Albania national football team

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Albania
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Kuq e Zinjtë (Red and Blacks)
Association Football Association of Albania
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Josip Kuže
Captain Altin Lala
Most caps Foto Strakosha (73)
Top scorer Alban Bushi (14)
Home stadium Qemal Stafa
FIFA code ALB
FIFA ranking 96
Highest FIFA ranking 62 (August 2006)
Lowest FIFA ranking 124 (August 1997)
Elo ranking 89
Home colours
Away colours
First international
Albania Albania 2–3 Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
(Tirana, Albania; October 7, 1946)
Biggest win
Albania Albania 6-1 Cyprus Cyprus
(Tirana, Albania August 12, 2009)
Biggest defeat
Hungary Hungary 12–0 Albania Albania
(Budapest, Hungary; September 24, 1950)

The Albania national football team is the national football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. Although not considered as one of the strongest footballing sides in Europe, Albanians are passionate about their football and the national team has occasionally managed to perform well against more illustrious opponents.

Founded on June 6, 1930, Albania had to wait 16 years to play the first international match, debuting against Yugoslavia in 1946. In 1932, Albania had already joined FIFA (during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of UEFA. Albania had been invited to play in 1934 World Cup, but owing to organizing difficulties, it didn't take part.

In addition to the senior football team, Albania also has teams of U21, U19, U17 and U15 level. One of the most successful is the feeder of the senior team, the U21 level. In the finals of the Euro 1984 U21 championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out by Italy 2–0 on aggregate. They became the only Albanian team in any level to qualify for a competitive tournament. Currently Albania does not have a women's team.

Most of the matches of Albanian national team have been played in Qemal Stafa. The stadium was built around the 1930s as a multi-use stadium. Today, it is mostly used for football matches. The stadium is an all-seater with a capacity of 19,600 spectators. Albania has also used the Loro-Boriçi stadium in Shkodra, where they have had some successful matches, like beating Russia 3–1 in a home Euro 2004 qualifying match. There is a rumour that the Football Association of Albania is planning to build a stadium in Tirana with a capacity of around 30,000.[citation needed]

Albania has an official supporters' association, the Tifozat Kuq e Zi who self-finance their activities using help from FSHF to arrange traveling and stadium visits for the matches.[1]

In December 2007, Albanian Football Federation president Armand Duka announced Arie Haan would replace Croatia's Otto Barić as Albania head coach. He signed a two-year contract on January 4, 2008.[2]

Albania started their 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against Sweden on September 6, 2008. They have been drawn in Group 1 with Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Hungary and Malta. They currently have 1 more game in Sweden.

On March 14, 2008, Albania was suspended from international football (FIFA and UEFA), due to heavy political interference in the FA. The suspension lasted 46 days.[3][4][5]

Contents

[edit] Albania all time record against all nations

Out of 208 FIFA member federations Albania has played only against 51 one them, mostly European, and the all time record is as follows:

Nr Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD  % Won
1  Algeria 2 2 0 0 5 0 +5 100%
2  Andorra 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 50%
3  Armenia 2 0 1 1 1 4 -3 0%
4  Austria 6 0 0 6 1 17 -16 0%
5  Azerbaijan 4 3 1 0 5 2 +3 75%
6  Bahrain 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0%
7  Belarus 2 0 1 1 4 6 -2 0%
8  Belgium 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 50%
9  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 50%
10  Bulgaria 11 2 4 5 8 15 -7 18.18%
11  China PR 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 0%
12  Cuba 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0%
13  Cyprus 4 1 1 2 9 6 +3 25%
14  Czech Republic 5 2 0 3 6 10 -4 40%
15  Denmark 1 1 1 6 3 18 -15 12.25%
16  England 4 0 0 4 1 12 -11 0%
17  Estonia 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 50%
18  Finland 7 2 1 4 6 8 -2 28.57%
19  France 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0%
20  Macedonia 6 1 1 4 4 10 -6 16.66%
21  Georgia 10 3 1 6 8 16 -8 30%
22  Germany 17 0 2 15 12 45 -33 0%
23  Greece 13 4 3 6 10 13 -3 30.76%
24  Hungary 5 0 1 4 0 18 -18 0%
25  Iceland 2 1 0 1 1 2 -1 50%
26  Kazakhstan 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 100%
27  Latvia 5 0 5 0 6 6 0 0%
28  Liechtenstein 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 100%
29  Lithuania 3 1 0 2 3 5 -2 33.33%
30  Luxembourg 3 2 1 0 5 0 +5 66.66%
31  Malta 7 4 2 1 12 3 +9 57.14%
32  Mexico 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0%
33  Moldova 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 100%
34  Netherlands 4 0 0 4 1 7 -6 0%
35  Northern Ireland 8 1 2 5 4 13 -9 12.5%
36  Norway 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 0%
37  Poland 11 1 3 7 7 14 -7 9.09%
38  Portugal 5 0 1 4 4 12 -8 0%
39  Republic of Ireland 4 0 1 3 2 6 -4 0%
40  Romania 13 2 1 10 7 38 -31 15.38%
41  Russia 2 1 0 1 4 5 -1 50%
42  San Marino 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 100%
43  Slovenia 4 0 2 2 0 3 -3 0%
44  Spain 5 0 0 5 2 24 -22 0%
45  Sweden 5 1 1 3 5 9 -4 20%
46  Switzerland 4 0 1 3 3 7 -4 0%
47  Turkey 8 3 2 4 11 8 +3 37.5%
48  Ukraine 4 0 1 3 2 6 -4 0%
49  Vietnam 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5 100%
50  Wales 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2 0%
51  Yugoslavia 5 0 1 4 4 13 -9 0%
Total 232 49 48 137 202 411 -209 21.12%

[edit] History and Competitive Records

The early years oversaw a notably successful Balkan Cup in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming Yugoslavia on level points but a better goal difference. The final match was played and won against Romania 1–0. Four days earlier, Albania had already beaten Bulgaria 3–1. Interestingly, Albania wasn't expected to participate, but the withdrawal of Greece from the tournament offered Albania a chance to join in the re-established post-war cup.

After taking part for the first time in European Championships in 1963, for edition 1964, in the 1968 European qualifiers, they managed a 0–0 draw against West Germany, which eliminated West Germany from qualification. During that era, Albania boasted arguably its greatest ever footballer, Panajot Pano.

The 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers brought further notable results with a 2–2 draw away to Poland and a 2–0 win over eventual semi-finalists Belgium.

The qualifiers for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers saw Albania forced to play some home games on neutral venues due to civil unrest at home. However, they achieved a 4–1 win over Turkey in an away friendly match in 1998 — the only time Albania have scored more than 3 goals in a full international match (although they did win 5–0 at home to Montenegro on September 22, 1946 in an unofficial international).

During the 2004 European qualifiers, Albania managed a 3–1 win against Russia in Shkodër. The 2006 World Cup qualifiers qualifiers saw Albania's results still further, the highlight being a 2–1 victory against the reigning European Champions, Greece.

Recently, the U19 team, also known as Shpresat (The Team of Hopes), managed to qualify for the Elite round in the Euro U19 2008, to be held in Czech Republic. In qualifying, they lost against Spain (2–0), beat Serbia (2–1) and drew with Liechtenstein (0–0).[6]

[edit] Euro Cup 1964

Main article: 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA - Group 5)

This was the first time Albania competed in a Euro Cup competition and actually 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 forfaited the game. In the eighth finals Albania faced Denmark and won in Albania 1-0, but lost in Denmark 0-4. Denmark advanced to the quarter finals.

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1966 Qualification

Main article: 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA - Group 5)

The first time that Albania competed for a place in the world's elite, for the 1966 World Cup in England, was in a match against Netherlands on 24 May 1964. Drawn in Group 5 with the Dutch were also Northern Ireland and Switzerland. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to Northern Ireland in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1  Switzerland 9 6 4 1 1 7 3
2  Northern Ireland 8 6 3 2 1 9 5
3  Netherlands 6 6 2 2 2 6 4
4  Albania 1 6 0 1 5 2 12

Switzerland qualified.

[edit] UEFA Euro Cup 1968

This participation will be remembered for a draw 0-0 in Albania with West Germany that denied the Germans the participation to the Euro Cup 1968 finals.

Main article: UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying
Pos Team Yugoslavia Germany Albania Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1.  Yugoslavia 1 - 0 4 - 0 6 4 3 0 1 8 3
2.  West Germany 3 - 1 6 - 0 5 4 2 1 1 9 2
3.  Albania 0 - 2 0 - 0 1 4 0 1 3 0 12

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1970

For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1970.

[edit] UEFA Euro Cup 1972

For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1972.

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1974

Main article: 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification

Albania was last of the class behind Finland in these qualifiers, 6 years after virtually no international matches.

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  East Germany 10 6 5 0 1 18 3 15
2  Romania 9 6 4 1 1 17 4 13
3  Finland 3 6 1 1 4 3 21 -18
4  Albania 2 6 1 0 5 3 13 -10

East Germany qualified.

[edit] UEFA Euro Cup 1976

For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1976.

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1978

For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1978.

[edit] UEFA Euro Cup 1980

For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1980.

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1982

Main article: 1982_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification

Again 6 years after virtually no international matches, Albania made it to be no longer last in the class, but "revenges" Finland allocating the Nordic country to get the "wooden spoon".

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  West Germany 16 8 8 0 0 33 3 30
2  Austria 11 8 5 1 2 16 6 10
3  Bulgaria 9 8 4 1 3 11 10 1
4  Albania 2 8 1 0 7 4 22 -18
5  Finland 2 8 1 0 7 4 27 -23

West Germany and Austria qualified.

[edit] UEFA Euro 1984 Qualifications

In the 1984 European Championship qualifiers, Albania finished in last place in their group of five teams. In 8 matches, Albania got 2 points, with 2 draws, 6 losses, and no wins. On the other hand, Albania made some power nations nervous. They lost 0–1 away to Turkey with the goal being scored in the 86th minute. In the next two games, Albania tied Northern Ireland to a scoreless draw and lost 1–2 to Germany, both home games. In the last three matches, Albania tied Turkey, in Qemal Stafa, also losing to Austria 2–1 in Tirana. The last game of the competition was an away game to Germany. After 22 minutes, Albania went ahead 0–1 with a goal by Genc Tomori. However, they were tied one minute later, and after Genc Tomori was sent off by the referee after a simulation of Rudi Voeller, Albania had to play for 60 minutes with one man down. Eventually Albania lost 2–1 with the last goal being scored in the 79th minute.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
 West Germany 11 8 5 1 2 15 5
 Northern Ireland 11 8 5 1 2 8 5
 Austria 9 8 4 1 3 15 10
 Turkey 7 8 3 1 4 8 16
 Albania 2 8 0 2 6 4 14

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualification

In a 4-team group, Albania got 5 points with one win and 2 draws. After losing to Belgium in Brussels, Albania were visitors in eventual group winners Poland. There, Albania got its first point in a shocking 2–2 draw. Less than two months later, Albania was host to group runner-ups Belgium in Tirana, defeating them with a clear 2–0 win. After losing to Greece away and Poland at home, Albania got its last point in its last game against neighbour rivals Greece in a 1–1 draw.

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Poland 8 6 3 2 1 10 6 4
2  Belgium 8 6 3 2 1 7 3 4
3  Albania 4 6 1 2 3 6 9 -3
4  Greece 4 6 1 2 3 5 10 -5

Poland qualified. Belgium advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.

[edit] UEFA Euro Cup 1988

Main article: 1988 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying

All 6 matches ended up in losses for Albania in this campaign. The group proved to be too strong for Albania that managed to score only two goals in the entire campaign.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Spain 10 6 5 0 1 14 6 +8
 Romania 9 6 4 1 1 13 3 +10
 Austria 5 6 2 1 3 6 9 -3
 Albania 0 6 0 0 6 2 17 -15
  ALB AUT ROM ESP
Albania XXX 0-1 0-1 1-2
Austria 3-0 XXX 0-0 2-3
Romania 5-1 4-0 XXX 3-1
Spain 5-0 2-0 1-0 XXX

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1990 Qualification

Main article: 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

This was probably the worst qualifier in Albania's history as there were 6 losses in as many games with no memorable matches. Probabaly the match at home with Sweden could and should have been won, because Albania was leading and lost at least 5 clear goal chances before Sweden came back and reverted the result.

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Sweden 6 4 2 0 9 3 6 10
2  England 6 3 3 0 10 0 10 9
3  Poland 6 2 1 3 4 8 -4 5
4  Albania 6 0 0 6 3 15 -12 0

Sweden qualified. England also qualified with the second-best record among runners-up of Groups 1, 2 and 4.

[edit] UEFA Euro Cup 1992 Qualification

Main article: UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying

In these qualifiers, Albania narrowly lost at home, but had a 0-9 defeat in Spain, which was the heaviest loss of Albania in an international qualifier. It is to be mentioned that the match was played in a very difficult time for Albania because of heavy political turmoil.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 France 16 8 8 0 0 20 6 +14
 Czechoslovakia 10 8 5 0 3 12 9 +3
 Spain 6 7 3 0 4 17 12 +5
 Iceland 4 8 2 0 6 7 10 -3
 Albania 2 7 1 0 6 2 21 -19
  ALB CZE FRA ICE ESP
Albania XXX 0-2 0-1 1–0 X-X
Czechoslavakia 2–1 XXX 1–2 1–0 3–2
France 5–0 2–1 XXX 3–1 3–1
Iceland 2–0 0–1 1–2 XXX 2–0
Spain 9–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 XXX

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualification

Main article: 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

A win over Lithuania and two draws against Latvia were the only things to remember for Albania in this otherwise forgettable campaign, where Albania finished last of the group.

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Spain 12 8 3 1 27 4 +23 19
2  Republic of Ireland 12 7 4 1 19 6 +13 18
3  Denmark 12 7 4 1 15 2 +13 18
4  Northern Ireland 12 5 3 4 14 13 +1 13
5  Lithuania 12 2 3 7 8 21 -13 7
6  Latvia 12 0 5 7 4 21 -17 5
7  Albania 12 1 2 9 6 26 -20 4

Spain and Republic of Ireland qualified.

[edit] UEFA Euro 1996 Qualification

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying

Albania managed to make life difficult to Germany during this campaign twice with Germany winning both matches only 2-1 and in the last minutes. For the rest, 2 wins, 2 draws and other 4 losses for Albania, which managed to leave Wales at bottom of group for this campaign. To mention that for the first time Albania beat another country (Moldova) as guests in an international qualifier campaign.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
 Germany 25 10 8 1 1 27 10
 Bulgaria 22 10 7 1 2 24 10
 Georgia 15 10 5 0 5 14 13
 Moldova 9 10 3 0 7 11 27
 Albania 8 10 2 2 6 10 16
 Wales 8 10 2 2 6 9 19

[edit] FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification

Main article: 1998_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)#Group_9

In the 1998 World Cup, Albania was drawn in a 6-team group which included Germany, Portugal, Ukraine, Northern Ireland and Armenia, Albania got 4 points, but showed again that it can battle with the big powers. Its two matches with Germany saw them lose 2–3 at neutral ground and a 3–4 unfortunate defeat in Hannover. Albania got a 1–0 win against Northern Ireland and a 2-2 tie against Armenia.

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1  Germany 22 10 6 4 0 23 9 12
2  Ukraine 20 10 6 2 2 10 6 4
3  Portugal 19 10 5 4 1 12 4 8
4  Armenia 8 10 1 5 4 8 17 -9
5  Northern Ireland 7 10 1 4 5 6 10 -4
6  Albania 4 10 1 1 8 7 20 -13

[edit] UEFA Euro 2000 Championship

Main article: UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying

In a relatively easy group, Albania couldn't go past one single victory at home turf at the expense of Georgia. However there were some memorable draws against Greece 0-0 in Tirana, 2-2 in Norway, and 0-0 in Latvia. Albania also drew 3-3 Latvia at home. All the other matches were narrowly lost in this unfortunate campaign.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Norway 25 10 8 1 1 21 9 +12
 Slovenia 17 10 5 2 3 12 14 -2
 Greece 15 10 4 3 3 13 8 +5
 Latvia 13 10 3 4 3 13 12 +1
 Albania 7 10 1 4 5 8 14 -6
 Georgia 5 10 1 2 7 8 18 -10

[edit] FIFA World Cup 2002 qualification

Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

After a loss to Finland, Albania won over Greece 2-0 with an own goal and a late goal of Fakaj. However after that win, another 6 losses followed for Albania, which brought the Albanian Football Federation to think about hiring a foreign coach, 33 years after the last foreign coach, Luznikov, had led Albania in a Moskow tournament in 1959.

Final table Home Away
Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts England Germany Finland Greece Albania Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pld W D L GF GA Pts
1.  England 8 5 2 1 16 6 +10 17 X 0:1 2:1 2:2 2:0 4 2 1 1 6 4 7 4 3 1 0 10 2 10
2.  Germany 8 5 2 1 14 10 +4 17 1:5 X 0:0 2:0 2:1 4 2 1 1 5 6 7 4 3 1 0 9 4 10
3.  Finland 8 3 3 2 12 7 +5 12 0:0 2:2 X 5:1 2:1 4 2 2 0 9 4 8 4 1 1 2 3 3 4
4.  Greece 8 2 1 5 7 17 -10 7 0:2 2:4 1:0 X 1:0 4 2 0 2 4 6 6 4 0 1 3 3 11 1
5.  Albania 8 1 0 7 5 14 -9 3 1:3 0:2 0:2 2:0 X 4 1 0 3 3 7 3 4 0 0 4 2 7 0

[edit] UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifications

Main article: UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying

The 2004 Qualifications for the European competition was of some success for Albania. This was the season when Albania was undefeated at home, tying two and winning two, but with 0 points on the road. Giuseppe Dossena for the first two matches and Hans-Peter Briegel for the remaining six led Albania to an undefeated run with a 1–1 draw against eventual winners of the group, Switzerland. Afterwards, a back to back encounter with Russia, saw the loss 4–1 in Russian soil, however Albania paid Russia back by beating them 3–1. This game is probably the all time best result for Albania. After missing a penalty, Albania scored first after just 20 minutes, but Russia tied 56 minutes later. Then after a lot of pressure from Albania, Russia conceded 2 goals in just 3 minutes. In the two other home games, Albania tied Republic of Ireland 0–0 and beat Georgia 3–1. Away Albania got 0 points, but managed to score 4 goals.

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
 Switzerland 8 4 3 1 15 11 15
 Russia 8 4 2 2 19 12 14
 Republic of Ireland 8 3 2 3 10 11 11
 Albania 8 2 2 4 11 15 8
 Georgia 8 2 1 5 8 14 7

Switzerland qualified. Russia and Ireland advanced to the Play-offs.

[edit] FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification

Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 2

Albania kicked off the qualification for a place in Germany 2006 World Cup with a bang. Two months after Greece beat Portugal to win the European championship, Albania defeated Greece 2–1 in a match which Albania scored goals in the 2' and 11' minute. This was an early knock out from the World Cup 2006 in Germany for the Greeks. Albania went on to disappoint by losing to Georgia away and Denmark at home, before returning to winning ways by beating Kazakhstan 0–1. February and March 2005 would be the toughest part of the qualification for Albania since they had to play Ukraine, Turkey, and Greece, losing all three of those ties. Later Albania would beat Georgia 3–2 and Kazakhstan 2–1. The last positive result for Albania in this tournament would be a 2–2 draw away at Ukraine. At the end, Albania got 13 points and topped Georgia and Kazakhstan. The 13-point mark set a new record for group matches.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Ukraine 12 7 4 1 18 7 +11 25
 Turkey 12 6 5 1 23 9 +14 23
 Denmark 12 6 4 2 24 12 +12 22
 Greece 12 6 3 3 15 9 +6 21
 Albania 12 4 1 7 11 20 -9 13
 Georgia 12 2 4 6 14 25 -11 10
 Kazakhstan 12 0 1 11 6 29 -23 1

Ukraine qualified. Turkey advanced to the UEFA Play-offs (see ranking of runners-up).

[edit] UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification

Main article: :2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying

In the matches for the 2008 European qualifiers campaign, Albania have managed very good results as well as good team play in some matches comparing to previous outings in such tournaments. Starting with the 2–2 away draw to Belarus, two wins against Luxembourg home and away (2–0, 5-0) and a 0–0 draw away to Bulgaria have been the most cherished results. Great matches have been played against Netherlands in both legs, although allegedly dubious referee decisions have marred Albania's performances,[7][8] ending up in two losses (2–1, 0–1). Other set-backs have also been suffered after drawing 0–0 against Slovenia and losing 0–2 to Romania in both matches played at home. Albania ended hopes of qualifying mathematically when they failed to win over Slovenia away and managed a yet again 0–0 draw. In the penultimate match at home against Bulgaria, Albania excelled playing wonderfully, but ended up in a very unlucky draw. After going ahead with dominating football, they conceded in the dying minutes and later missed a penalty. In the last match at home, Albania was hugely disappointing losing 2–4 against Belarus. Contrary to the popular belief that this would be the easiest match during the campaign, Albania not only missed a chance to break the points-record of all competitions but also produced a very lethargic performance in a rainy night. Albania's Euro campaign ended with a disaster match, losing 6–1 away to Romania which eventually resulted in the resignation of the coach Otto Barić and his assistant.[9]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Romania 12 9 2 1 26 7 +19 29
 Netherlands 12 8 2 2 15 5 +10 26
 Bulgaria 12 7 4 1 18 7 +11 25
 Belarus 12 4 1 7 17 23 −6 13
 Albania 12 2 5 5 12 18 −6 11
 Slovenia 12 3 2 7 9 16 −7 11
 Luxembourg 12 1 0 11 2 23 −21 3
  ALB BLR BUL LUX NED ROU SVN
Albania — 2–4 1–1 2–0 0–1 0–2 0–0
Belarus 2–2 — 0–2 0–1 2–1 1–3 4–2
Bulgaria 0–0 2–1 — 3–0 1–1 1–0 3–0
Luxembourg 0–3 1–2 0–1 — 0–1 0–2 0–3
Netherlands 2–1 3–0 2–0 1–0 — 0–0 2–0
Romania 6–1 3–1 2–2 3–0 1–0 — 2–0
Slovenia 0–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 0–1 1–2 —

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

  • Albania and Slovenia are tied on their head-to-head records, and are thus ranked by their overall goal difference in the group:
    • Albania – 2 pts, 0GD, 0GF, 0 away goals (0–0 H vs Slovenia, 0–0 A vs Slovenia) – Overall GD = −6
    • Slovenia – 2 pts, 0GD, 0GF, 0 away goals (0–0 H vs Albania, 0–0 A vs Albania) – Overall GD = −7

[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 1

Albania kicked the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification of to a good start with a 0-0 tie against Sweden. Four days later, the Albanians defeated Malta by a score of 3-0 with 2 of the goals coming from Armend Dallku and another from Klodian Duro. On October 11 however, the Albanians lost to Hungary 2-0 in Budapest. But surprised the world by tying 0-0 with Portugal in Braga. On February 11, Albania could only be able to Malta who fought hard at Ta'Qali. Even more unfortunate for Albania they lost to Hungary at home 1-0 on March 28. And on April 1, suffered a heavy blow to Denmark 3-0. In the home leg against Portugal, Hugo Almeida scored early for Portugal, but Albania quickly equalized with a goal from Erjon Bogdani. However, with just a few seconds left in the game, Bruno Alves scored the winner for Portugal. Eliminating Albania. The last memorable result was a 1-1 tie with Denmark. Tying the game after being behind. Albania ended the campaign in a disappointment with a 4-1 hammering to Sweden.


Team
v • d • e
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Denmark 10 6 3 1 16 5 +11 21
 Portugal 10 5 4 1 17 5 +12 19
 Sweden 10 5 3 2 13 5 +8 18
 Hungary 10 5 1 4 10 8 +2 16
 Albania 10 1 4 5 6 13 −7 7
 Malta 10 0 1 9 0 26 −26 1
  Albania Denmark Hungary Malta Portugal Sweden
Albania  – 1 – 1 0 – 1 3 – 0 1 – 2 0 – 0
Denmark  3 – 0 – 0 – 1 3 – 0 1 – 1 1 – 0
Hungary  2 – 0 0 – 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 1 1 – 2
Malta  0 – 0 0 – 3 0 – 1 – 0 – 4 0 – 1
Portugal  0 – 0 2 – 3 3 – 0 4 – 0 – 0 – 0
Sweden  4 – 1 0 – 1 2 – 1 4 – 0 0 – 0 –


[edit] Current squad

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
GK Arjan Beqaj August 25, 1976 (1976-08-25) (age 33) 36 0 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta
GK Ilion Lika May 17, 1980 (1980-05-17) (age 29) 14 0 Russia Terek Grozny
12 GK Isli Hidi October 15, 1980 (1980-10-15) (age 29) 10 0 Ukraine Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
1 GK Samir Ujkani July 5, 1988 (1988-07-05) (age 21) 3 0 Italy Novara
2 DF Elvin Beqiri September 27, 1980 (1980-09-27) (age 29) 44 0 Albania Vllaznia
DF Armend Dallku October 16, 1984 (1984-10-16) (age 25) 31 2 Ukraine Vorskla Poltava
DF Debatik Curri December 28, 1983 (1983-12-28) (age 25) 21 1 Ukraine Vorskla Poltava
DF Kristi Vangjeli September 5, 1985 (1985-09-05) (age 24) 16 0 Greece Aris Thessaloniki
DF Andi Lila February 12, 1986 (1986-02-12) (age 23) 5 0 Albania Tirana
DF Admir Teli June 2, 1981 (1981-06-02) (age 28) 4 0 Azerbaijan Karabakh
MF Altin Lala (captain) November 18, 1975 (1975-11-18) (age 34) 69 3 Germany Hannover 96
MF Ervin Skela (vice-captain) November 17, 1976 (1976-11-17) (age 33) 59 12 Germany TuS Koblenz
10 MF Klodian Duro December 21, 1977 (1977-12-21) (age 32) 58 4 Cyprus Apollon Limassol
5 MF Lorik Cana July 27, 1983 (1983-07-27) (age 26) 36 1 England Sunderland
MF Ervin Bulku March 3, 1981 (1981-03-03) (age 28) 18 0 Ukraine Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
MF Ansi Agolli October 11, 1982 (1982-10-11) (age 27) 9 2 Ukraine Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
MF Jahmir Hyka March 8, 1988 (1988-03-08) (age 21) 7 1 Germany FSV Mainz
MF Gilman Lika January 13, 1987 (1987-01-13) (age 22) 4 0 Turkey Boluspor
MF Dorian Bylykbashi August 8, 1980 (1980-08-08) (age 29) 3 0 Ukraine Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
MF Emiljano Vila March 12, 1988 (1988-03-12) (age 21) 1 1 Croatia Lokomotiva Zagreb
FW Erjon Bogdani April 14, 1977 (1977-04-14) (age 32) 52 12 Italy Chievo
FW Edmond Kapllani July 31, 1982 (1982-07-31) (age 27) 23 6 Germany Augsburg
FW Besart Berisha July 29, 1985 (1985-07-29) (age 24) 15 2 Germany Arminia Bielefeld
FW Hamdi Salihi January 19, 1984 (1984-01-19) (age 25) 12 3 Austria Rapid Wien

[edit] Recent call-ups

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club
DF Endrit Vrapi May 23, 1982 (1982-05-23) (age 27) 7 0 Albania Besa
DF Maringlen Shoshi January 29, 1987 (1987-01-29) (age 22) 1 0 Albania Apolonia
DF Franc Veliu November 11, 1987 (1987-11-11) (age 22) 1 0 Albania Flamurtari
MF Gjergji Muzaka September 26, 1984 (1984-09-26) (age 25) 2 1 Albania Tirana
MF Elis Bakaj June 25, 1987 (1987-06-25) (age 22) 3 0 Albania Dinamo Tirana
FW Xhevahir Sukaj October 5, 1987 (1987-10-05) (age 22) 1 0 Albania Vllaznia Shkodër
FW Migen Memelli April 25, 1980 (1980-04-25) (age 29) 1 0 Albania Tirana

[edit] Coaching staff

[1]

Head Coach Croatia Josip Kuže
Assistant Coach Bosnia and Herzegovina Džemal Mustedanagić
Goalkeeping Coach Albania Ilir Bozhiqi
Team Doctor Albania Arben Çeliku
Physios Belgium Stijn Vandenbroucke
Albania Ylli Mihali

[edit] Managerial History[10]

[edit] Players

[edit] Most appearances

Below is a list of the 10 players with the most appearances for Albania, as of October 4, 2008 (* denotes players still available for selection):

No Name Games Goals First game (age) Last game (age)
1 Altin Lala* 73 3 1998 3-28-2009 (33)
2 Foto Strakosha 73 0 5-30-1990 08-13-2004 (39)
3 Igli Tare 68 10 1997 7-2-2007 (33)
4 Alban Bushi* 67 14 1995 17-11-2007 (34)
5 Altin Haxhi* 65 3 1995 21-11-2007 (32)
6 Altin Rraklli 63 11 1992 30-3-2005 (34)
7 Rudi Vata 59 5 30-5-1990 (21) 1-9-2001 (32)
8 Ervin Skela* 53 12 2000 (23) 12-8-2008 (32)
9 Klodian Duro* 50 3 2000 (22) 10-9-2008 (31)
10 Arjan Xhumba 48 0 1992 2002

[edit] Top goalscorers

Below is a list of the 10 players with the most goals for Albania, as of October 4, 2008 (* denotes players still available for selection):

No Name Goals First game Last game
1 Alban Bushi 14 1995 2007
2 Ervin Skela* 12 2000 2009
3 Erjon Bogdani* 12 1996 2009
4 Altin Rraklli 11 1992 2005
5 Sokol Kushta 10 1987 1996
6 Igli Tare 10 1997 2007
7 Adrian Aliaj 8 2002 2006
8 Loro Borici 6 1946 1958
9 Edmond Kapllani* 6 2004 2008
10 Regip Babamusta 6 1940 1945

[edit] Honours

[edit] Senior team

  • Winners of VIII Balkan Cup (Tirana, October 1946)
  • Winners of Rothmans Football International Tournament (Valletta, February 4 — February 10, 2000)[11]

[edit] Albania U-23

[edit] Albania U-21

[edit] Albania U-18

[edit] Albania U-17

  • 2nd place in Rijeka Tournament 1996 in Croatia

[edit] Albania U-16

  • 2nd place in Nereo Rocco Tournament 1996 in Italy

[edit] Albania U-15

  • Winners of Beato Annibale Maria di Francia Tournament 1996 in Italy
  • 3rd place in Balkan Cup 2001 in Albania

[edit] Albania U-14

  • 2nd place in Primavera Tournament 1995 in Italy

[edit] World Cup record

  • 1930 to 1962 - Did not enter
  • 1966 - Did not qualify
  • 1970 - Entry not accepted by FIFA
  • 1974 - Did not qualify
  • 1978 - Did not enter
  • 1982 to 2010 - Did not qualify

[edit] European Championship record

[edit] Fifa Ranking

Rank Date
Worst Ever Rank 124 August 1997
Best Ever Rank 62 August 2006
Current Rank 94 August 2009

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tifozat Kuq e Zi
  2. ^ FIFA Haan named Albania boss
  3. ^ Albania suspension lifted by FIFA
  4. ^ FIFA says its emergency committee has decided to lift suspension of Albania
  5. ^ FIFA lifts suspension of Albania over alleged interference
  6. ^ UEFA European U-19 C'ship
  7. ^ Disallowed Albanian goal, versus the Netherlands, Euro 2008 qualifier: ESPNsoccernet website. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  8. ^ Albanian Football Federation, files official complaint with UEFA regarding Netherlands game: Albania soccer website. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.
  9. ^ Baric: Po largohem
  10. ^ http://albania-sport.com/mat.php?idm=12130
  11. ^ Malta 2000 Events

[edit] External links

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