Albania national football team

General

Kit history

Albania
Nickname(s)	Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks) Shqiponjat (The Eagles)
Association	FSHF
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Sylvinho
Asst coach	Pablo Zabaleta Dorival Guidoni Ervin Bulku
Captain	Berat Gjimshiti
Most caps	Lorik Cana (93)
Top scorer	Erjon Bogdani (18)
Home Stadium	Arena Kombëtare
FIFA code	ALB
FIFA ranking	66 (18th July 2024)
Highest FIFA ranking	22 (August 2015)
Lowest FIFA ranking	124 (August 1997)
Elo ranking	64
Highest Elo ranking	32 (1946)
Lowest Elo ranking	118 (December 1994)
First international	Albania 2-3 Yugoslavia (Tirana, Albania; 7 October 1946)
Biggest win	Albania 5–0 Vietnam (Bastia Umbra, Italy; 12 February 2003) Albania 6–1 Cyprus (Tirana, Albania; 12 August 2009) Albania 5–0 San Marino (Elbasan, Albania; 8 September 2021)
Biggest defeat	Hungary 12–0 Albania (Budapest, Hungary; 24 September 1950)
UEFA European Championship appearances	2 (First in 2016)
Best result	Group stage, 2016

The Albania national football team is the national association football team of Albania and it has represented the Albanian nation since 1932. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. Albania's main home ground is Arena Kombëtare (National Arena), named officially "Air Albania Stadium" for sponsorship reasons. Sylvinho is the current head coach of the team.

Albania is one of the remaining European teams that have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. They have qualified for the UEFA European Championship twice though, making its debut in 2016, where they finished on third place in the Group A, missing a spot in the knockout rounds since they weren't among four best third-placed teams. They are set to make another appearance in the 2024 edition.

Although it never played any matches, the Albanian national football team existed before FSHF was created. This is witnessed by the registration of the team in the Balkan Cup tournament of 1929-1931, which started in 1929 (although Albania eventually retired from the competition, before the competition started). FSHF was founded on June 6, 1930, and Albania had to wait 16 years to play its first international match, debuting against Yugoslavia in 1946. In 1932, Albania joined FIFA (during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of UEFA.

History

See also: History of the Albania national football team

20th century:

Although it never played any matches, the Albanian national football team existed before the Albanian Football Association (Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) was created on 6 June 1930. Albania joined FIFA 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.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934	Did not enter									Did not enter
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966	Did not qualify									4th	6	0	1	5	2	12
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify									4th	6	1	0	5	3	13
1978	Did not enter									Did not enter
1982	Did not qualify									4th	8	1	0	7	4	22
1986										3rd	6	1	2	3	6	9
1990										4th	6	0	0	6	3	15
1994										7th	12	1	2	9	6	26
1998										6th	10	1	1	8	7	20
2002										5th	8	1	0	7	5	14
2006										5th	12	4	1	7	11	20
2010										5th	10	1	4	5	6	13
2014										5th	10	3	2	5	9	11
2018										3rd	10	4	1	5	10	13
2022										3rd	10	6	0	4	12	12
2026	To be determined
2030
2034
Total	-	0/21	-	-	-	-	-	-		—	114	24	14	76	84	200

UEFA European Championship

Main article:Albania at the UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter										Did not enter
1964	Did not qualify										R16	4	3	0	1	7	4
1968											3rd	4	0	1	3	0	12
1972											4th	6	1	1	4	5	9
1976	Did not enter										Did not enter
1980
1984	Did not qualify										5th	8	0	2	6	4	14
1988											4th	6	0	0	6	2	17
1992											5th	7	1	0	6	2	21
1996											5th	10	2	2	6	10	16
2000											5th	10	1	4	5	8	14
2004											4th	8	2	2	4	11	15
2008											5th	12	2	5	5	12	18
2012											5th	10	2	3	5	7	14
2016	Group stage	18th	3	1	0	2	1	3	Squad		2nd	8	4	2	2	10	5
2020	Did not qualify										4th	10	4	1	5	16	14
2024	Group stage	21st	3	0	1	2	3	5	Squad		1st	8	4	3	1	12	4
2028	To be determined										To be determined
2032
Total	Group stage	2/17	3	1	0	2	1	3	—		14/17	111	26	26	59	100	177

UEFA Nations League

7|

Finals
Season	LG	Grp	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK	Year	Pos.	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
2018–19	C	1	3rd	4	1	0	3	1	8		34th	2019	Did not qualify
2020–21	C	4	1st	6	3	2	1	8	4		35th	2021
2022–23	B	2	3rd	4	0	2	2	4	6		27th	2023
2024–25	B	1	To be determined									2025
Total				14	4	4	6	13	18	27th		Total		—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

**Le|}

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

**League stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

Euro 2024 qualifying 17 June	Albania	2–0	Moldova	Tirana, Albania
20:45	Asani  52' Bajrami  76'	Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,944 Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Euro 2024 qualifying 20 June	Faroe Islands	1–3	Albania	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
20:45 (19:45 UTC+1)	Færø  45+1'	Report	Bajrami  20' Asllani  51' Muçi  90+1'	Stadium: Tórsvøllur Attendance: 2,507 Referee: Chrysovalantis Theouli (Cyprus)

Euro 2024 qualifying 7 September	Czech Republic	1–1	Albania	Prague, Czech Republic
20:45	Černý  56'	Report	Bajrami  66'	Stadium: Eden Arena Attendance: 18,641 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Euro 2024 qualifying 10 September	Albania	2–0	Poland	Tirana, Albania
20:45	Asani  37' Daku  62'	Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 21,900 Referee: José María Sánchez (Spain)

Euro 2024 qualifying 12 October	Albania	3–0	Czech Republic	Tirana, Albania
20:45	Asani  9' Seferi  51', 73'	Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,917 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

Friendly 17 October	Albania	2–0	Bulgaria	Tirana, Albania
16:30	Laçi  41' Muçi  81'	Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 17,232 Referee: Mervan Bejtullahu (Kosovo)

Euro 2024 qualifying 17 November	Moldova	1–1	Albania	Chişinău, Moldova
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)	Baboglo  87'	Report	Cikalleshi  25' (pen.)	Stadium: Zimbru Stadium Attendance: 9,537 Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

Euro 2024 qualifying 20 November	Albania	0–0	Faroe Islands	Tirana, Albania
20:45		Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 21,456 Referee: Sven Jablonski (Germany)

2024

Friendly 22 March	Albania	0–3	Chile	Parma, Italy
20:45 UTC+1		Report	Vargas  19' Bolados  83' Dávila  90+2'	Stadium: Stadio Ennio Tardini Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Luca Pairetto (Italy)

Friendly 25 March	Sweden	1–0	Albania	Solna, Sweden
19:00 UTC+1	Nilsson  62'	Report		Stadium: Friends Arena Referee: Marcel Bîrsan (Romania)

Friendly 3 June	Albania	3–0	Liechtenstein	Szombathely, Hungary
20:00	Broja  31' Asani  47' Muçi  67'	Report		Stadium: Haladás Sportkomplexum Attendance: 200 Referee: Bence Csonka (Hungary)

Friendly 7 June	Albania	3–1	Azerbaijan	Szombathely, Hungary
19:00	Bajrami  11' Manaj  81' Laçi  87'	Report	Qurbanlı  90'	Stadium: Haladás Sportkomplexum Referee: Mihály Káprály (Hungary)

Euro 2024 15 June	Italy	v	Albania	Dortmund, Germany
21:00 CEST		Report		Stadium: Westfalenstadion

Euro 2024 19 June	Croatia	v	Albania	Hamburg, Germany
15:00 CEST		Report		Stadium: Volksparkstadion

Euro 2024 24 June	Albania	v	Spain	Düsseldorf, Germany
21:00 CEST		Report		Stadium: Merkur Spiel-Arena

2024–25 Nations League 7 September	Ukraine	v	Albania	TBD
20:45		Report

2024–25 Nations League 10 September	Albania	v	Georgia	Elbasan, Albania
20:45		Report		Stadium: Elbasan Arena

2024–25 Nations League 11 October	Czech Republic	v	Albania	Brno, Czech Republic
20:45		Report		Stadium: Městský fotbalový stadion Srbská

2024–25 Nations League 14 October	Georgia	v	Albania	Batumi, Georgia
18:00 (20:00 UTC+4)		Report		Stadium: Adjarabet Arena

2024–25 Nations League 16 November	Albania	v	Czech Republic	Tirana, Albania
20:45		Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare

2024–25 Nations League 19 November	Albania	v	Ukraine	Tirana, Albania
20:45		Report		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the for UEFA Euro 2024.
• Caps and goals are correct as of 7 June 2024 after the match against Azerbaijan.

#	Pos	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Etrit Berisha (3rd captain)	10 March 1989 (1989-03-10)	81	0	Empoli
23	1GK	Thomas Strakosha	19 March 1995 (1995-03-19)	28	0	Brentford
12	1GK	Elhan Kastrati	2 February 1997 (1997-02-02)	2	0	Cittadella
4	2DF	Elseid Hysaj (vice-captain)	2 February 1994 (1994-02-02)	84	2	Lazio
6	2DF	Berat Gjimshiti (captain)	19 February 1993 (1993-02-19)	58	1	Atalanta
18	2DF	Ardian Ismajli	30 September 1996 (1996-09-30)	38	2	Empoli
5	2DF	Arlind Ajeti	25 September 1993 (1993-09-25)	26	1	CFR Cluj
24	2DF	Marash Kumbulla	8 February 2000 (2000-02-08)	19	0	Sassuolo
13	2DF	Enea Mihaj	5 July 1998 (1998-07-05)	19	0	Famalicão
25	2DF	Naser Aliji	27 December 1993 (1993-12-27)	14	0	Voluntari
3	2DF	Mario Mitaj	6 August 2003 (2003-08-06)	14	0	Lokomotiv Moscow
2	2DF	Iván Balliu	1 January 1992 (1992-01-01)	13	0	Rayo Vallecano
22	3MF	Amir Abrashi (4th captain)	27 March 1990 (1990-03-27)	50	1	Grasshoppers
20	3MF	Ylber Ramadani	12 April 1996 (1996-04-12)	35	1	Lecce
8	3MF	Klaus Gjasula	14 December 1989 (1989-12-14)	28	0	Darmstadt 98
14	3MF	Qazim Laçi	19 January 1996 (1996-01-19)	27	3	Sparta Prague
10	3MF	Nedim Bajrami	28 February 1999 (1999-02-28)	23	4	Sassuolo
21	3MF	Kristjan Asllani	9 March 2002 (2002-03-09)	20	2	Inter Milan
17	3MF	Ernest Muçi	19 March 2001 (2001-03-19)	10	3	Beşiktaş
16	3MF	Medon Berisha	21 October 2003 (2003-10-21)	1	0	Lecce
7	4FW	Rey Manaj	24 February 1997 (1997-02-24)	34	8	Sivasspor
11	4FW	Armando Broja	10 September 2001 (2001-09-10)	21	5	Fulham
15	4FW	Taulant Seferi	15 November 1996 (1996-11-15)	19	3	Baniyas
9	4FW	Jasir Asani	19 May 1995 (1995-05-19)	13	4	Gwangju
19	4FW	Mirlind Daku	1 January 1998 (1998-01-01)	5	1	Rubin Kazan
26	4FW	Arbër Hoxha	6 October 1998 (1998-10-06)	4	0	Dinamo Zagreb

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up GK Simon Simoni 14 July 2004 (2004-07-14) 0 0 Eintracht Frankfurt UEFA Euro 2024PRE GK Alen Sherri 15 December 1997 (1997-12-15) 1 0 Egnatia v. Sweden, 25 March 2024 DF Frédéric Veseli 20 November 1992 (1992-11-20) 45 0 Fatih Karagümrük v. Sweden, 25 March 2024 DF Jon Mersinaj 8 February 1999 (1999-02-08) 1 0 Lokomotiva v. Sweden, 25 March 2024 DF Andi Hadroj 22 February 1999 (1999-02-22) 3 0 Partizani v. Moldova, 17 June 2023 DF Adrian Bajrami 5 April 2002 (2002-04-05) 3 0 Benfica v. Moldova, 17 June 2023 MF Keidi Bare 28 August 1997 (1997-08-28) 29 2 Espanyol v. Sweden, 25 March 2024 MF Odise Roshi 21 May 1991 (1991-05-21) 71 5 Sakaryaspor v. Poland, 10 September 2023 MF Anis Mehmeti 9 January 2001 (2001-01-09) 3 0 Bristol City v. Faroe Islands, 20 June 2023 FW Sokol Cikalleshi 27 July 1990 (1990-07-27) 60 13 Konyaspor v. Sweden, 25 March 2024RET FW Arbnor Muçolli 15 September 1999 (1999-09-15) 6 0 IFK Göteborg v. Sweden, 25 March 2024INJ FW Myrto Uzuni 31 May 1995 (1995-05-31) 35 5 Granada v. Chile, 22 March 2024 FW Arbnor Muja 29 November 1998 (1998-11-29) 5 0 Samsunspor v. Faroe Islands, 20 November 2023 FW Marvin Çuni 10 July 2001 (2001-07-10) 1 0 Frosinone v. Bulgaria, 17 October 2023 FW Armando Sadiku 27 May 1991 (1991-05-27) 39 12 Mohun Bagan v. Faroe Islands, 20 June 2023 Notes PRE = Preliminary squad/standby. RET = Retired from the national team. INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury. Alumni Former players Main article: List of Albanian international players Managers Main article: List of Albania international managers Honours Balkan Cup: Champions (1): 1946 Malta International Football Tournament: Champions (1): 2000 UEFA Nations League Promotion (1): 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C External links Official website (in Albanian) Albania at UEFA site Albania at FIFA site Tifozat Kuq e Zi / Red and Black Fan Club RSSSF – Albania national football team international matches Stadia in Albania Football in Albania League competitions FSHF Cup competitions Kategoria Superiore Albania Kupa e Shqipërisë Kategoria e Parë (U23, U21, U20) Superkupa e Shqipërisë Kategoria e Dytë (U19, U18, U17) Independence Cup (pre-season) Kategoria e Tretë (U16, U15) SuperSport Trophy (pre-season) Players Clubs Stadiums Leagues International football FIFA · World Cup · Confederations Cup · U-20 World Cup · U-17 World Cup · Minor tournaments · World Rankings · Player of the Year · Teams · Competitions · Federations · Codes Confederation Competitions AFC Asian Cup CAF Africa Cup of Nations CONCACAF Gold Cup CONMEBOL Copa América OFC Nations Cup UEFA European Championship Non-FIFA N.F.-Board · Viva World Cup National football teams of Europe (UEFA) Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Republic of Ireland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan · Kosovo · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Ireland · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales Albania – UEFA Euro 2016 – Group stage 1. Berisha 2. Lila 3. Lenjani 4. Hysaj 5. Cana 6. Veseli 7. Agolli 8. Basha 9. Memushaj 10. Sadiku 11. Gashi 12. Shehi 13. Kukeli 14. Xhaka 15. Mavraj 16. Cikalleshi 17. Aliji 18. Ajeti 19. Balaj 20. Kaçe 21. Roshi 22. Abrashi 23. Hoxha Manager:   Gianni De Biasi Albania – UEFA Euro 2024 – Group stage 1. E. Berisha 2. Balliu 3. Mitaj 4. Hysaj 5. Ajeti 6. Djimsiti (c) 7. Manaj 8. Gjasula 9. Asani 10. Bajrami 11. Broja 12. Kastrati 13. Mihaj 14. Laçi 15. Seferi 16. M. Berisha 17. Muçi 18. Ismajli 19. Daku 20. Ramadani 21. Asllani 22. Abrashi 23. Strakosha 24. Kumbulla 25. Aliji 26. Hoxha Manager:   Sylvinho