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Albania national football team
Men's national football team representing Albania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Albania national football team (Albanian: Kombëtarja shqiptare e futbollit) represents Albania in men's international football. It is governed by the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF), the governing body for football in Albania. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colours reference two national symbols: the double-headed eagle and the country's bicolor. Their supporters are colloquially referred to as the Tifozat Kuq e Zi (Red and Black Fans).
Since its inception as a team, Albania first collected a major tournament trophy in 1946 with the Balkan Cup, followed by the Malta International Tournament (2000). At the FIFA World Cup, Albania has campaigned to qualify since their entry into FIFA in 1932. The team has reached the group stage of UEFA European Championship twice (2016, 2024). They have competed in the UEFA Nations League since 2018.
Upon its admission into FIFA ranked 124th, Albania ascended to their peak World Ranking of 22nd in 2015. The country plays their home games in the Arena Kombëtare in their capital city, Tirana.
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History
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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 during a congress held between 12 and 16 June. Albania was invited to play in the 1934 World Cup, but did not take part due to logistical problems.[4] Albania played its first international match against Yugoslavia in 1946, which ended in a 3–2 home defeat at Qemal Stafa Stadium.[5] 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.[6] In 1954, Albania was one of the founding members of UEFA. Albania waited until 1962 to compete for the first time in a UEFA Euro Cup competition, and the reason being Albania got past the first leg against Greece, for political reasons forfeited the game winning twice 0-3 and 3-0 and in Total 6-0 on Aggregate, to qualify so for the first and only time so far, for the Round of 16 in a UEFA competition.[7][8][9] At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe.[10][11][12] Albania participated at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the Men's qualification tournament, and closely lost both matches against Bulgaria in the preliminary round.[13] They would participate for the second and last time at the 1972 Summer Olympics in which they faced Romania at the European qualifiers in the playoffs. Albania would lose both matches narrowly, 2–1 in the first leg and at home in the second leg.[14][15]
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Albania participated for the first time in a qualifying phase of a World Cup in 1966. The team was drawn in the Group 5, finishing in the last position with only one point from six matches. In the qualifiers of UEFA Euro 1968, Albania drew 0–0 against West Germany, denying the Germans a chance to participate in the finals.[16][17] Albania did not participate in World Cup 1970, UEFA Euro 1976, World Cup 1978 and UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying for unknown political reasons.
After six years without playing any international matches, Albania entered the 1982 World Cup, managing to finish second-to-last in the qualifying stages. For qualifying for the World Cup four years later, Albania beat Belgium in Tirana 2–0 as well as drawing Poland in Mielec 2–2.
21st century
In the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Albania only beat Greece. For the Euros two years later, Albania beat Russia 3–1 at Loro Boriçi Stadium.[18] This match was also the debut of the German coach Hans-Peter Briegel who led Albania to an undefeated run in home matches. Despite good results, Albania finished in the penultimate spot with only eight points. Albania defeated Greece 2–1 two months after they won Euro 2004.[19]
In Euro 2008 qualifying, Albania defeated Luxembourg twice, and 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 coach Otto Barić and his assistant.[20] In December 2007, Arie Haan was named Albania's head coach by signing a two-year contract for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Albania won only one match, with seven points from ten matches and Haan was replaced by Josip Kuže in May 2009 following the end of the campaign.[21] However, Kuže failed to lead Albania to better results as the team ended the Euro 2012 qualifying with nine points from ten matches. With Kuže in charge, Albania recorded its second biggest win in history by defeating Cyprus 6–1 at home.[22] Josip Kuže parted ways with Albania after three and a half years, and in December 2011, Italian coach Gianni de Biasi replaced him.[23] Albania was, at one point, second in the 2014 World Cup qualifying group, but then lost to Slovenia and Iceland, as well as at home against Switzerland, and drawing in Cyprus.[24]
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Albania began UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group I with an emphatic 1–0 away win against Portugal,[25][26] followed by a 1–1 draw against Denmark at the newly renovated Elbasan Arena.[27] They then beat Serbia 3–0 in a match full of incidents. They finally qualified for a UEFA European Championship after beating Armenia in Yerevan 0-3, its first appearance in the country's history at a major men's football tournament.[28]
- The Serbia v Albania match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Albania, and Serbia were also deducted three points, after the match was abandoned at 0–0 because home fans invaded the pitch and attacked Albania players when a drone carried a pro-Albanian flag over the stadium.
In the tournament itself, Albania lost 1–0 to Switzerland to an early header in the 5th Minute from Fabian Schär despite being one man down to an Red Card for Lorik Cana Albania held it's ground as they came close to an equalizer as Shkëlzen Gashi as he missed an sitter in front of goali Yann Sommer.[29][30] In the following match they lost 2–0 to the hosts France despite an close fought match being able to defend against the favourites until the last minutes conceding two goals from Dimitri Payet and Griezmann.[31][32] While they beat in the third Group match Romania 1–0 by an header scored from Armando Sadiku before halftime, securing Albania's first ever win in a UEFA European Championship.[33][34] The team finished last among the third-placed teams and were eliminated in the group stage.[35]
In 2018 World Cup qualification, Albania was drawn in a group with Spain, Italy, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, and Israel. Despite the difficult draw, they placed third in the group, their best result in history without qualifying for the final tournament. During this time, manager Gianni De Biasi resigned after disputes with the FSHF and was replaced by Christian Panucci.[36] Albania played poorly in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, winning only once against Israel and losing the return leg as well as both matches against Scotland.[37] Panucci would be sacked after a 2–0 defeat to Turkey in the opening match of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.[38] Edoardo Reja replaced Panucci as Albania faced home and away series against both 2018 FIFA World Cup champions France and Iceland as well as the return leg against Turkey.[39] In the end, Albania placed fourth in the group, failing to qualify.[40]
After their close miss to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in which Albania finished third in the group,[41] in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group E Albania were drawn together with Czech Republic, Poland, Faroe Islands and Moldova.[42] In the following matches Albania was undefeated, and secured the qualification for the second time in history for the UEFA European Championship at the UEFA Euro 2024.[43]
At the UEFA Euro 2024.[44] They were drawn into a "group of death" against Spain, Italy, and Croatia, all three opponents being Euros and World Cup medalists. With two losses to Spain and Italy and a draw against Croatia, the team finished at the bottom of their group and did not advance.[45]
Albania is set to compete in the UEFA Nations League B in fall 2024, followed by qualification matches for the 2026 World Cup.
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Team image
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Nicknames
The team's nickname is commonly known as "Kuqezinjtë" ("The Red and Blacks") During the period before 2016, the national teams of Albania and Kosovo exchanged players with each other due to the complexities of descent brought on by Kosovo's independence, leading supporters to refer to each team as the other team's "reserve" side.[46]
Kits
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albania national football team kits.
Albania's uniform colors 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 trimming.
Over the years, the national team has sported kit wear from renowned sportswear brands such as Legea, Puma, Nike and Adidas, to name a few. The partnership with Puma began in 1996 and lasted nine years. Nike outfitted the team during the UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. A collaboration with Adidas followed, in a contract signing which allowed it to manufacture kits for the Euro 2012 qualifiers, as well as the 2014 World Cup and the Euro 2016 qualifiers.[citation needed]
On 24 March 2016, the Albanian Football Federation unveiled a new jersey for the national team players, set to be worn during the forthcoming UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, hosted that year in France. Manufactured by Macron, the jersey redesign, labelled "Triumfi," was conceptualised by Tirana-based studio PIK Creative.[47][48]
Home stadium
For most of Albania's history, the home stadium was Qemal Stafa Stadium in Tirana. Construction started in April 1939 during the Italy regime, lasted for three years but stopped briefly in August 1943 following the fall of fascist regime.[49] The stadium had an Olympic Stadium shape, as idealised by Gherardo Bosio, a young fascist architect from Florence.[50] The stadium's initial capacity was 15,000, due to the fact that Tirana at that time had only 60,000 inhabitants.[50] It was named after Qemal Stafa, a Hero of Albania in World War II.[51] The stadium was inaugurated officially on 7 October 1946 when Albania played its first competitive match against Yugoslavia.[52] Ever since then, a further 130 international matches took place in the stadium, with the last being a friendly against Georgia in November 2015.[53] 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".[49] In November 2013, Qemal Stafa Stadium was shut down by FIFA for not fulfilling international standards.[54] The stadium's demolition started in June 2016, and it was announced that it would be replaced by Arena Kombëtare.[55]
Albania has played home matches at other venues; outside Tirana, the national team has played matches in Flamurtari Stadium in Vlorë,[56] Tomori Stadium in Berat,[57] Niko Dovana Stadium in Durrës,[58] Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër[59] and Elbasan Arena in Elbasan.[60] In February 2014, renovations for Elbasan Arena (at the time Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium) started.[61] The work lasted for seven months, and the stadium was inaugurated on 9 October when Albania played a friendly match against KF Elbasani's under-19 squad; Albania won the match 17–0.[62] The official inauguration occurred two days later in the Euro 2016 qualifying match against Denmark.[63]
The first international match at Loro Boriçi Stadium was played on 29 March 2003 against Russia, with Albania winning 3–1.[18] In October 2014, Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, promised the reconstruction of the stadium.[64] The stadium's construction started in May 2015 and finished in August 2016.[65] In 2016–17, the stadium served temporary as the home of Kosovo national team, due to stadiums in Mitrovica and Pristina being renovated and not meeting UEFA standards.[66]
Rivalries
Kosovo
This derby is otherwise known as Brotherly derby (Albanian: Derbi vëllazëror), or the Brotherly (Albanian: Vëllazërorja). The documented beginnings of this derby date back to World War II, specifically on 29 November 1942, where they played a friendly match as part of the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the independence of Albania. The match ended with a 2–0 win for Tirana.[a][68][69]
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, with Portugal, Denmark and Armenia, the Serbian crowd were chanting "kill, kill the Albanians"[70] and were throwing flares at the Albanian players, after which there was a clash between the two teams.[71]
Both countries were drawn in the same group for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, with England, Latvia and Andorra.
Supporters
Tifozat Kuq e Zi (Red and Black Fans) is a non-profit football supporters' association for the Albania national football team and various national team sportive activities.[72][73] It was founded on 25 December 2003.[72] 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 (Një Komb, Një Kombëtare), i.e. unification of Albania, Kosovo, etc.[74][75] In this sense, TKZ is joined by different supporters' associations throughout Albanian-speaking regions mainly in Kosovo (Shqiponjat of Peja, Kuqezinjet e Jakoves of Gjakova, Plisat of Prishtina, Torcida of Mitrovica, etc.), North Macedonia (Ballistët of Tetovë, Ilirët of Kumanovë, Shvercerat of Shkupi, etc.) and in Albania itself (Ultras Guerrils of Partizani Tirana, Tirona Fanatics of KF Tirana, Vllaznit Ultras of Vllaznia Shkodër, Ujqërit e Deborës of Skënderbeu Korçë, Shqiponjat of KF Besa Pejë and many other different Albanian fans).[72]
The ongoing dispute between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Football Federation 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 Federation.[76][77][78][79]
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".[80] 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.[81][82][83]
Media coverage
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Results and fixtures
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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
2024
| 19 June Euro 2024 | Croatia  | 2–2 |  Albania | Hamburg, Germany |
| 15:00 CEST | Kramarić  74'Gjasula 76' (o.g.) |
Report | Laçi 11' Gjasula 90+5' |
Stadium: Volksparkstadion Attendance: 46,784 Referee: François Letexier (France) |
| 24 June Euro 2024 | Albania | 0–1 |  Spain | Düsseldorf, Germany |
| 21:00 CEST | Report |
|
Stadium: Merkur Spiel-Arena Attendance: 46,586 Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden) |
| 7 September 2024–25 Nations League | Ukraine  | 1–2 | Albania | Prague, Czech Republic[b] |
| 20:45 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion Letná Attendance: 15,500 Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal) |
| 10 September 2024–25 Nations League | Albania | 0–1 |  Georgia | Tirana, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report |
|
Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,400 Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium) |
| 11 October 2024–25 Nations League | Czech Republic  | 2–0 | Albania | Prague, Czech Republic |
| 20:45 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion Letná Attendance: 17,823 Referee: Benoît Bastien (France) |
| 14 October 2024–25 Nations League | Georgia | 0–1 | Albania | Tbilisi, Georgia |
| 18:00 (20:00 UTC+4) | Report | Asllani 48' |
Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium Attendance: 19,981 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands) |
| 16 November 2024–25 Nations League | Albania | 0–0 | Czech Republic | Tirana, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,800 Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland) |
| 19 November 2024–25 Nations League | Albania | 1–2 | Ukraine | Tirana, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,547 Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal) |
2025
| 21 March 2026 World Cup qualification | England  | 2–0 | Albania | London, England |
| 20:45 |
|
Report | Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 82,378 Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain) |
| 24 March 2026 World Cup qualification | Albania | 3–0 |  Andorra | Tirana, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 17,183 Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria) |
| 7 June 2026 World Cup qualification | Albania | 0–0 |  Serbia | Tirana, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 20,427 Referee: Davide Massa (Italy) |
| 10 June 2026 World Cup qualification | Latvia  | 1–1 | Albania | Riga, Latvia |
| 20:45 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Skonto Stadium Attendance: 6,083 Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey) |
| 4 September Friendly | Gibraltar  | v | Albania | Europa Point, Gibraltar |
| 18:00 | Report | Stadium: Europa Sports Park |
| 9 September 2026 World Cup qualification | Albania | v | Latvia | Tirana, Albania |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium: Arena Kombëtare |
| 11 October 2026 World Cup qualification | Serbia | v | Albania | Belgrade, Serbia |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium: Red Star Stadium |
| 13 November 2026 World Cup qualification | Andorra | v | Albania | Andorra la Vella, Andorra |
| 20:45 | Report | Stadium: Estadi Nacional |
| 16 November 2026 World Cup qualification | Albania | v | England | Tirana, Albania |
| 18:00 | Report | Stadium: Arena Kombëtare |
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Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
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Players
Current squad
- The following players were called up for the 2026 World Cup qualification matches against Serbia and Latvia, on 7 and 10 June 2025 respectively.[86]
- Caps and goals are correct as of 10 June 2025[update], after the match against Latvia.[87]
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up for the team within the last twelve months and are still available for selection.
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Individual records
- As of 24 March 2025[88]
- Players in bold are still active with Albania.
Most appearances
Top goalscorers
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Competition records
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FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship
UEFA Nations League
- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
- **League stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.
Summer Olympics
Other tournaments
Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
Medal Table Overview
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FIFA rankings
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As of 3 April 2025[93]
Best Ranking Worst Ranking Best Mover Worst Mover
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Head-to-head record
- As of 10 June 2025 after the match against Latvia.
| Positive balance (more Wins) | |
| Neutral balance (Wins = Losses) | |
| Negative balance (more Losses) |
- Notes
- Includes match against the Algeria Olympic team.
- Includes matches against Czechoslovakia.
- Includes awarded matches at the Euro 1964 qualifying.[94]
- Includes matches against the Romania Olympic team at 1971 Mediterranean Games qualifying.
- Includes matches against Yugoslavia.
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Honours
Regional
- Balkan Cup
- Champions (1): 1946
Friendly
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albania national football team kits.
- Albanian Football Association
- Football in Albania
- History of Albanian football
- Tifozat Kuq e Zi
- Albania national youth football team
- Albania national under-23 football team (defunct)
- Albania national under-21 football team
- Albania national under-20 football team
- Albania national under-19 football team
- Albania national under-18 football team
- Albania national under-17 football team
- Albania national under-16 football team
- Albania national under-15 football team
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Notes
- The alternative name of the Albania national team that was used during this match.[67]
- Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[85]
- Additional matches are scheduled to be played in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the first world cup, however they are not considered to be official hosts of the tournament.[90]
References
External links
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