Albania national football team
The Albania national football team is the men's football team that has represented Albania in international competition since 1946 and is controlled by the Albanian Football Association which is headquartered in the city of Tirana. The team is affiliated with UEFA and competes in the three major professional tournaments, the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Albania was the winner of the 1946 Balkan Cup and the 2000 Malta Rothmans International Tournament. At Euro 2016, Albania made its debut at a major men's football tournament after 50 years.
After its completion in 2019, Air Albania Stadium, also known as Arena Kombëtare will be the home ground of the national team. 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.
History
20th century
Although it never played any matches, the Albanian national football team existed before the Albanian Football Association 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. 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 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 1972, 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. The qualifiers of the World Cup 1990 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 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 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, 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 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 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, 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. After beating Armenia 3–0 in the last qualifying match, Albania made history by qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2016, its second ever appearance at a major men's football tournament. In the tournament itself, Albania lost 0–1 to Switzerland and 0–2 to hosts France. While they beat Romania 1–0, 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, 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, resigned and Christian Panucci, another Italian, replaced him as coach of Albania. However, thing got little improved. Albania played poorly in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, 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. 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
Kits
Albania's traditional colours are red and black, mirroring the nation's flag. The team typically wears red shirts, black shorts and red socks. Away kits are usually all-white, with red and black trim.Supporters
Tifozat Kuq e Zi is a non-profit football 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 should share only one national team and have continuous aspirations to join in one state, i.e. unification of Albania, Kosovo, etc. In this sense, TKZ is joined by different supporters' associations throughout Albanian-speaking regions mainly in Kosovo, North Macedonia and in Albania itself.
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 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 match between Switzerland and Albania where the Swiss won 2–0 thanks to goals from Gökhan Inler and Kosovo-born Xherdan Shaqiri. 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 and were also large in numbers in the away games to Slovenia in Maribor and Norway in Oslo.
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, 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, a Hero of Albania 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 Air Albania Stadium.Albania sometimes has played home matches at other venues. Outside Tirana, the national team has played matches in Flamurtari Stadium in Vlorë, Tomori Stadium in Berat, Niko Dovana Stadium in Durrës, Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër and Elbasan Arena 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 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.
Media coverage
Albania's qualifying matches and friendlies are currently televised by RTSH and SuperSport Albania, a trademark of Digitalb.Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship
UEFA Nations League
Fixtures and results
2019
2020
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against and, on 14 and 17 November 2019.All caps and goals as of 17 November 2019 after the match against.
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.
- INJ = Not part of the [|current squad] due to injury.
- FIFA = Is not available after FIFA did not permit him to play for Albania due to problems with documentation.
Coaching staff
Current technical staff
Records
Most capped players
Below are two lists of the top 10 players with the most caps and goals for Albania.Top goalscorers
| Rank | Position | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
| 1 | DF | 2003–2016 | 92 | 1 | |
| 2 | MF | 1998–2011 | 79 | 3 | |
| 3 | MF | 2001–2011 | 77 | 6 | |
| 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | MF | 2000–2011 | 75 | 13 | |
| 5 | FW | 1996–2013 | 75 | 18 | |
| 6 | GK | 1990–2004 | 73 | 0 | |
| 6 | DF | 2005–2018 | 73 | 3 | |
| 8 | FW | 2007–2019 | 70 | 0 | |
| 9 | MF | 1995–2009 | 68 | 3 | |
| 9 | FW | 1997–2007 | 68 | 10 | |
| 10 | FW | 1995–2007 | 67 | 14 |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Position | Name | Career | Goals | Caps |
| 1 | FW | 1996–2013 | 18 | 75 | |
| 2 | FW | 1995–2007 | 14 | 67 | |
| 3 | MF | 2000–2011 | 13 | 75 | |
| 4 | FW | 2012– | 12 | 35 | |
| 5 | FW | 1992–2005 | 11 | 63 | |
| 5 | FW | 2006–2015 | 11 | 50 | |
| 7 | FW | 1987–1996 | 10 | 31 | |
| 7 | FW | 1997–2007 | 10 | 68 | |
| 9 | DF | 2002–2006 | 8 | 29 | |
| 10 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 | FW | 2012– | 7 | 35 |
Captains
List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years.- 1946–1953 Loro Boriçi
- 1946 → Bahri Kavaja
- 1958 Besim Fagu
- 1963–1964 Fatbardh Deliallisi
- 1964–1970 Lin Shllaku
- 1967 → Mikel Janku
- 1970–1973 Panajot Pano
- 1971 → Bashkim Muhedini
- 1973 → Ramazan Rragami
- 1976 Sabah Bizi
- 1980–1981 Safet Berisha
- 1982 Ilir Luarasi
- 1982–1985 Muhedin Targaj
- 1983 → Haxhi Ballgjini
- 1986–1989 Arben Minga
- 1987 → Perlat Musta
- 1987 → Shkëlqim Muça
- 1989–1990 Skënder Hodja
- 1990–1995 Sulejman Demollari
- 1990–1991 → Hysen Zmijani
- 1992 → Agustin Kola
- 1993 → Sokol Kushta
- 1995 → Foto Strakosha
- 1995 → Ilir Shulku
- 1995–1996 Sokol Kushta
- 1996 → Foto Strakosha
- 1997–2002 Rudi Vata
- 2000 → Edvin Murati
- 2001 → Foto Strakosha
- 2002 → Indrit Fortuzi
- 2002–2004 Foto Strakosha
- 2004 → Besnik Hasi
- 2005–2007 Igli Tare
- 2005 → Altin Haxhi
- 2005–2006 → Altin Lala
- 2005 → Alban Bushi
- 2005 → Besnik Hasi
- 2007–2009 Altin Lala
- 2007 → Klodian Duro
- 2007 → Altin Haxhi
- 2007–2009 → Ervin Skela
- 2009–2011 Ervin Skela
- 2009 → Elvin Beqiri
- 2010–2011 → Altin Lala
- 2010 → Lorik Cana
- 2011 Altin Lala
- 2011 → Lorik Cana
- 2011 → Arjan Beqaj
- 2011–2016 Lorik Cana
- 2012–2013 → Ervin Bulku
- 2013 → Erjon Bogdani
- 2014 → Etrit Berisha
- 2015–2016 → Ansi Agolli
- 2016 → Ledian Memushaj
- 2016 → Elseid Hysaj
- 2016– Ansi Agolli
- 2016–2017 → Mërgim Mavraj
- 2017 → Elseid Hysaj
- 2017–→ Etrit Berisha
Honours
- Winners of VIII Balkan Cup
- Winners of Rothmans Football International Tournament: 2000
Head-to-Head records against other countries
| Opponent | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Differential | Reference |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | +8 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | ||
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 19 | −17 | ||
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 | −7 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 | ||
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 19 | −15 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | −11 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | −2 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 23 | −18 | ||
| 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 23 | −10 | ||
 West | 14 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 38 | −28 | |
| 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 13 | +3 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 19 | −19 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 10 | -1 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −4 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +8 | ||
| 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | ||
| 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 | +6 | ||
| 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 12 | −5 | ||
| 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3 | +11 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | −6 | ||
| 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 13 | −8 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | ||
| 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −7 | ||
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 13 | −8 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | −4 | ||
| 19 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 45 | −33 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -6 | - | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | ||
| 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −4 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 29 | −27 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 12 | −8 | ||
| 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 13 | +1 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 | −9 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 64 Countries | 358 | 98 | 72 | 188 | 343 | 548 | −205 | at EU-Football.info |