leg and 1–2 at home in the second leg. Albania participated for the first time in a qualifying phrase of a World Cup in the qualifiers of the 1966 edition in England. The team was drawn in the Group 5 which finished in the last position with only one point from six matches. In the qualifiers, of the UEFA Euro 1968 Albania had a draw 0–0 against West Germany that denied the Germans the participation to the UEFA Euro 1968 finals. In later years, Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the World Cup 1970, UEFA Euro 1976, World Cup 1978 and UEFA Euro 1980 for unknown political reasons. After six years without playing any international matches, Albania entered in the qualifiers of the World Cup 1982, managing to finish in a place other than last for the first time in a qualifying match, with Finland getting last place instead. In the following qualification for the
World Cup 1986 The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
Albania were able to beat famously Belgium at home in Tirana with 2-0 as well as drawing away in Mielec against Poland with 2-2 despite leading until the end of this match. Their last point were won against Greece at home. Missing out close for their first ever FIFA World Cup as they finished third in the standings. The qualifiers of the
World Cup 1990 The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...
were probably the worst qualifier in Albania's history as there were 6 losses in as many games with no memorable matches.


21st century

In the qualifiers of the World Cup 2002, Albania recorded a 2–0 win over Greece which was the only team that they beat during the qualifiers. Albania was able to make some impact in the qualifying of the UEFA Euro 2004 by beating 3–1 Russia at Loro Boriçi Stadium. This match was also the debut of the German coach Hans-Peter Briegel who led Albania to an undefeated run at home matches. Despite the good results, Albania finished the group in the penultimate spot with only eight points. In the qualifiers of the
World Cup 2006 The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won ...
Albania recorded some historical results. Two months after Greece beat Portugal to win the European Championship, Albania defeated Greece 2–1. In the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 2008 Albania won twice in both matches against Luxembourg. Albania also drew 2–2 with Belarus and 0–0 away with Bulgaria. Albania's Euro campaign ended with a 6–1 loss away to Romania which resulted in the resignation of the coach
Otto Barić Otto Barić (; 19 June 1933 – 13 December 2020) was a Croatian professional football player and manager. Coaching career 1970s to 1980s Born in Eisenkappel, near Klagenfurt, Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germa ...
and his assistant. In December 2007, Arie Haan was named Albania's head coach by signing a two-year contract for the qualifiers of the
World Cup 2010 , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, where Albania made a very negative performance by winning only one match. Albania won only seven points from ten matches and Haan was replaced by
Josip Kuže Josip Kuže (13 November 1952 – 16 June 2013) was a Croatian football manager and footballer. He was a player and later a manager of Dinamo Zagreb where he played for 10 years, making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals. Playing c ...
in May 2009 following the end of the campaign. However, Kuže couldn't lead Albania to the better results as the team ended the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 2012 with only nine points from ten matches. With Kuže in charge, Albania recorded its second biggest win the history by defeating Cyprus 6–1 at home, equal with Albania's 5–0 victory over Vietnam in 2003. Josip Kuže parted ways with Albania three and a half years after he started the job, and in December 2011, Italian coach
Gianni de Biasi Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead th ...
replaced him. Albania started the qualifiers and was, at one point, 2nd in group with six matches played and four to spare, but failed to be successful in the last four, losing away in Slovenia and Iceland, as well as at home against
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and drawing in Cyprus. Albania started the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 2016 with an emphatic 1–0 away win against Portugal, which was followed by a 1–1 draw against Denmark at the newly renovated stadium
Elbasan Arena Elbasan Arena ( sq, Elbasan Arena, formerly known as Ruzhdi Bizhuta) is a multi-purpose stadium in Elbasan, Albania. The stadium was completed in 1967 and has been the home ground of KF Elbasani ever since. The stadium was under reconstruction a ...
. After beating Armenia 3–0 in the last qualifying match, Albania made history by qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2016, its first appearance at a major men's football tournament after 50 years. In the tournament itself, Albania lost 0–1 to
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and 0–2 to hosts France. While they beat Romania 1–0 (their first win against Romania since 1947), the team finished last among the third-placed teams and didn't progress beyond the group stage. Following the almost successful UEFA European Championship's, Albania suffered massive setback. In
2018 World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...
, Albania failed to qualify and finished in 3rd, which was, however, their best result in history. During this era, their successful manager,
Gianni De Biasi Giovanni "Gianni" De Biasi (, sq, Xhovani "Xhani" De Biazi), born 16 June 1956 is an Italian football coach and former player. He holds dual Italian and Albanian citizenship. De Biasi was the first coach of the Albania national team to lead th ...
, resigned and
Christian Panucci Christian Panucci (; born 12 April 1973) is an Italian former association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. In his playing career he played as a Defender (association football), defender. A versatile footballer, he ...
, another Italian, replaced him as coach of Albania. However, things were little improved. Albania played poorly in the
2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...
, winning only to Israel 1–0 and lost the remaining three, especially the devastating 0–4 defeat to Scotland at home. Panucci would be sacked after a 0–2 defeat to Turkey in the opening campaign for the
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, played across Europe ...
. Another Italian, Edoardo Reja, was appointed to help Albania to improve in a tough group, but improvement is still very little. Albania failed to qualify to UEFA Euro 2020, archiving just a disappointing 4th place.


Team image


Nicknames

The Albania national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "''Kuq e Zinjtë''" ("The Red and Blacks") and "''Shqiponjat''" ("The Eagles"). In addition to the official nickname, the Albania national team had another nickname as: *"''Kosova B''" (" Kosovo B") — During the period before 2016, the national teams of Albania and Kosovo have exchanged players with each other, which influenced these two teams to be nicknamed reserve (B) teams of each other, the Albania national team which was nicknamed Kosovo B due to of the large number of players of Kosovo Albanian descent in its composition, but the same thing happened with the Kosovo national team was nicknamed Albania B due to many players came to play for Kosovo as they had no space to play for Albania.


Kits

Albania' colours are red and black, mirroring the nation's
flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
. The team typically wears red shirts, black shorts and red socks. Away kits are usually all-white, with red and black trim. In the 2000s, Albania signed with German sportswear company
Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...
and was the first kit supplier of Albania in the 21st century. On 29 January 2016, Albania signed Italian sportswear company Macron, which continues to be Albania's kit.


Kit sponsorship


Home stadium

Albania's main stadium for most part of the history was Qemal Stafa Stadium located in Tirana. The work started in April 1939 during the Italy regime. The construction lasted for three years but it stopped briefly in August 1943 following the fall of fascist regime. The stadium had an Olympic Stadium shape, as idealized by
Gherardo Bosio Gherardo Bosio (19 March 1903 – 16 April 1941) was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania.http://www.shqiptariiitalise.com/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi ...
, a young fascist architect from Florence, Italy. The stadium's initial capacity was 15,000, this due to the fact that Tirana at that time had only 60,000 inhabitants. It was named after
Qemal Stafa Qemal Stafa (20 March 1920 – 5 May 1942) was a founding member of the Albanian Communist Party, and the leader of its youth section. Biography Stafa was born in Elbasan in 1920, in a family originating from the Zabzun village, at the time part ...
, a
Hero of Albania The Hero of the People ( sq, Hero i Popullit; Heroinë e Popullit) was the highest title bestowed upon the citizens of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Creation Founded on July 9, 1945, the title was awarded by the Presidium of the P ...
in World War II. The stadium was inaugurated officially on 7 October 1946 when Albania played its first competitive match against Yugoslavia. Ever since then, further 130 international matches took place in the stadium, with the last being a friendly against Georgia in November 2015. In 2005, Cecilia de Marco and Elisabetta Lorusso, two young Italian students, called the stadium as "one of the strongest symbols of Italian impact in Albania". In November 2013, Qemal Stafa Stadium was shut down by FIFA for not fulfilling international standards. The stadium's demolition started in June 2016, and it was announced that is going to be replaced by
Arena Kombëtare Arena Kombëtare (; known for sponsorship reasons as the Air Albania Stadium) is an all-seater, multi-purpose football stadium located in the capital city of Tirana which was built on the ground of the former Qemal Stafa Stadium. The stadium ha ...
. Albania sometimes has played home matches at other venues. Outside Tirana, the national team has played matches in
Flamurtari Stadium Flamurtari Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Flamurtari) is a multi-use stadium in Vlorë, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of KS Flamurtari Vlorë. The stadium has a capacity of 8.200 people. Before the constr ...
in Vlorë,
Tomori Stadium Tomori Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Tomori) is a multi-use stadium in Berat, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Tomori. The stadium holds 17,890 people. International matches The Tomori Stadium has ho ...
in Berat,
Niko Dovana Stadium The Niko Dovana Stadium, officially Stadiumi "Niko Dovana", is a multi-use stadium located in Durrës, Albania. It is the home ground of Teuta. The capacity is 12,040, making it the fifth largest ground in the country. It was renamed in 1991 in h ...
in Durrës, Loro Boriçi Stadium in
Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...
and
Elbasan Arena Elbasan Arena ( sq, Elbasan Arena, formerly known as Ruzhdi Bizhuta) is a multi-purpose stadium in Elbasan, Albania. The stadium was completed in 1967 and has been the home ground of KF Elbasani ever since. The stadium was under reconstruction a ...
in Elbasan. In February 2014, due to Albania not having a stadium that fulfills international standards set by FIFA, the work for renovation of Elbasan Arena (at the time Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium) started. The work lasted for 7 months, and the stadium was inaugurated on 9 October when Albania played a friendly match against KF Elbasani under-19 squad; Albania won the match 17–0. The official inauguration occurred two days later in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Denmark. The first international match at Loro Boriçi Stadium was played on 29 March 2003 against Russia, with Albania winning 3–1. In October 2014, Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, promised the reconstruction of the stadium. The stadium's construction started in May 2015 and finished in August 2016. In 2016–17, the stadium served temporary as the home of Kosovo national team, due to stadiums in Mitrovica and Pristina were under renovation and did not meet UEFA standards.


Rivalries


Kosovo

This derby is otherwise known as Brotherly derby ( sq, Derbi vëllazëror), also known as the Brotherly ( sq, Vëllazërorja). The documented beginnings of this derby date back to the time during the World War II, respectively on 29 November 1942, where they played a friendly match as part of the celebrations for 30th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania and the match ended with a 2–0 win for Tirana, this derby is back 50 years after the first match, when the
Football Federation of Kosovo The Football Federation of Kosovo ( sq, Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës; FFK) is the governing body of football in Kosovo, with headquarters in Pristina. The Football Federation of Kosovo was established in 1946 as a branch of the Football Associa ...
signed a cooperation protocol with the Albanian Football Association and in the framework of this protocol it was decided to play on 14 February a friendly match between these two national teams, and this match ended with a 3–1 win for Albania.


Serbia

This football rivalry between Albania and Serbia is mainly due to historical tensions between the two countries. It has been described as "one of the fiercest rivalries in the world". During the Euro 2016 qualifying phase, the Serbian crowd were chanting "Kill, kill Albanians" and were throwing flares at the Albania team, after which there was a clash between the Serbia and Albania teams.


Supporters

Tifozat Kuq e Zi ( en, Red and Black Fans, also known as the Albania National Football Team Supporters Club) is a non-profit
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
supporters' association for the Albania national football team and various national team sportive activities. It was founded on 25 December 2003. In cooperation with FSHF, it organises trips for football fans to visit games, and develops and sells merchandise to support itself and fund sporting related projects. Tifozat Kuq e Zi stands firm in the political view that
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
should share only one national team and have continuous aspirations to join in one state (Një Komb, Një Kombëtare), i.e. unification of Albania, Kosovo, etc. In this sense, TKZ is joined by different supporters' associations throughout Albanian-speaking regions mainly in Kosovo (Shqiponjat of
Peja Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mount ...
, Kuqezinjet e Jakoves of Gjakova, Plisat of
Prishtina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...
,
Torcida Torcidas organizadas () are formal (or informal) associations of football fans in Brazil in the same vein as '' barras bravas'' in the rest of Latin America, ''hooligan firms'' in United Kingdom and ''ultras'' in the rest of Europe, Asia, Aus ...
of Mitrovica, etc.), North Macedonia (
Ballistët Ballistet (Albanian: ''Ballistët)'' are ultra supporters of the KF Shkëndija football club in Tetovo, North Macedonia. They were officially established as the main ultras group for Shkëndija in 1992. History 2010s The Shkëndija supporters ...
of
Tetovë Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
, Ilirët of Kumanovë, Shvercerat of Shkupi, etc.) and in Albania itself ( Ultras Guerrils of
Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...
,
Tirona Fanatics Klubi i Futbollit Tirana (KF Tirana) is an Albanian football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 ...
of
KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana (KF Tirana) is an Albanian football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 ...
, Vllaznit Ultras of Vllaznia Shkodër, Ujqërit e Deborës of
Skënderbeu Korçë , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...
, Shqiponjat of KF Besa Pejë and many other different Albanian fans). There are sports twinnings with some amateur football teams of the historic Albanian communities of Italy (''
Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...
''): in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, on the occasion of the Italy - Albania match played in
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
( Sicily, Italy) for the World Cup qualifiers, the local team and the Municipality of Piana degli Albanesi welcomed the ambassador of the Republic of Albania, the official delegation of the Albanian football federation and numerous Albanian fans who also came from the Balkans, in a fraternal and sporting twinning ''Arbëreshë-Shqiptarë''. The ongoing dispute between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Football Association of Albania has been seen as a political intrusion by
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
and UEFA, which led to the banning of Albania from international sportive activities. FSHF president Armand Duka is highly unwanted by the TKZ who have numerously asked for his resignation believing he is responsible for internal corruption in the Albanian Football Association. The TKZ have been praised by many different football players and managers, whom were not just Albanian. One example is with Switzerland's former coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld, who was astonished by how many Albanian fans turned up and how enthusiastic they were in
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...
match between
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and Albania where the Swiss won 2–0 thanks to goals from Gökhan Inler and Kosovo-born
Xherdan Shaqiri Xherdan Shaqiri (; born 10 October 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and the Switzerland national team. Shaqiri began his career at FC Basel, winning honours including t ...
. He didn't believe that there was 12,000 Albanian fans in the stands which was more than how many Swiss fans turned up for the game. He stated that "Albanian fans are fantastic and the most passionate fans I have ever seen". During that campaign, TKZ attended all games Albania played apart from a match against Cyprus in
Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
and were also large in numbers in the away games to Slovenia in
Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...
and Norway in Oslo.


Media coverage

;Current ;Previous


Results and fixtures


2022


2023


Coaching staff


Current coaching staff


Players


Current squad

*The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Italy and Armenia, on 16 and 19 November 2022. *''Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2022 after the match against Armenia.''


Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection. ;Notes *PRE = Preliminary squad/standby. *U21 = Was called up from national U21 squad. *CLUB = It is not part of the current squad after the club has not allowed him to join. *INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury.


Records

. :''Players in bold are still active with Albania.''


Most appearances


Top goalscorers


Competitive record


FIFA World Cup


UEFA European Championship


UEFA Nations League


Other tournaments


Mediterranean Games


FIFA Rankings

''As of 26 July 2020'' Source: Best Ranking   Worst Ranking   Best Mover   Worst Mover  


Honours

* Balkan Cup: ** Champions (1):
1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
*
Malta International Football Tournament The Malta International Tournament was a biannual association football friendly competition for national teams organised by the Malta Football Association that took place in Malta between 1986 and 2008. Initially, the tournament included the parti ...
: ** Champions (1):
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
* UEFA Nations League ** Promotion (1):
2020–21 UEFA Nations League C The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C was the third division of the 2020–21 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the second season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. ...


Head-to-head record


Notes and references


Notes


See also

* Albanian Football Association *
Football in Albania Football is the most popular sport in Albania, both at a participatory and spectator level. The sport is governed by the Football Association of Albania (FSHF) ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit). History of football in Albania Football arrived ...
* Albania national youth football team *
Albania national under-23 football team The Albania national under-23 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level and is controlled by Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania. The team competed in the UEFA Europ ...
*
Albania national under-21 football team The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, which is held every two ye ...
*
Albania national under-20 football team The Albania national under-20 football team, also known as Albania U20(s), is the national under-20 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. The under-20 squad is often cited as a feeder squad to the ...
*
Albania national under-19 football team The Albania national under-19 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level in the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as any other under-19 international football tourna ...
*
Albania national under-18 football team The Albania national under-18 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level and is controlled by Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania. The Albania U18 football team is a feeder ...
*
Albania national under-17 football team The Albania national under-17 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, as well as any other under-17 international football tournaments. I ...
*
Albania national under-16 football team The Albania national under-16 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level and is controlled by Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania. The Albania U16 football team is a feeder ...
* Albania national under-15 football team


References


External links


Official website

Albania
at UEFA site
Albania
at FIFA site
Tifozat Kuq e Zi / Red and Black Fan Club


* ttp://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/albania.shtml Stadia in Albania {{DEFAULTSORT:Albania national football team 1946 establishments in Albania Football in Albania European national association football teams