The
Albania national football team is the national
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
team of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
and is controlled by the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
. 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
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
in 1946. In 1932, Albania had already joined
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
(during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym 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
U21The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
,
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
,
U17The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
and
U15The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
level. One of the most successful is the feeder of the senior team, the U21 level. In the finals of the
Euro 1984 U21The UEFA U-21 Championship 1984, which spanned two years , had 30 entrants. Albania, Iceland and Wales competed in the competition for the first time. England U-21s won the competition for the second time running....
championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out by
ItalyThe Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
. 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-BoriçiLoro Borici stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Shkodër, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Vllaznia Shkodër. The stadium holds 16,000 spectators and was reconstructed in 2001. It is named in honour of Loro Boriçi, famous player in 1940s and 1950s...
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in Shkodra, where they have had some successful matches, like beating
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
3–1 in a home
Euro 2004 qualifyingThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
match. There is a rumour that the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
is planning to build a stadium in
TiranaTirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. The Municipality of Tirana lies on the river Ishëm, about inland and is located at in Tirana District, Tirana County...
with a capacity of around 30,000.
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
has an official supporters' association, the
Tifozat Kuq e ZiTifozat 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 December 25, 2003...
who self-finance their activities using help from FSHF to arrange traveling and stadium visits for the matches.
In
December 2007December 2007 is the twelfth month of that year. It began on a Saturday and, 31 days later, ended on a Monday.-Portal:Current events:...
, Albanian Football Federation president Armand Duka announced
Arie HaanAdrianus Haan is a former Dutch football midfielder and the current manager of Chongqing Lifan, who scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Dutch national squad of the 1970s. At club level he enjoyed a successful career with AFC Ajax, R.S.C. Anderlecht, Standard Liège and PSV Eindhoven...
would replace Croatia's
Otto BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
as
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
head coach. He signed a two-year contract on January 4, 2008.
Albania started their 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
on September 6, 2008. They have been drawn in Group 1 with
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
,
HungaryThe Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. It has a rich and proud pedigree in the game and a rightful place in football annals as one of the first original footballing nations in continental Europe and an...
and
MaltaThe Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition and as of 12 October 2006 has won only four competitive matches...
. They currently have 1 more game in Sweden.
On March 14, 2008,
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
was suspended from international football (
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
and
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA ....
), due to heavy political interference in the FA. The suspension lasted 46 days.
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 |
|
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
+5 |
100% |
| 2 |
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
+1 |
50% |
| 3 |
|
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
-3 |
0% |
| 4 |
|
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
17 |
-16 |
0% |
| 5 |
|
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
+3 |
75% |
| 6 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
-3 |
0% |
| 7 |
|
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
-2 |
0% |
| 8 |
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
50% |
| 9 |
|
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
+2 |
50% |
| 10 |
|
11 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
8 |
15 |
-7 |
18.18% |
| 11 |
|
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
-1 |
0% |
| 12 |
|
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0% |
| 13 |
|
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
6 |
+3 |
25% |
| 14 |
|
5 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
-4 |
40% |
| 15 |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
18 |
-15 |
12.25% |
| 16 |
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
12 |
-11 |
0% |
| 17 |
|
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
+2 |
50% |
| 18 |
|
7 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
-2 |
28.57% |
| 19 |
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
-6 |
0% |
| 20 |
|
6 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
10 |
-6 |
16.66% |
| 21 |
|
10 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
8 |
16 |
-8 |
30% |
| 22 |
|
17 |
0 |
2 |
15 |
12 |
45 |
-33 |
0% |
| 23 |
|
13 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
13 |
-3 |
30.76% |
| 24 |
|
5 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
18 |
-18 |
0% |
| 25 |
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
50% |
| 26 |
|
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
+2 |
100% |
| 27 |
|
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
0% |
| 28 |
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
+2 |
100% |
| 29 |
|
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
-2 |
33.33% |
| 30 |
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
+5 |
66.66% |
| 31 |
|
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
12 |
3 |
+9 |
57.14% |
| 32 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
-4 |
0% |
| 33 |
|
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
+4 |
100% |
| 34 |
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
-6 |
0% |
| 35 |
|
8 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
13 |
-9 |
12.5% |
| 36 |
|
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
-1 |
0% |
| 37 |
|
11 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
-7 |
9.09% |
| 38 |
|
5 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
-8 |
0% |
| 39 |
|
4 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
-4 |
0% |
| 40 |
|
13 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
7 |
38 |
-31 |
15.38% |
| 41 |
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
-1 |
50% |
| 42 |
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
+3 |
100% |
| 43 |
|
4 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
-3 |
0% |
| 44 |
|
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
-22 |
0% |
| 45 |
|
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
-4 |
20% |
| 46 |
|
4 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
-4 |
0% |
| 47 |
|
8 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
11 |
8 |
+3 |
37.5% |
| 48 |
|
4 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
-4 |
0% |
| 49 |
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
+5 |
100% |
| 50 |
|
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
-2 |
0% |
| 51 |
|
5 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
13 |
-9 |
0% |
| |
Total |
232 |
49 |
48 |
137 |
202 |
411 |
| 21.12% |
History and Competitive Records
The early years oversaw a notably successful
Balkan CupThe Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
on level points but a better
goal differenceIn sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
. 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-warWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
cup.
After taking part for the first time in
European ChampionshipsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
in 1963, for edition
1964The 1964 UEFA European Nations Cup was the second edition of the quadrennial European Football Championship, endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over defending champions Soviet Union....
, in the
1968 European qualifiersThe qualifying round for the 1968 European Football Championship consisted of 31 teams divided into eight groups; seven of four teams and one of three teams. Each group winner progressed to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis...
, 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 PanoPanajot Pano is a former Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the SK Tirana youth academy but he became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, KF Partizani...
.
The
1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 121 teams entered the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament. Mexico, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition...
brought further notable results with a 2–2 draw away to
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
and a 2–0 win over eventual semi-finalists
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
.
The qualifiers for the
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 12 December 1995 at Paris, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. This is the first time there would be 32 teams in the finals...
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 qualifiersThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
, Albania managed a 3–1 win against
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
in
ShkodërShkodër , is a city located on Lake Shkodër in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre...
. The
2006 World Cup qualifiersA total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
qualifiers saw Albania's results still further, the highlight being a 2–1 victory against the reigning
European ChampionsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
,
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
.
Recently, the
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
team, also known as
Shpresat (
The Team of Hopes), managed to qualify for the Elite round in the
Euro U19 2008The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played from 14 July to 26 July 2008. Players born...
, to be held in
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. In qualifying, they lost against
SpainThe Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Real Federación Española de Fútbol, the governing body for football in Spain....
(2–0), beat
SerbiaThe Serbia national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia...
(2–1) and drew with Lichtenstein (0–0).
Euro Cup 1964
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.
FIFA World Cup 1966 Qualification
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 IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
SwitzerlandThe Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland and is controlled by the Swiss Football Association....
. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.
| Rank |
Team |
Pts |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
| 1 |
|
9 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
| 2 |
|
8 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
5 |
| 3 |
|
6 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
| 4 |
|
1 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
12 |
Switzerland qualified.
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.
| Pos |
Team |
Yugoslavia |
Germany |
Albania |
Pts |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
| 1. |
|
|
1 - 0 |
4 - 0 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
| 2. |
|
3 - 1 |
|
6 - 0 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
2 |
| 3. |
|
0 - 2 |
0 - 0 |
|
1 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
12 |
FIFA World Cup 1970
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1970.
UEFA Euro Cup 1972
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1972.
FIFA World Cup 1974
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 |
|
10 |
6 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
18 |
3 |
15 |
| 2 |
|
9 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
17 |
4 |
13 |
| 3 |
|
3 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
21 |
| 4 |
|
2 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
13 |
East Germany qualified.
UEFA Euro Cup 1976
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1976.
FIFA World Cup 1978
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1978.
UEFA Euro Cup 1980
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1980.
FIFA World Cup 1982
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 |
|
16 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
33 |
3 |
30 |
| 2 |
|
11 |
8 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
16 |
6 |
10 |
| 3 |
|
9 |
8 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
10 |
1 |
| 4 |
|
2 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
22 |
| 5 |
|
2 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
27 |
West Germany and
Austria qualified.
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
, also losing to
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
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 |
| |
11 |
8 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
15 |
5 |
| |
11 |
8 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
| |
9 |
8 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
15 |
10 |
| |
7 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
16 |
| |
2 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
14 |
FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualification
In a 4-team group, Albania got 4 points with one win and 2 draws. After losing to
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, Albania were visitors in eventual group winners
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
. 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
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
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 |
|
8 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
6 |
4 |
| 2 |
|
8 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
| 3 |
|
5 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
| 4 |
|
4 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
Poland qualified.
Belgium advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.
UEFA Euro Cup 1988
All 6 matches ended up in losses for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in this campaign. The group proved to be too strong for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
that managed to score only two goals in the entire campaign.
{|
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"
|-
!width=180|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20W
!width=20D
!width=20L
!width=20GF
!width=20GA
!width=20GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6 | 5 0 1 14 6 +8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6 | 4 1 1 13 3 +10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6 | 2 1 3 6 9 -3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
0||6 | 0 0 6 2 17 -15
|}
|
The
Albania national football team is the national
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
team of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
and is controlled by the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
. 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
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
in 1946. In 1932, Albania had already joined
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
(during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym 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
U21The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
,
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
,
U17The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
and
U15The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
level. One of the most successful is the feeder of the senior team, the U21 level. In the finals of the
Euro 1984 U21The UEFA U-21 Championship 1984, which spanned two years , had 30 entrants. Albania, Iceland and Wales competed in the competition for the first time. England U-21s won the competition for the second time running....
championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out by
ItalyThe Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
. 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-BoriçiLoro Borici stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Shkodër, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Vllaznia Shkodër. The stadium holds 16,000 spectators and was reconstructed in 2001. It is named in honour of Loro Boriçi, famous player in 1940s and 1950s...
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in Shkodra, where they have had some successful matches, like beating
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
3–1 in a home
Euro 2004 qualifyingThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
match. There is a rumour that the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
is planning to build a stadium in
TiranaTirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. The Municipality of Tirana lies on the river Ishëm, about inland and is located at in Tirana District, Tirana County...
with a capacity of around 30,000.
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
has an official supporters' association, the
Tifozat Kuq e ZiTifozat 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 December 25, 2003...
who self-finance their activities using help from FSHF to arrange traveling and stadium visits for the matches.
In
December 2007December 2007 is the twelfth month of that year. It began on a Saturday and, 31 days later, ended on a Monday.-Portal:Current events:...
, Albanian Football Federation president Armand Duka announced
Arie HaanAdrianus Haan is a former Dutch football midfielder and the current manager of Chongqing Lifan, who scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Dutch national squad of the 1970s. At club level he enjoyed a successful career with AFC Ajax, R.S.C. Anderlecht, Standard Liège and PSV Eindhoven...
would replace Croatia's
Otto BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
as
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
head coach. He signed a two-year contract on January 4, 2008.
Albania started their 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
on September 6, 2008. They have been drawn in Group 1 with
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
,
HungaryThe Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. It has a rich and proud pedigree in the game and a rightful place in football annals as one of the first original footballing nations in continental Europe and an...
and
MaltaThe Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition and as of 12 October 2006 has won only four competitive matches...
. They currently have 1 more game in Sweden.
On March 14, 2008,
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
was suspended from international football (
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
and
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA ....
), due to heavy political interference in the FA. The suspension lasted 46 days.
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:
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Nr
! Against
! Played
! Won
! Drawn
! Lost
! GF
! GA
! GD
! % Won
|- bgcolor="#d0ffd0" align="center"
|-
|1|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|2|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || +1 || 50%
|-
|3|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 4 || -3 || 0%
|-
|4|| align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 1 || 17|| -16|| 0%
|-
|5|| align="left" | || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 2 || +3 || 75%
|-
|6|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|7|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 6 || -2 || 0%
|-
|8|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 0 || 50%
|-
|9|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 50%
|-
|10|| align="left" | || 11|| 2 || 4 || 5 || 8 || 15|| -7 || 18.18%
|-
|11|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|12|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0%
|-
|13|| align="left" | || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 9 || 6 || +3 || 25%
|-
|14|| align="left" | || 5 || 2 || 0 || 3 || 6 || 10|| -4 || 40%
|-
|15|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 1 || 6 || 3 || 18|| -15|| 12.25%
|-
|16|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 12|| -11|| 0%
|-
|17|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 50%
|-
|18|| align="left" | || 7 || 2 || 1 || 4 || 6 || 8 || -2 || 28.57%
|-
|19|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 6 || -6 || 0%
|-
|20|| align="left" | || 6 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 10|| -6 || 16.66%
|-
|21|| align="left" | || 10|| 3 || 1 || 6 || 8 || 16|| -8 || 30%
|-
|22|| align="left" | || 17|| 0 || 2 || 15|| 12|| 45|| -33|| 0%
|-
|23|| align="left" | || 13|| 4 || 3 || 6 || 10|| 13|| -3 || 30.76%
|-
|24|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 0 || 18|| -18|| 0%
|-
|25|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || -1 || 50%
|-
|26|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 100%
|-
|27|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 6 || 6 || 0 || 0%
|-
|28|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 100%
|-
|29|| align="left" | || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5 || -2 || 33.33%
|-
|30|| align="left" | || 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 66.66%
|-
|31|| align="left" | || 7 || 4 || 2 || 1 ||12 || 3 || +9 || 57.14%
|-
|32|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 4 || -4 || 0%
|-
|33|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 2 || +4 || 100%
|-
|34|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 7 || -6 || 0%
|-
|35|| align="left" | || 8 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 12.5%
|-
|36|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|37|| align="left" | || 11|| 1 || 3 || 7 || 7 || 14|| -7 || 9.09%
|-
|38|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 12|| -8 || 0%
|-
|39|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|40|| align="left" | || 13|| 2 || 1 || 10|| 7 || 38|| -31|| 15.38%
|-
|41|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 5 || -1 || 50%
|-
|42|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || +3 || 100%
|-
|43|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|44|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 2 || 24|| -22|| 0%
|-
|45|| align="left" | || 5 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 5 || 9 || -4 || 20%
|-
|46|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 7 || -4 || 0%
|-
|47|| align="left" | || 8 || 3 || 2 || 4 || 11|| 8 || +3 || 37.5%
|-
|48|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|49|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|50|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 3 || -2 || 0%
|-
|51|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 0%
|-class="sortbottom"
! ||Total || 232 || 49 || 48 || 137 ||202||411||-209|| 21.12%
|}
History and Competitive Records
The early years oversaw a notably successful
Balkan CupThe Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
on level points but a better
goal differenceIn sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
. 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-warWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
cup.
After taking part for the first time in
European ChampionshipsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
in 1963, for edition
1964The 1964 UEFA European Nations Cup was the second edition of the quadrennial European Football Championship, endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over defending champions Soviet Union....
, in the
1968 European qualifiersThe qualifying round for the 1968 European Football Championship consisted of 31 teams divided into eight groups; seven of four teams and one of three teams. Each group winner progressed to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis...
, 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 PanoPanajot Pano is a former Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the SK Tirana youth academy but he became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, KF Partizani...
.
The
1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 121 teams entered the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament. Mexico, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition...
brought further notable results with a 2–2 draw away to
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
and a 2–0 win over eventual semi-finalists
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
.
The qualifiers for the
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 12 December 1995 at Paris, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. This is the first time there would be 32 teams in the finals...
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 qualifiersThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
, Albania managed a 3–1 win against
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
in
ShkodërShkodër , is a city located on Lake Shkodër in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre...
. The
2006 World Cup qualifiersA total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
qualifiers saw Albania's results still further, the highlight being a 2–1 victory against the reigning
European ChampionsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
,
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
.
Recently, the
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
team, also known as
Shpresat (
The Team of Hopes), managed to qualify for the Elite round in the
Euro U19 2008The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played from 14 July to 26 July 2008. Players born...
, to be held in
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. In qualifying, they lost against
SpainThe Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Real Federación Española de Fútbol, the governing body for football in Spain....
(2–0), beat
SerbiaThe Serbia national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia...
(2–1) and drew with Lichtenstein (0–0).
Euro Cup 1964
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.
FIFA World Cup 1966 Qualification
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 IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
SwitzerlandThe Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland and is controlled by the Swiss Football Association....
. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||7||3
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||9||5
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
6||6||2||2||2||6||4
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
1||6||0||1||5||2||12
|}
Switzerland qualified.
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="60%" class=wikitable
!width=10|Pos
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Yugoslavia
!width=20|Germany
!width=20|Albania
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
| 1.
|align=left|
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 1 - 0
| 4 - 0
|
6
| 4
| 3
| 0
| 1
| 8
| 3
|- align="center"
| 2.
|align=left|
| 3 - 1
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 6 - 0
|
5
| 4
| 2
| 1
| 1
| 9
| 2
|- align="center"
| 3.
|align=left|
| 0 - 2
| 0 - 0
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
|
1
| 4
| 0
| 1
| 3
| 0
| 12
|}
FIFA World Cup 1970
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1970.
UEFA Euro Cup 1972
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1972.
FIFA World Cup 1974
Albania was last of the class behind Finland in these qualifiers, 6 years after virtually no international matches.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6||5||0||1||18||3||15
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||17||4||13
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
3||6||1||1||4||3||21||-18
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||6||1||0||5||3||13||-10
|-
|}
East Germany qualified.
UEFA Euro Cup 1976
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1976.
FIFA World Cup 1978
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1978.
UEFA Euro Cup 1980
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1980.
FIFA World Cup 1982
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".
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
16||8||8||0||0||33||3||30
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
11||8||5||1||2||16||6||10
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||8||4||1||3||11||10||1
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||22||-18
|-
|
5
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||27||-23
|}
West Germany and
Austria qualified.
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
, also losing to
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="30%" class=wikitable
!width=200|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 15
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 8
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
9
| 8
| 4
| 1
| 3
| 15
| 10
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
7
| 8
| 3
| 1
| 4
| 8
| 16
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
2
| 8
| 0
| 2
| 6
| 4
| 14
|}
FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualification
In a 4-team group, Albania got 4 points with one win and 2 draws. After losing to
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, Albania were visitors in eventual group winners
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
. 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
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
away and Poland at home, Albania got its last point in its last game against neighbour rivals Greece in a 1–1 draw.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||10||6||4
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||7||3||4
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6||1||2||3||6||9||-3
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
4||6||1||2||3||5||10||-5
|}
Poland qualified.
Belgium advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.
UEFA Euro Cup 1988
All 6 matches ended up in losses for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in this campaign. The group proved to be too strong for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
that managed to score only two goals in the entire campaign.
{|
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"
|-
!width=180|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20W
!width=20D
!width=20L
!width=20GF
!width=20GA
!width=20GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6 | 5 0 1 14 6 +8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6 | 4 1 1 13 3 +10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6 | 2 1 3 6 9 -3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
0||6 | 0 0 6 2 17 -15
|}
|
The
Albania national football team is the national
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
team of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
and is controlled by the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
. 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
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
in 1946. In 1932, Albania had already joined
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
(during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym 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
U21The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
,
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
,
U17The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
and
U15The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
level. One of the most successful is the feeder of the senior team, the U21 level. In the finals of the
Euro 1984 U21The UEFA U-21 Championship 1984, which spanned two years , had 30 entrants. Albania, Iceland and Wales competed in the competition for the first time. England U-21s won the competition for the second time running....
championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out by
ItalyThe Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
. 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-BoriçiLoro Borici stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Shkodër, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Vllaznia Shkodër. The stadium holds 16,000 spectators and was reconstructed in 2001. It is named in honour of Loro Boriçi, famous player in 1940s and 1950s...
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in Shkodra, where they have had some successful matches, like beating
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
3–1 in a home
Euro 2004 qualifyingThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
match. There is a rumour that the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
is planning to build a stadium in
TiranaTirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. The Municipality of Tirana lies on the river Ishëm, about inland and is located at in Tirana District, Tirana County...
with a capacity of around 30,000.
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
has an official supporters' association, the
Tifozat Kuq e ZiTifozat 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 December 25, 2003...
who self-finance their activities using help from FSHF to arrange traveling and stadium visits for the matches.
In
December 2007December 2007 is the twelfth month of that year. It began on a Saturday and, 31 days later, ended on a Monday.-Portal:Current events:...
, Albanian Football Federation president Armand Duka announced
Arie HaanAdrianus Haan is a former Dutch football midfielder and the current manager of Chongqing Lifan, who scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Dutch national squad of the 1970s. At club level he enjoyed a successful career with AFC Ajax, R.S.C. Anderlecht, Standard Liège and PSV Eindhoven...
would replace Croatia's
Otto BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
as
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
head coach. He signed a two-year contract on January 4, 2008.
Albania started their 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
on September 6, 2008. They have been drawn in Group 1 with
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
,
HungaryThe Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. It has a rich and proud pedigree in the game and a rightful place in football annals as one of the first original footballing nations in continental Europe and an...
and
MaltaThe Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition and as of 12 October 2006 has won only four competitive matches...
. They currently have 1 more game in Sweden.
On March 14, 2008,
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
was suspended from international football (
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
and
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA ....
), due to heavy political interference in the FA. The suspension lasted 46 days.
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:
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Nr
! Against
! Played
! Won
! Drawn
! Lost
! GF
! GA
! GD
! % Won
|- bgcolor="#d0ffd0" align="center"
|-
|1|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|2|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || +1 || 50%
|-
|3|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 4 || -3 || 0%
|-
|4|| align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 1 || 17|| -16|| 0%
|-
|5|| align="left" | || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 2 || +3 || 75%
|-
|6|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|7|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 6 || -2 || 0%
|-
|8|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 0 || 50%
|-
|9|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 50%
|-
|10|| align="left" | || 11|| 2 || 4 || 5 || 8 || 15|| -7 || 18.18%
|-
|11|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|12|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0%
|-
|13|| align="left" | || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 9 || 6 || +3 || 25%
|-
|14|| align="left" | || 5 || 2 || 0 || 3 || 6 || 10|| -4 || 40%
|-
|15|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 1 || 6 || 3 || 18|| -15|| 12.25%
|-
|16|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 12|| -11|| 0%
|-
|17|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 50%
|-
|18|| align="left" | || 7 || 2 || 1 || 4 || 6 || 8 || -2 || 28.57%
|-
|19|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 6 || -6 || 0%
|-
|20|| align="left" | || 6 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 10|| -6 || 16.66%
|-
|21|| align="left" | || 10|| 3 || 1 || 6 || 8 || 16|| -8 || 30%
|-
|22|| align="left" | || 17|| 0 || 2 || 15|| 12|| 45|| -33|| 0%
|-
|23|| align="left" | || 13|| 4 || 3 || 6 || 10|| 13|| -3 || 30.76%
|-
|24|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 0 || 18|| -18|| 0%
|-
|25|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || -1 || 50%
|-
|26|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 100%
|-
|27|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 6 || 6 || 0 || 0%
|-
|28|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 100%
|-
|29|| align="left" | || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5 || -2 || 33.33%
|-
|30|| align="left" | || 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 66.66%
|-
|31|| align="left" | || 7 || 4 || 2 || 1 ||12 || 3 || +9 || 57.14%
|-
|32|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 4 || -4 || 0%
|-
|33|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 2 || +4 || 100%
|-
|34|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 7 || -6 || 0%
|-
|35|| align="left" | || 8 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 12.5%
|-
|36|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|37|| align="left" | || 11|| 1 || 3 || 7 || 7 || 14|| -7 || 9.09%
|-
|38|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 12|| -8 || 0%
|-
|39|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|40|| align="left" | || 13|| 2 || 1 || 10|| 7 || 38|| -31|| 15.38%
|-
|41|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 5 || -1 || 50%
|-
|42|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || +3 || 100%
|-
|43|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|44|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 2 || 24|| -22|| 0%
|-
|45|| align="left" | || 5 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 5 || 9 || -4 || 20%
|-
|46|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 7 || -4 || 0%
|-
|47|| align="left" | || 8 || 3 || 2 || 4 || 11|| 8 || +3 || 37.5%
|-
|48|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|49|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|50|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 3 || -2 || 0%
|-
|51|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 0%
|-class="sortbottom"
! ||Total || 232 || 49 || 48 || 137 ||202||411||-209|| 21.12%
|}
History and Competitive Records
The early years oversaw a notably successful
Balkan CupThe Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
on level points but a better
goal differenceIn sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
. 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-warWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
cup.
After taking part for the first time in
European ChampionshipsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
in 1963, for edition
1964The 1964 UEFA European Nations Cup was the second edition of the quadrennial European Football Championship, endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over defending champions Soviet Union....
, in the
1968 European qualifiersThe qualifying round for the 1968 European Football Championship consisted of 31 teams divided into eight groups; seven of four teams and one of three teams. Each group winner progressed to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis...
, 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 PanoPanajot Pano is a former Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the SK Tirana youth academy but he became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, KF Partizani...
.
The
1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 121 teams entered the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament. Mexico, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition...
brought further notable results with a 2–2 draw away to
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
and a 2–0 win over eventual semi-finalists
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
.
The qualifiers for the
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 12 December 1995 at Paris, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. This is the first time there would be 32 teams in the finals...
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 qualifiersThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
, Albania managed a 3–1 win against
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
in
ShkodërShkodër , is a city located on Lake Shkodër in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre...
. The
2006 World Cup qualifiersA total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
qualifiers saw Albania's results still further, the highlight being a 2–1 victory against the reigning
European ChampionsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
,
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
.
Recently, the
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
team, also known as
Shpresat (
The Team of Hopes), managed to qualify for the Elite round in the
Euro U19 2008The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played from 14 July to 26 July 2008. Players born...
, to be held in
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. In qualifying, they lost against
SpainThe Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Real Federación Española de Fútbol, the governing body for football in Spain....
(2–0), beat
SerbiaThe Serbia national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia...
(2–1) and drew with Lichtenstein (0–0).
Euro Cup 1964
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.
FIFA World Cup 1966 Qualification
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 IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
SwitzerlandThe Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland and is controlled by the Swiss Football Association....
. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||7||3
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||9||5
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
6||6||2||2||2||6||4
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
1||6||0||1||5||2||12
|}
Switzerland qualified.
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="60%" class=wikitable
!width=10|Pos
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Yugoslavia
!width=20|Germany
!width=20|Albania
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
| 1.
|align=left|
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 1 - 0
| 4 - 0
|
6
| 4
| 3
| 0
| 1
| 8
| 3
|- align="center"
| 2.
|align=left|
| 3 - 1
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 6 - 0
|
5
| 4
| 2
| 1
| 1
| 9
| 2
|- align="center"
| 3.
|align=left|
| 0 - 2
| 0 - 0
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
|
1
| 4
| 0
| 1
| 3
| 0
| 12
|}
FIFA World Cup 1970
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1970.
UEFA Euro Cup 1972
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1972.
FIFA World Cup 1974
Albania was last of the class behind Finland in these qualifiers, 6 years after virtually no international matches.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6||5||0||1||18||3||15
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||17||4||13
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
3||6||1||1||4||3||21||-18
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||6||1||0||5||3||13||-10
|-
|}
East Germany qualified.
UEFA Euro Cup 1976
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1976.
FIFA World Cup 1978
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1978.
UEFA Euro Cup 1980
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1980.
FIFA World Cup 1982
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".
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
16||8||8||0||0||33||3||30
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
11||8||5||1||2||16||6||10
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||8||4||1||3||11||10||1
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||22||-18
|-
|
5
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||27||-23
|}
West Germany and
Austria qualified.
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
, also losing to
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="30%" class=wikitable
!width=200|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 15
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 8
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
9
| 8
| 4
| 1
| 3
| 15
| 10
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
7
| 8
| 3
| 1
| 4
| 8
| 16
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
2
| 8
| 0
| 2
| 6
| 4
| 14
|}
FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualification
In a 4-team group, Albania got 4 points with one win and 2 draws. After losing to
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, Albania were visitors in eventual group winners
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
. 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
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
away and Poland at home, Albania got its last point in its last game against neighbour rivals Greece in a 1–1 draw.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||10||6||4
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||7||3||4
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6||1||2||3||6||9||-3
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
4||6||1||2||3||5||10||-5
|}
Poland qualified.
Belgium advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.
UEFA Euro Cup 1988
All 6 matches ended up in losses for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in this campaign. The group proved to be too strong for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
that managed to score only two goals in the entire campaign.
{|
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"
|-
!width=180|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20W
!width=20D
!width=20L
!width=20GF
!width=20GA
!width=20GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6 | 5 0 1 14 6 +8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6 | 4 1 1 13 3 +10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6 | 2 1 3 6 9 -3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
0||6 | 0 0 6 2 17 -15
|}
|
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"
-
!
!ALB
!
AUTThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
!
ROMThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
!
ESPThe Spanish national football team represents Spain in international football and is controlled by the . The majority of Spain's matches are held at stadia in Madrid and Valencia. The Spanish side are commonly referred to as La Furia Roja .Spain are the current European champions, having won the...
-
!Albania
XXX
0-1
0-1
1-2
-
!
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
3-0
XXX
0-0
2-3
-
!
RomaniaThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
5-1
4-0
XXX
3-1
-
!
SpainThe Spanish national football team represents Spain in international football and is controlled by the . The majority of Spain's matches are held at stadia in Madrid and Valencia. The Spanish side are commonly referred to as La Furia Roja .Spain are the current European champions, having won the...
5-0
2-0
1-0
XXX
-
}
|}
FIFA World Cup 1990 Qualification
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left"|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
1
|align="left"|
|6||4||2||0||9||3||6||
10
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
2
|align="left"|
|6||3||3||0||10||0||10||
9
|-
|
3
|align="left"|
|6||2||1||3||4||8||-4||
5
|-
|
4
|align="left"|
|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.
UEFA Euro Cup 1992 Qualification
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. To mention that the match was played in a very difficult time for Albania when few had their minds on sports.
FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualification
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left"|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
1
|align="left"|
|12||8||3||1||27||4||+23||
19
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
2
|align="left"|
|12||7||4||1||19||6||+13||
18
|-
|
3
|align="left"|
|12||7||4||1||15||2||+13||
18
|-
|
4
|align="left"|
|12||5||3||4||14||13||+1||
13
|-
|
5
|align="left"|
|12||2||3||7||8||21||-13||
7
|-
|
6
|align="left"|
|12||0||5||7||4||21||-17||
5
|-
|
7
|align="left"|
|12||1||2||9||6||26||-20||
4
|}
Spain and
Republic of Ireland qualified.
UEFA Euro 1996 Qualification
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 (
MoldovaThe Moldova national football team is the national football team of Moldova under the auspice of the Football Association of Moldova. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Georgia on July 2, 1991....
) as guests in an international qualifier campaign.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=180 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
25
| 10
| 8
| 1
| 1
| 27
| 10
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
22
| 10
| 7
| 1
| 2
| 24
| 10
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
15
| 10
| 5
| 0
| 5
| 14
| 13
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
9
| 10
| 3
| 0
| 7
| 11
| 27
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
8
| 10
| 2
| 2
| 6
| 10
| 16
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
8
| 10
| 2
| 2
| 6
| 9
| 19
|}
FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification
In the 1998 World Cup, Albania was drawn in a 6-team group which included
GermanyThe German national football team is the football team representing the country of Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association DFB which was founded in 1900....
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
UkraineThe Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After the split of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on April 29, 1992....
,
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
ArmeniaThe Armenia national football team is the national football team of Armenia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia. After the split of the Soviet Union, the team played its first international match against Moldova on October 12, 1992....
, 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 5tie against Armenia.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
22||10||6||4||0||23||9||12
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
20||10||6||2||2||10||6||4
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
19||10||5||4||1||12||4||8
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||10||1||5||4||8||17||-9
|-
|
5
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
7||10||1||4||5||6||10||-4
|-
|
6
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
4||10||1||1||8||7||20||-13
|}
UEFA Euro 2000 Championship
In a relatively easy group, Albania couldn't go past one single victory at home turf at the expense of
GeorgiaThe Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union...
. However there were some memorable draws againts 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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=180 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
25
| 10
| 8
| 1
| 1
| 21
| 9
| +12
|- bgcolor=#FFFFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
17
| 10
| 5
| 2
| 3
| 12
| 14
| -2
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
15
| 10
| 4
| 3
| 3
| 13
| 8
| +5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
13
| 10
| 3
| 4
| 3
| 13
| 12
| +1
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
7
| 10
| 1
| 4
| 5
| 8
| 14
| -6
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
5
| 10
| 1
| 2
| 7
| 8
| 18
| -10
|}
FIFA World Cup 2002qualification
After a loss to
FinlandThe Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of 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.
{| class="wikitable" border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0
|-
|colspan=10 align=center|
Final table
|colspan=7|
|colspan=7 align=center bgcolor=yellow|
Home
|colspan=7 align=center|
Away
|-
!bgcolor="#efefef"|Rank
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="160"|Team
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GD
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
!bgcolor="#efefef"|
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|ENG
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GER
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|FIN
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GRE
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|ALB
!bgcolor="#efefef"|
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
|- align=center bgcolor=#ccffcc
|1.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center bgcolor=#ffebad
|2.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|3.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|4.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|5.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|}
UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifications
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 DossenaGiuseppe Dossena is an Italian football manager and former player. Dossena began his playing career for Torino, being successively even capped for the 1982 FIFA World Cup...
for the first two matches and
Hans-Peter BriegelHans-Peter Briegel is a former German football player and manager.One of the most popular players in his days, Hans-Peter Briegel's original sport was athletics, being successful in various events such as long jump , triple jump and specifically in heptathlon-forerunner pentathlon...
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 IrelandThe Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in Association Football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Croke Park in Dublin....
0–0 and beat Georgia 3–1. Away Albania got 0 points, but managed to score 4 goals.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|Pts
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||4||3||1||15||11||
15
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||4||2||2||19||12||
14
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||3||2||3||10||11||
11
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||2||2||4||11||15||
8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||2||1||5||8||14||
7
|}
Switzerland qualified.
Russia and
Ireland advanced to the Play-offs.
FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification
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
GeorgiaThe Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union...
away and
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
at home, before returning to winning ways by beating
KazakhstanThe Kazakhstan national football team is the national football team of Kazakhstan and is controlled by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan. After gaining independence, they played their first match against Turkmenistan on June 1, 1992...
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||7||4||1||18||7||+11||
25
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||5||1||23||9||+14||
23
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||4||2||24||12||+12||
22
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||3||3||15||9||+6||
21
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||4||1||7||11||20||-9||
13
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||2||4||6||14||25||-11||
10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||0||1||11||6||29||-23||
1
|}
Ukraine qualified.
Turkey advanced to the UEFA Play-offs (see ranking of runners-up).
UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification
In the matches for the
2008 European qualifiers- Seedings :Qualification coefficients were used to rank the teams according to their results in both UEFA Euro 2004 and FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying stages. Only the group matches, and not any additional playoffs, counted towards the coefficients, also determining which pot a national team was...
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
BelarusThe Belarus national football team is the national football team of Belarus and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belarus. After the split of Soviet Union, they played their first match against Lithuania on July 20, 1992 and had their first win in a match versus Luxembourg on October 12,...
, two wins against
LuxembourgThe Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. It plays most of its home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg City.- History :...
home and away (2–0, 5-0) and a 0–0 draw away to
BulgariaThe Bulgaria national football team is the national football team of Bulgaria and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. Bulgaria's best World Cup performance was in the 1994 World Cup in USA, where they beat defending champions Germany to reach the semi-finals, losing to Italy, and...
have been the most cherished results. Great matches have been played against
NetherlandsThe Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association. It won Euro 88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany...
in both legs, although allegedly dubious referee decisions have marred Albania's performances, ending up in two losses (2–1, 0–1). Other set-backs have also been suffered after drawing 0–0 against
SloveniaThe Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. They played their first match in 1992 after the split of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991...
and losing 0–2 to
RomaniaThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
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 BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
and his assistant.
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
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 DallkuArmend Dallku is an Albanian footballer, playing as a defender for Vorskla Poltava in the Ukrainian Premier League and the Albanian national team.-Club career:...
and another from
Klodian Duro{Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth = {Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth =...
. On October 11 however, the Albanians lost to Hungary 2-0 in
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s...
. But surprised the world by tying 0-0 with Portugal in
BragaBraga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and one of the major cities of the country...
. On February 11, Albania could only be able to Malta who fought hard at
Ta'QaliTa' Qali is a village in Malta, a wide open space in the middle of Malta containing the national stadium, Ta' Qali National Park and a national vegetable market which is locally known as the Pitkalija....
. 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 AlmeidaHugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for SV Werder Bremen in the German League, as a striker.-Club career:...
scored early for Portugal, but Albania quickly equalized with a goal from
Erjon BogdaniErjon Bogdani is an Albanian football striker. Bogdani plays for Chievo Verona, in Italian Serie A and the Albanian national team.-Career:...
. However, with just a few seconds left in the game,
Bruno AlvesBruno Eduardo Regufe Alves is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for F.C. Porto as a central defender...
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.
Current squad
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
Recent call-ups
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
Coaching staff
http://www.fshf.org/ekipi.html
{|
|-
|
Head Coach|| Croatia
Josip Kuže Josip Kuže is a Croatian football coach and former player. He was a player and later coach of Dinamo Zagreb where he played from 1971-1981 making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals...
|-
|
Assistant Coach|| Bosnia
Džemal MustedanagićDžemal Mustedanagić is a retired Bosnia and Herzegovina football defender who was capped for SFR Yugoslavia. He is now a coach.-External links:* *...
|-
|
Goalkeeping Coach|| Albania Ilir Bozhiqi
|-
|
Team Doctor|| Albania Arben Çeliku
|- valign=top
|rowspan=3|
Physios|| Belgium Stijn Vandenbroucke
|-
| Albania Ylli Mihali
|}
FIFA World Cup qualification (Group 1)
The
Albania national football team is the national
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
team of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
and is controlled by the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
. 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
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
in 1946. In 1932, Albania had already joined
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
(during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym 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
U21The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
,
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
,
U17The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
and
U15The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
level. One of the most successful is the feeder of the senior team, the U21 level. In the finals of the
Euro 1984 U21The UEFA U-21 Championship 1984, which spanned two years , had 30 entrants. Albania, Iceland and Wales competed in the competition for the first time. England U-21s won the competition for the second time running....
championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out by
ItalyThe Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
. 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-BoriçiLoro Borici stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Shkodër, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Vllaznia Shkodër. The stadium holds 16,000 spectators and was reconstructed in 2001. It is named in honour of Loro Boriçi, famous player in 1940s and 1950s...
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in Shkodra, where they have had some successful matches, like beating
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
3–1 in a home
Euro 2004 qualifyingThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
match. There is a rumour that the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
is planning to build a stadium in
TiranaTirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. The Municipality of Tirana lies on the river Ishëm, about inland and is located at in Tirana District, Tirana County...
with a capacity of around 30,000.
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
has an official supporters' association, the
Tifozat Kuq e ZiTifozat 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 December 25, 2003...
who self-finance their activities using help from FSHF to arrange traveling and stadium visits for the matches.
In
December 2007December 2007 is the twelfth month of that year. It began on a Saturday and, 31 days later, ended on a Monday.-Portal:Current events:...
, Albanian Football Federation president Armand Duka announced
Arie HaanAdrianus Haan is a former Dutch football midfielder and the current manager of Chongqing Lifan, who scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Dutch national squad of the 1970s. At club level he enjoyed a successful career with AFC Ajax, R.S.C. Anderlecht, Standard Liège and PSV Eindhoven...
would replace Croatia's
Otto BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
as
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
head coach. He signed a two-year contract on January 4, 2008.
Albania started their 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
on September 6, 2008. They have been drawn in Group 1 with
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
,
HungaryThe Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. It has a rich and proud pedigree in the game and a rightful place in football annals as one of the first original footballing nations in continental Europe and an...
and
MaltaThe Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition and as of 12 October 2006 has won only four competitive matches...
. They currently have 1 more game in Sweden.
On March 14, 2008,
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
was suspended from international football (
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
and
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA ....
), due to heavy political interference in the FA. The suspension lasted 46 days.
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:
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Nr
! Against
! Played
! Won
! Drawn
! Lost
! GF
! GA
! GD
! % Won
|- bgcolor="#d0ffd0" align="center"
|-
|1|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|2|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || +1 || 50%
|-
|3|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 4 || -3 || 0%
|-
|4|| align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 1 || 17|| -16|| 0%
|-
|5|| align="left" | || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 2 || +3 || 75%
|-
|6|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|7|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 6 || -2 || 0%
|-
|8|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 0 || 50%
|-
|9|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 50%
|-
|10|| align="left" | || 11|| 2 || 4 || 5 || 8 || 15|| -7 || 18.18%
|-
|11|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|12|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0%
|-
|13|| align="left" | || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 9 || 6 || +3 || 25%
|-
|14|| align="left" | || 5 || 2 || 0 || 3 || 6 || 10|| -4 || 40%
|-
|15|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 1 || 6 || 3 || 18|| -15|| 12.25%
|-
|16|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 12|| -11|| 0%
|-
|17|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 50%
|-
|18|| align="left" | || 7 || 2 || 1 || 4 || 6 || 8 || -2 || 28.57%
|-
|19|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 6 || -6 || 0%
|-
|20|| align="left" | || 6 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 10|| -6 || 16.66%
|-
|21|| align="left" | || 10|| 3 || 1 || 6 || 8 || 16|| -8 || 30%
|-
|22|| align="left" | || 17|| 0 || 2 || 15|| 12|| 45|| -33|| 0%
|-
|23|| align="left" | || 13|| 4 || 3 || 6 || 10|| 13|| -3 || 30.76%
|-
|24|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 0 || 18|| -18|| 0%
|-
|25|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || -1 || 50%
|-
|26|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 100%
|-
|27|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 6 || 6 || 0 || 0%
|-
|28|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 100%
|-
|29|| align="left" | || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5 || -2 || 33.33%
|-
|30|| align="left" | || 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 66.66%
|-
|31|| align="left" | || 7 || 4 || 2 || 1 ||12 || 3 || +9 || 57.14%
|-
|32|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 4 || -4 || 0%
|-
|33|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 2 || +4 || 100%
|-
|34|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 7 || -6 || 0%
|-
|35|| align="left" | || 8 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 12.5%
|-
|36|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|37|| align="left" | || 11|| 1 || 3 || 7 || 7 || 14|| -7 || 9.09%
|-
|38|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 12|| -8 || 0%
|-
|39|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|40|| align="left" | || 13|| 2 || 1 || 10|| 7 || 38|| -31|| 15.38%
|-
|41|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 5 || -1 || 50%
|-
|42|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || +3 || 100%
|-
|43|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|44|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 2 || 24|| -22|| 0%
|-
|45|| align="left" | || 5 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 5 || 9 || -4 || 20%
|-
|46|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 7 || -4 || 0%
|-
|47|| align="left" | || 8 || 3 || 2 || 4 || 11|| 8 || +3 || 37.5%
|-
|48|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|49|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|50|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 3 || -2 || 0%
|-
|51|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 0%
|-class="sortbottom"
! ||Total || 232 || 49 || 48 || 137 ||202||411||-209|| 21.12%
|}
History and Competitive Records
The early years oversaw a notably successful
Balkan CupThe Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
on level points but a better
goal differenceIn sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
. 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-warWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
cup.
After taking part for the first time in
European ChampionshipsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
in 1963, for edition
1964The 1964 UEFA European Nations Cup was the second edition of the quadrennial European Football Championship, endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over defending champions Soviet Union....
, in the
1968 European qualifiersThe qualifying round for the 1968 European Football Championship consisted of 31 teams divided into eight groups; seven of four teams and one of three teams. Each group winner progressed to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis...
, 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 PanoPanajot Pano is a former Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the SK Tirana youth academy but he became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, KF Partizani...
.
The
1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 121 teams entered the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament. Mexico, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition...
brought further notable results with a 2–2 draw away to
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
and a 2–0 win over eventual semi-finalists
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
.
The qualifiers for the
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 12 December 1995 at Paris, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. This is the first time there would be 32 teams in the finals...
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 qualifiersThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
, Albania managed a 3–1 win against
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
in
ShkodërShkodër , is a city located on Lake Shkodër in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre...
. The
2006 World Cup qualifiersA total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
qualifiers saw Albania's results still further, the highlight being a 2–1 victory against the reigning
European ChampionsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
,
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
.
Recently, the
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
team, also known as
Shpresat (
The Team of Hopes), managed to qualify for the Elite round in the
Euro U19 2008The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played from 14 July to 26 July 2008. Players born...
, to be held in
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. In qualifying, they lost against
SpainThe Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Real Federación Española de Fútbol, the governing body for football in Spain....
(2–0), beat
SerbiaThe Serbia national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia...
(2–1) and drew with Lichtenstein (0–0).
Euro Cup 1964
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.
FIFA World Cup 1966 Qualification
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 IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
SwitzerlandThe Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland and is controlled by the Swiss Football Association....
. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||7||3
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||9||5
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
6||6||2||2||2||6||4
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
1||6||0||1||5||2||12
|}
Switzerland qualified.
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="60%" class=wikitable
!width=10|Pos
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Yugoslavia
!width=20|Germany
!width=20|Albania
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
| 1.
|align=left|
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 1 - 0
| 4 - 0
|
6
| 4
| 3
| 0
| 1
| 8
| 3
|- align="center"
| 2.
|align=left|
| 3 - 1
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 6 - 0
|
5
| 4
| 2
| 1
| 1
| 9
| 2
|- align="center"
| 3.
|align=left|
| 0 - 2
| 0 - 0
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
|
1
| 4
| 0
| 1
| 3
| 0
| 12
|}
FIFA World Cup 1970
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1970.
UEFA Euro Cup 1972
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1972.
FIFA World Cup 1974
Albania was last of the class behind Finland in these qualifiers, 6 years after virtually no international matches.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6||5||0||1||18||3||15
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||17||4||13
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
3||6||1||1||4||3||21||-18
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||6||1||0||5||3||13||-10
|-
|}
East Germany qualified.
UEFA Euro Cup 1976
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1976.
FIFA World Cup 1978
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1978.
UEFA Euro Cup 1980
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1980.
FIFA World Cup 1982
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".
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
16||8||8||0||0||33||3||30
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
11||8||5||1||2||16||6||10
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||8||4||1||3||11||10||1
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||22||-18
|-
|
5
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||27||-23
|}
West Germany and
Austria qualified.
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
, also losing to
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="30%" class=wikitable
!width=200|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 15
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 8
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
9
| 8
| 4
| 1
| 3
| 15
| 10
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
7
| 8
| 3
| 1
| 4
| 8
| 16
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
2
| 8
| 0
| 2
| 6
| 4
| 14
|}
FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualification
In a 4-team group, Albania got 4 points with one win and 2 draws. After losing to
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, Albania were visitors in eventual group winners
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
. 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
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
away and Poland at home, Albania got its last point in its last game against neighbour rivals Greece in a 1–1 draw.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||10||6||4
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||7||3||4
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6||1||2||3||6||9||-3
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
4||6||1||2||3||5||10||-5
|}
Poland qualified.
Belgium advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.
UEFA Euro Cup 1988
All 6 matches ended up in losses for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in this campaign. The group proved to be too strong for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
that managed to score only two goals in the entire campaign.
{|
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"
|-
!width=180|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20W
!width=20D
!width=20L
!width=20GF
!width=20GA
!width=20GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6 | 5 0 1 14 6 +8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6 | 4 1 1 13 3 +10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6 | 2 1 3 6 9 -3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
0||6 | 0 0 6 2 17 -15
|}
|
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"
-
!
!ALB
!
AUTThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
!
ROMThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
!
ESPThe Spanish national football team represents Spain in international football and is controlled by the . The majority of Spain's matches are held at stadia in Madrid and Valencia. The Spanish side are commonly referred to as La Furia Roja .Spain are the current European champions, having won the...
-
!Albania
XXX
0-1
0-1
1-2
-
!
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
3-0
XXX
0-0
2-3
-
!
RomaniaThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
5-1
4-0
XXX
3-1
-
!
SpainThe Spanish national football team represents Spain in international football and is controlled by the . The majority of Spain's matches are held at stadia in Madrid and Valencia. The Spanish side are commonly referred to as La Furia Roja .Spain are the current European champions, having won the...
5-0
2-0
1-0
XXX
-
}
|}
FIFA World Cup 1990 Qualification
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left"|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
1
|align="left"|
|6||4||2||0||9||3||6||
10
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
2
|align="left"|
|6||3||3||0||10||0||10||
9
|-
|
3
|align="left"|
|6||2||1||3||4||8||-4||
5
|-
|
4
|align="left"|
|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.
UEFA Euro Cup 1992 Qualification
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. To mention that the match was played in a very difficult time for Albania when few had their minds on sports.
FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualification
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left"|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
1
|align="left"|
|12||8||3||1||27||4||+23||
19
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
2
|align="left"|
|12||7||4||1||19||6||+13||
18
|-
|
3
|align="left"|
|12||7||4||1||15||2||+13||
18
|-
|
4
|align="left"|
|12||5||3||4||14||13||+1||
13
|-
|
5
|align="left"|
|12||2||3||7||8||21||-13||
7
|-
|
6
|align="left"|
|12||0||5||7||4||21||-17||
5
|-
|
7
|align="left"|
|12||1||2||9||6||26||-20||
4
|}
Spain and
Republic of Ireland qualified.
UEFA Euro 1996 Qualification
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 (
MoldovaThe Moldova national football team is the national football team of Moldova under the auspice of the Football Association of Moldova. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Georgia on July 2, 1991....
) as guests in an international qualifier campaign.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=180 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
25
| 10
| 8
| 1
| 1
| 27
| 10
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
22
| 10
| 7
| 1
| 2
| 24
| 10
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
15
| 10
| 5
| 0
| 5
| 14
| 13
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
9
| 10
| 3
| 0
| 7
| 11
| 27
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
8
| 10
| 2
| 2
| 6
| 10
| 16
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
8
| 10
| 2
| 2
| 6
| 9
| 19
|}
FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification
In the 1998 World Cup, Albania was drawn in a 6-team group which included
GermanyThe German national football team is the football team representing the country of Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association DFB which was founded in 1900....
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
UkraineThe Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After the split of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on April 29, 1992....
,
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
ArmeniaThe Armenia national football team is the national football team of Armenia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia. After the split of the Soviet Union, the team played its first international match against Moldova on October 12, 1992....
, 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 5tie against Armenia.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
22||10||6||4||0||23||9||12
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
20||10||6||2||2||10||6||4
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
19||10||5||4||1||12||4||8
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||10||1||5||4||8||17||-9
|-
|
5
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
7||10||1||4||5||6||10||-4
|-
|
6
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
4||10||1||1||8||7||20||-13
|}
UEFA Euro 2000 Championship
In a relatively easy group, Albania couldn't go past one single victory at home turf at the expense of
GeorgiaThe Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union...
. However there were some memorable draws againts 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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=180 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
25
| 10
| 8
| 1
| 1
| 21
| 9
| +12
|- bgcolor=#FFFFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
17
| 10
| 5
| 2
| 3
| 12
| 14
| -2
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
15
| 10
| 4
| 3
| 3
| 13
| 8
| +5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
13
| 10
| 3
| 4
| 3
| 13
| 12
| +1
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
7
| 10
| 1
| 4
| 5
| 8
| 14
| -6
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
5
| 10
| 1
| 2
| 7
| 8
| 18
| -10
|}
FIFA World Cup 2002qualification
After a loss to
FinlandThe Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of 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.
{| class="wikitable" border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0
|-
|colspan=10 align=center|
Final table
|colspan=7|
|colspan=7 align=center bgcolor=yellow|
Home
|colspan=7 align=center|
Away
|-
!bgcolor="#efefef"|Rank
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="160"|Team
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GD
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
!bgcolor="#efefef"|
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|ENG
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GER
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|FIN
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GRE
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|ALB
!bgcolor="#efefef"|
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
|- align=center bgcolor=#ccffcc
|1.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center bgcolor=#ffebad
|2.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|3.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|4.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|5.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|}
UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifications
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 DossenaGiuseppe Dossena is an Italian football manager and former player. Dossena began his playing career for Torino, being successively even capped for the 1982 FIFA World Cup...
for the first two matches and
Hans-Peter BriegelHans-Peter Briegel is a former German football player and manager.One of the most popular players in his days, Hans-Peter Briegel's original sport was athletics, being successful in various events such as long jump , triple jump and specifically in heptathlon-forerunner pentathlon...
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 IrelandThe Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in Association Football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Croke Park in Dublin....
0–0 and beat Georgia 3–1. Away Albania got 0 points, but managed to score 4 goals.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|Pts
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||4||3||1||15||11||
15
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||4||2||2||19||12||
14
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||3||2||3||10||11||
11
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||2||2||4||11||15||
8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||2||1||5||8||14||
7
|}
Switzerland qualified.
Russia and
Ireland advanced to the Play-offs.
FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification
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
GeorgiaThe Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union...
away and
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
at home, before returning to winning ways by beating
KazakhstanThe Kazakhstan national football team is the national football team of Kazakhstan and is controlled by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan. After gaining independence, they played their first match against Turkmenistan on June 1, 1992...
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||7||4||1||18||7||+11||
25
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||5||1||23||9||+14||
23
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||4||2||24||12||+12||
22
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||3||3||15||9||+6||
21
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||4||1||7||11||20||-9||
13
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||2||4||6||14||25||-11||
10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||0||1||11||6||29||-23||
1
|}
Ukraine qualified.
Turkey advanced to the UEFA Play-offs (see ranking of runners-up).
UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification
In the matches for the
2008 European qualifiers- Seedings :Qualification coefficients were used to rank the teams according to their results in both UEFA Euro 2004 and FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying stages. Only the group matches, and not any additional playoffs, counted towards the coefficients, also determining which pot a national team was...
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
BelarusThe Belarus national football team is the national football team of Belarus and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belarus. After the split of Soviet Union, they played their first match against Lithuania on July 20, 1992 and had their first win in a match versus Luxembourg on October 12,...
, two wins against
LuxembourgThe Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. It plays most of its home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg City.- History :...
home and away (2–0, 5-0) and a 0–0 draw away to
BulgariaThe Bulgaria national football team is the national football team of Bulgaria and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. Bulgaria's best World Cup performance was in the 1994 World Cup in USA, where they beat defending champions Germany to reach the semi-finals, losing to Italy, and...
have been the most cherished results. Great matches have been played against
NetherlandsThe Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association. It won Euro 88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany...
in both legs, although allegedly dubious referee decisions have marred Albania's performances, ending up in two losses (2–1, 0–1). Other set-backs have also been suffered after drawing 0–0 against
SloveniaThe Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. They played their first match in 1992 after the split of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991...
and losing 0–2 to
RomaniaThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
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 BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
and his assistant.
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
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 DallkuArmend Dallku is an Albanian footballer, playing as a defender for Vorskla Poltava in the Ukrainian Premier League and the Albanian national team.-Club career:...
and another from
Klodian Duro{Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth = {Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth =...
. On October 11 however, the Albanians lost to Hungary 2-0 in
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s...
. But surprised the world by tying 0-0 with Portugal in
BragaBraga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and one of the major cities of the country...
. On February 11, Albania could only be able to Malta who fought hard at
Ta'QaliTa' Qali is a village in Malta, a wide open space in the middle of Malta containing the national stadium, Ta' Qali National Park and a national vegetable market which is locally known as the Pitkalija....
. 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 AlmeidaHugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for SV Werder Bremen in the German League, as a striker.-Club career:...
scored early for Portugal, but Albania quickly equalized with a goal from
Erjon BogdaniErjon Bogdani is an Albanian football striker. Bogdani plays for Chievo Verona, in Italian Serie A and the Albanian national team.-Career:...
. However, with just a few seconds left in the game,
Bruno AlvesBruno Eduardo Regufe Alves is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for F.C. Porto as a central defender...
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.
Current squad
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
Recent call-ups
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
Coaching staff
http://www.fshf.org/ekipi.html
{|
|-
|
Head Coach|| Croatia
Josip Kuže Josip Kuže is a Croatian football coach and former player. He was a player and later coach of Dinamo Zagreb where he played from 1971-1981 making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals...
|-
|
Assistant Coach|| Bosnia
Džemal MustedanagićDžemal Mustedanagić is a retired Bosnia and Herzegovina football defender who was capped for SFR Yugoslavia. He is now a coach.-External links:* *...
|-
|
Goalkeeping Coach|| Albania Ilir Bozhiqi
|-
|
Team Doctor|| Albania Arben Çeliku
|- valign=top
|rowspan=3|
Physios|| Belgium Stijn Vandenbroucke
|-
| Albania Ylli Mihali
|}
FIFA World Cup qualification (Group 1)
The
Albania national football team is the national
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
team of
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
and is controlled by the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
. 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
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
in 1946. In 1932, Albania had already joined
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
(during the congress June 12 — June 16) and in 1954, it was one of the founding members of
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym 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
U21The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
,
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
,
U17The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
and
U15The Albania national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-17 and now also under-15 football teams of Albania and are controlled by the Football Association of Albania....
level. One of the most successful is the feeder of the senior team, the U21 level. In the finals of the
Euro 1984 U21The UEFA U-21 Championship 1984, which spanned two years , had 30 entrants. Albania, Iceland and Wales competed in the competition for the first time. England U-21s won the competition for the second time running....
championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out by
ItalyThe Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
. 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-BoriçiLoro Borici stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Shkodër, Albania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Vllaznia Shkodër. The stadium holds 16,000 spectators and was reconstructed in 2001. It is named in honour of Loro Boriçi, famous player in 1940s and 1950s...
stadiumA modern stadium is a place, or venue, for outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.-History of the stadium:The word originates from the Greek word...
in Shkodra, where they have had some successful matches, like beating
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
3–1 in a home
Euro 2004 qualifyingThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
match. There is a rumour that the
Football Association of AlbaniaThe Football Association of Albania is the governing body of football in Albania. It organizes the football's the league Albanian Superliga, Albania national football team, and Albania national under-21 football team and is based in Tirana....
is planning to build a stadium in
TiranaTirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. The Municipality of Tirana lies on the river Ishëm, about inland and is located at in Tirana District, Tirana County...
with a capacity of around 30,000.
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
has an official supporters' association, the
Tifozat Kuq e ZiTifozat 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 December 25, 2003...
who self-finance their activities using help from FSHF to arrange traveling and stadium visits for the matches.
In
December 2007December 2007 is the twelfth month of that year. It began on a Saturday and, 31 days later, ended on a Monday.-Portal:Current events:...
, Albanian Football Federation president Armand Duka announced
Arie HaanAdrianus Haan is a former Dutch football midfielder and the current manager of Chongqing Lifan, who scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Dutch national squad of the 1970s. At club level he enjoyed a successful career with AFC Ajax, R.S.C. Anderlecht, Standard Liège and PSV Eindhoven...
would replace Croatia's
Otto BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
as
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
head coach. He signed a two-year contract on January 4, 2008.
Albania started their 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
on September 6, 2008. They have been drawn in Group 1 with
SwedenThe Swedish national football team is the national football team of Sweden and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association.-History:...
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
,
HungaryThe Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. It has a rich and proud pedigree in the game and a rightful place in football annals as one of the first original footballing nations in continental Europe and an...
and
MaltaThe Malta national football team is the national football team of Malta and is controlled by the Malta Football Association. It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition and as of 12 October 2006 has won only four competitive matches...
. They currently have 1 more game in Sweden.
On March 14, 2008,
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
was suspended from international football (
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
and
UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations is the administrative and controlling body for European football. It is almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA ....
), due to heavy political interference in the FA. The suspension lasted 46 days.
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:
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Nr
! Against
! Played
! Won
! Drawn
! Lost
! GF
! GA
! GD
! % Won
|- bgcolor="#d0ffd0" align="center"
|-
|1|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|2|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || +1 || 50%
|-
|3|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 4 || -3 || 0%
|-
|4|| align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 1 || 17|| -16|| 0%
|-
|5|| align="left" | || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 2 || +3 || 75%
|-
|6|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|7|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 6 || -2 || 0%
|-
|8|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 0 || 50%
|-
|9|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 50%
|-
|10|| align="left" | || 11|| 2 || 4 || 5 || 8 || 15|| -7 || 18.18%
|-
|11|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|12|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0%
|-
|13|| align="left" | || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 9 || 6 || +3 || 25%
|-
|14|| align="left" | || 5 || 2 || 0 || 3 || 6 || 10|| -4 || 40%
|-
|15|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 1 || 6 || 3 || 18|| -15|| 12.25%
|-
|16|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 12|| -11|| 0%
|-
|17|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 50%
|-
|18|| align="left" | || 7 || 2 || 1 || 4 || 6 || 8 || -2 || 28.57%
|-
|19|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 6 || -6 || 0%
|-
|20|| align="left" | || 6 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 10|| -6 || 16.66%
|-
|21|| align="left" | || 10|| 3 || 1 || 6 || 8 || 16|| -8 || 30%
|-
|22|| align="left" | || 17|| 0 || 2 || 15|| 12|| 45|| -33|| 0%
|-
|23|| align="left" | || 13|| 4 || 3 || 6 || 10|| 13|| -3 || 30.76%
|-
|24|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 0 || 18|| -18|| 0%
|-
|25|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || -1 || 50%
|-
|26|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 1 || +2 || 100%
|-
|27|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 6 || 6 || 0 || 0%
|-
|28|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || +2 || 100%
|-
|29|| align="left" | || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5 || -2 || 33.33%
|-
|30|| align="left" | || 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 66.66%
|-
|31|| align="left" | || 7 || 4 || 2 || 1 ||12 || 3 || +9 || 57.14%
|-
|32|| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 4 || -4 || 0%
|-
|33|| align="left" | || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 2 || +4 || 100%
|-
|34|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 7 || -6 || 0%
|-
|35|| align="left" | || 8 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 12.5%
|-
|36|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 4 || -1 || 0%
|-
|37|| align="left" | || 11|| 1 || 3 || 7 || 7 || 14|| -7 || 9.09%
|-
|38|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 12|| -8 || 0%
|-
|39|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|40|| align="left" | || 13|| 2 || 1 || 10|| 7 || 38|| -31|| 15.38%
|-
|41|| align="left" | || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 5 || -1 || 50%
|-
|42|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || +3 || 100%
|-
|43|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 3 || -3 || 0%
|-
|44|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 2 || 24|| -22|| 0%
|-
|45|| align="left" | || 5 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 5 || 9 || -4 || 20%
|-
|46|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 3 || 7 || -4 || 0%
|-
|47|| align="left" | || 8 || 3 || 2 || 4 || 11|| 8 || +3 || 37.5%
|-
|48|| align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6 || -4 || 0%
|-
|49|| align="left" | || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || +5 || 100%
|-
|50|| align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 3 || -2 || 0%
|-
|51|| align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 13|| -9 || 0%
|-class="sortbottom"
! ||Total || 232 || 49 || 48 || 137 ||202||411||-209|| 21.12%
|}
History and Competitive Records
The early years oversaw a notably successful
Balkan CupThe Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming
YugoslaviaThe Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
on level points but a better
goal differenceIn sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
. 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-warWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
cup.
After taking part for the first time in
European ChampionshipsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
in 1963, for edition
1964The 1964 UEFA European Nations Cup was the second edition of the quadrennial European Football Championship, endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over defending champions Soviet Union....
, in the
1968 European qualifiersThe qualifying round for the 1968 European Football Championship consisted of 31 teams divided into eight groups; seven of four teams and one of three teams. Each group winner progressed to the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis...
, 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 PanoPanajot Pano is a former Albanian football player. He started his career as a goalkeeper in the SK Tirana youth academy but he became the most prolific centre-forward of their arch-rivals, KF Partizani...
.
The
1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 121 teams entered the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament. Mexico, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition...
brought further notable results with a 2–2 draw away to
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
and a 2–0 win over eventual semi-finalists
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
.
The qualifiers for the
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiersA total of 174 teams entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 12 December 1995 at Paris, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. This is the first time there would be 32 teams in the finals...
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 qualifiersThe finals of the UEFA Euro 2004, were held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA European Championship is a quadrennial football competition between national teams organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. It was the first time that the competition finals had been...
, Albania managed a 3–1 win against
RussiaThe Russia national football team is the national football team of Russia controlled by the Football Union of Russia and affiliated with UEFA. Guus Hiddink is currently managing the team....
in
ShkodërShkodër , is a city located on Lake Shkodër in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre...
. The
2006 World Cup qualifiersA total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition...
qualifiers saw Albania's results still further, the highlight being a 2–1 victory against the reigning
European ChampionsThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
,
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
.
Recently, the
U19The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
team, also known as
Shpresat (
The Team of Hopes), managed to qualify for the Elite round in the
Euro U19 2008The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played from 14 July to 26 July 2008. Players born...
, to be held in
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. In qualifying, they lost against
SpainThe Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Real Federación Española de Fútbol, the governing body for football in Spain....
(2–0), beat
SerbiaThe Serbia national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia...
(2–1) and drew with Lichtenstein (0–0).
Euro Cup 1964
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.
FIFA World Cup 1966 Qualification
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 IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
SwitzerlandThe Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland and is controlled by the Swiss Football Association....
. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||7||3
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||9||5
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
6||6||2||2||2||6||4
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
1||6||0||1||5||2||12
|}
Switzerland qualified.
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="60%" class=wikitable
!width=10|Pos
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Yugoslavia
!width=20|Germany
!width=20|Albania
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
| 1.
|align=left|
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 1 - 0
| 4 - 0
|
6
| 4
| 3
| 0
| 1
| 8
| 3
|- align="center"
| 2.
|align=left|
| 3 - 1
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
| 6 - 0
|
5
| 4
| 2
| 1
| 1
| 9
| 2
|- align="center"
| 3.
|align=left|
| 0 - 2
| 0 - 0
| bgcolor="#C0C0C0"|
|
1
| 4
| 0
| 1
| 3
| 0
| 12
|}
FIFA World Cup 1970
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1970.
UEFA Euro Cup 1972
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1972.
FIFA World Cup 1974
Albania was last of the class behind Finland in these qualifiers, 6 years after virtually no international matches.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6||5||0||1||18||3||15
|-
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6||4||1||1||17||4||13
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
3||6||1||1||4||3||21||-18
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||6||1||0||5||3||13||-10
|-
|}
East Germany qualified.
UEFA Euro Cup 1976
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1976.
FIFA World Cup 1978
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1978.
UEFA Euro Cup 1980
For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro Cup 1980.
FIFA World Cup 1982
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".
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
16||8||8||0||0||33||3||30
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
11||8||5||1||2||16||6||10
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||8||4||1||3||11||10||1
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||22||-18
|-
|
5
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
2||8||1||0||7||4||27||-23
|}
West Germany and
Austria qualified.
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
TurkeyThe Turkish national football team is the national football team of the Republic of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. They are affiliated with UEFA....
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 StafaQemal Stafa is a the largest soccer stadium in Tirana, Albania named after Qemal Stafa, a World War II hero. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has 19,600 seats...
, also losing to
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
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.
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="30%" class=wikitable
!width=200|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 15
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
11
| 8
| 5
| 1
| 2
| 8
| 5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
9
| 8
| 4
| 1
| 3
| 15
| 10
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
7
| 8
| 3
| 1
| 4
| 8
| 16
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
2
| 8
| 0
| 2
| 6
| 4
| 14
|}
FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualification
In a 4-team group, Albania got 4 points with one win and 2 draws. After losing to
BelgiumThe Belgium national football team is the national football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association.-History:...
in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, Albania were visitors in eventual group winners
PolandThe Poland national football team is the national football team of Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Football Association ....
. 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
GreeceThe Greece national football team represents Greece in international football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European...
away and Poland at home, Albania got its last point in its last game against neighbour rivals Greece in a 1–1 draw.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||10||6||4
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||6||3||2||1||7||3||4
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6||1||2||3||6||9||-3
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
4||6||1||2||3||5||10||-5
|}
Poland qualified.
Belgium advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.
UEFA Euro Cup 1988
All 6 matches ended up in losses for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
in this campaign. The group proved to be too strong for
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
that managed to score only two goals in the entire campaign.
{|
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"
|-
!width=180|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20W
!width=20D
!width=20L
!width=20GF
!width=20GA
!width=20GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
10||6 | 5 0 1 14 6 +8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
9||6 | 4 1 1 13 3 +10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
5||6 | 2 1 3 6 9 -3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
0||6 | 0 0 6 2 17 -15
|}
|
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;"
-
!
!ALB
!
AUTThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
!
ROMThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
!
ESPThe Spanish national football team represents Spain in international football and is controlled by the . The majority of Spain's matches are held at stadia in Madrid and Valencia. The Spanish side are commonly referred to as La Furia Roja .Spain are the current European champions, having won the...
-
!Albania
XXX
0-1
0-1
1-2
-
!
AustriaThe Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
3-0
XXX
0-0
2-3
-
!
RomaniaThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
5-1
4-0
XXX
3-1
-
!
SpainThe Spanish national football team represents Spain in international football and is controlled by the . The majority of Spain's matches are held at stadia in Madrid and Valencia. The Spanish side are commonly referred to as La Furia Roja .Spain are the current European champions, having won the...
5-0
2-0
1-0
XXX
-
}
|}
FIFA World Cup 1990 Qualification
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left"|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
1
|align="left"|
|6||4||2||0||9||3||6||
10
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
2
|align="left"|
|6||3||3||0||10||0||10||
9
|-
|
3
|align="left"|
|6||2||1||3||4||8||-4||
5
|-
|
4
|align="left"|
|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.
UEFA Euro Cup 1992 Qualification
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. To mention that the match was played in a very difficult time for Albania when few had their minds on sports.
FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualification
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left"|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
1
|align="left"|
|12||8||3||1||27||4||+23||
19
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|
2
|align="left"|
|12||7||4||1||19||6||+13||
18
|-
|
3
|align="left"|
|12||7||4||1||15||2||+13||
18
|-
|
4
|align="left"|
|12||5||3||4||14||13||+1||
13
|-
|
5
|align="left"|
|12||2||3||7||8||21||-13||
7
|-
|
6
|align="left"|
|12||0||5||7||4||21||-17||
5
|-
|
7
|align="left"|
|12||1||2||9||6||26||-20||
4
|}
Spain and
Republic of Ireland qualified.
UEFA Euro 1996 Qualification
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 (
MoldovaThe Moldova national football team is the national football team of Moldova under the auspice of the Football Association of Moldova. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Georgia on July 2, 1991....
) as guests in an international qualifier campaign.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=180 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
25
| 10
| 8
| 1
| 1
| 27
| 10
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
22
| 10
| 7
| 1
| 2
| 24
| 10
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
15
| 10
| 5
| 0
| 5
| 14
| 13
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
9
| 10
| 3
| 0
| 7
| 11
| 27
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
8
| 10
| 2
| 2
| 6
| 10
| 16
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
8
| 10
| 2
| 2
| 6
| 9
| 19
|}
FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification
In the 1998 World Cup, Albania was drawn in a 6-team group which included
GermanyThe German national football team is the football team representing the country of Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association DFB which was founded in 1900....
,
PortugalThe Portuguese national football team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , finishing 4th at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The first appearance in the 1966 FIFA World Cup saw them reach the semifinal, losing 2 – 1 at Wembley to the eventual world champions England. Portugal finished in...
,
UkraineThe Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After the split of the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on April 29, 1992....
,
Northern IrelandThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. Before 1921, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
and
ArmeniaThe Armenia national football team is the national football team of Armenia and is controlled by the Football Federation of Armenia. After the split of the Soviet Union, the team played its first international match against Moldova on October 12, 1992....
, 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 5tie against Armenia.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=30|Rank
!width=165 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|
1
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
22||10||6||4||0||23||9||12
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|
2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
20||10||6||2||2||10||6||4
|-
|
3
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
19||10||5||4||1||12||4||8
|-
|
4
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
8||10||1||5||4||8||17||-9
|-
|
5
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
7||10||1||4||5||6||10||-4
|-
|
6
|style="text-align:left;"|
|
4||10||1||1||8||7||20||-13
|}
UEFA Euro 2000 Championship
In a relatively easy group, Albania couldn't go past one single victory at home turf at the expense of
GeorgiaThe Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union...
. However there were some memorable draws againts 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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=180 style="text-align:left;"|Team
!width=20|Pts
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
|- bgcolor=#C0FFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
25
| 10
| 8
| 1
| 1
| 21
| 9
| +12
|- bgcolor=#FFFFC0 align="center"
|align=left|
|
17
| 10
| 5
| 2
| 3
| 12
| 14
| -2
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
15
| 10
| 4
| 3
| 3
| 13
| 8
| +5
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
13
| 10
| 3
| 4
| 3
| 13
| 12
| +1
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
7
| 10
| 1
| 4
| 5
| 8
| 14
| -6
|- align="center"
|align=left|
|
5
| 10
| 1
| 2
| 7
| 8
| 18
| -10
|}
FIFA World Cup 2002qualification
After a loss to
FinlandThe Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of 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.
{| class="wikitable" border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0
|-
|colspan=10 align=center|
Final table
|colspan=7|
|colspan=7 align=center bgcolor=yellow|
Home
|colspan=7 align=center|
Away
|-
!bgcolor="#efefef"|Rank
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="160"|Team
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GD
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
!bgcolor="#efefef"|
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|ENG
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GER
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|FIN
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GRE
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|ALB
!bgcolor="#efefef"|
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pld
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|W
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|D
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|L
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GF
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|GA
!bgcolor="#efefef" width="20"|Pts
|- align=center bgcolor=#ccffcc
|1.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center bgcolor=#ffebad
|2.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|3.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|4.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|5.
|align=left|
|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
|- align=center
|}
UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifications
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 DossenaGiuseppe Dossena is an Italian football manager and former player. Dossena began his playing career for Torino, being successively even capped for the 1982 FIFA World Cup...
for the first two matches and
Hans-Peter BriegelHans-Peter Briegel is a former German football player and manager.One of the most popular players in his days, Hans-Peter Briegel's original sport was athletics, being successful in various events such as long jump , triple jump and specifically in heptathlon-forerunner pentathlon...
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 IrelandThe Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in Association Football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Croke Park in Dublin....
0–0 and beat Georgia 3–1. Away Albania got 0 points, but managed to score 4 goals.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|Pts
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||4||3||1||15||11||
15
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||4||2||2||19||12||
14
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||3||2||3||10||11||
11
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||2||2||4||11||15||
8
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|8||2||1||5||8||14||
7
|}
Switzerland qualified.
Russia and
Ireland advanced to the Play-offs.
FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification
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
GeorgiaThe Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union...
away and
DenmarkThe Denmark national football team is controlled by the Danish Football Association and has represented the country of Denmark in international football competitions since 1908...
at home, before returning to winning ways by beating
KazakhstanThe Kazakhstan national football team is the national football team of Kazakhstan and is controlled by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan. After gaining independence, they played their first match against Turkmenistan on June 1, 1992...
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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=165|Team
!width=20|Pld
!width=20|W
!width=20|D
!width=20|L
!width=20|GF
!width=20|GA
!width=20|GD
!width=20|Pts
|- style="background:#ccffcc;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||7||4||1||18||7||+11||
25
|- style="background:#ffebad;"
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||5||1||23||9||+14||
23
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||4||2||24||12||+12||
22
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||6||3||3||15||9||+6||
21
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||4||1||7||11||20||-9||
13
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||2||4||6||14||25||-11||
10
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|
|12||0||1||11||6||29||-23||
1
|}
Ukraine qualified.
Turkey advanced to the UEFA Play-offs (see ranking of runners-up).
UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification
In the matches for the
2008 European qualifiers- Seedings :Qualification coefficients were used to rank the teams according to their results in both UEFA Euro 2004 and FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying stages. Only the group matches, and not any additional playoffs, counted towards the coefficients, also determining which pot a national team was...
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
BelarusThe Belarus national football team is the national football team of Belarus and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belarus. After the split of Soviet Union, they played their first match against Lithuania on July 20, 1992 and had their first win in a match versus Luxembourg on October 12,...
, two wins against
LuxembourgThe Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. It plays most of its home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg City.- History :...
home and away (2–0, 5-0) and a 0–0 draw away to
BulgariaThe Bulgaria national football team is the national football team of Bulgaria and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. Bulgaria's best World Cup performance was in the 1994 World Cup in USA, where they beat defending champions Germany to reach the semi-finals, losing to Italy, and...
have been the most cherished results. Great matches have been played against
NetherlandsThe Netherlands national football team is the national football team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association. It won Euro 88 and reached two consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both finals to their respective host nations, West Germany...
in both legs, although allegedly dubious referee decisions have marred Albania's performances, ending up in two losses (2–1, 0–1). Other set-backs have also been suffered after drawing 0–0 against
SloveniaThe Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. They played their first match in 1992 after the split of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991...
and losing 0–2 to
RomaniaThe Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
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 BarićOtto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
and his assistant.
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
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 DallkuArmend Dallku is an Albanian footballer, playing as a defender for Vorskla Poltava in the Ukrainian Premier League and the Albanian national team.-Club career:...
and another from
Klodian Duro{Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth = {Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth =...
. On October 11 however, the Albanians lost to Hungary 2-0 in
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s...
. But surprised the world by tying 0-0 with Portugal in
BragaBraga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and one of the major cities of the country...
. On February 11, Albania could only be able to Malta who fought hard at
Ta'QaliTa' Qali is a village in Malta, a wide open space in the middle of Malta containing the national stadium, Ta' Qali National Park and a national vegetable market which is locally known as the Pitkalija....
. 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 AlmeidaHugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for SV Werder Bremen in the German League, as a striker.-Club career:...
scored early for Portugal, but Albania quickly equalized with a goal from
Erjon BogdaniErjon Bogdani is an Albanian football striker. Bogdani plays for Chievo Verona, in Italian Serie A and the Albanian national team.-Career:...
. However, with just a few seconds left in the game,
Bruno AlvesBruno Eduardo Regufe Alves is a Portuguese footballer who currently plays for F.C. Porto as a central defender...
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.
Current squad
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
Recent call-ups
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
|-----
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" |
|----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
Coaching staff
http://www.fshf.org/ekipi.html
{|
|-
|
Head Coach|| Croatia
Josip Kuže Josip Kuže is a Croatian football coach and former player. He was a player and later coach of Dinamo Zagreb where he played from 1971-1981 making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals...
|-
|
Assistant Coach|| Bosnia
Džemal MustedanagićDžemal Mustedanagić is a retired Bosnia and Herzegovina football defender who was capped for SFR Yugoslavia. He is now a coach.-External links:* *...
|-
|
Goalkeeping Coach|| Albania Ilir Bozhiqi
|-
|
Team Doctor|| Albania Arben Çeliku
|- valign=top
|rowspan=3|
Physios|| Belgium Stijn Vandenbroucke
|-
| Albania Ylli Mihali
|}
FIFA World Cup qualification (Group 1)
----
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Managerial History
- Ljubiša Broćić
Ljubiša Broćić was a Yugoslavian football manager.Over the course of his career he was at the helm of some of the top European sides: Red Star Belgrade, PSV Eindhoven, Juventus, and FC Barcelona. He also was the manager of Al-Nasr in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Albania, Kuwait's and Bahrain's...
- Adem Karapici
- Sllave Llambi
Sllave Llambi is a former Albanian football midfielder....
- Ludovik Jakova
- Myslim Alla
- Miklos Vadas
- Loro Boriçi
Loro Boriçi was an Albanian football player most famous in 1940s and 1950s.In his career he played mostly for Partizan Tirana and FC Vllaznia. He was also captain of Albania national football team in 1949 and played in Italian Serie A with S.S. Lazio...
- Nikolai Mihailovic Luksinov
- Zyber Konçi
- Ilia Shuke
- Shyqyri Rreli
- Agron Sulaj
- Bejkush Birçe
- Agron Sulaj
- Bejkush Birçe
- Neptun Bajko
- Astrit Hafizi
- Medin Zhega
Medin Zhega is a former Albanian football striker, who played in the 1970s. He was born in Shkodra, Albania in January 31, 1946. Firstly he played for "Vllaznia" the football team of Shkodra , then he went to "Dinamo" Tirana and he concluded his career at the team of Vllaznia. During his career he...
- Sulejman Demollari
Sulejman Demollari is a former football player and later on the coach for the Albania national football team. He made 45 appearances for Albania, the eleventh highest in the teams history. From 1983 to 1995 he made played 45 matches and scored one goal for Albania....
- Giuseppe Dossena
Giuseppe Dossena is an Italian football manager and former player. Dossena began his playing career for Torino, being successively even capped for the 1982 FIFA World Cup...
- Hans-Peter Briegel
Hans-Peter Briegel is a former German football player and manager.One of the most popular players in his days, Hans-Peter Briegel's original sport was athletics, being successful in various events such as long jump , triple jump and specifically in heptathlon-forerunner pentathlon...
- Otto Baric
Otto Barić is an Austrian football manager of Croat ethnicity.-1970s to 1980s:Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West German club Germania Wiesbaden and moved after one season to Austrian club Wacker Innsbruck, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions...
- Arie Haan
Adrianus Haan is a former Dutch football midfielder and the current manager of Chongqing Lifan, who scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Dutch national squad of the 1970s. At club level he enjoyed a successful career with AFC Ajax, R.S.C. Anderlecht, Standard Liège and PSV Eindhoven...
- Josip Kuze
Josip Kuže is a Croatian football coach and former player. He was a player and later coach of Dinamo Zagreb where he played from 1971-1981 making a total of 384 appearances and scoring 14 goals...
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):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!No!!Name!!Games!!Goals!!First game (age)!!Last game (age)
|-
|1||
Altin LalaAltin Lala is an Albanian footballer, currently playing for German Bundesliga team Hannover 96.-Club career:The defensive midfielder began his football career as a youth at SK Tirana before moving to Germany with the third flight side Borussia Fulda in January 1994.-Hannover 96:On 21 July 1998, he...
*||73 ||3 ||1998 ||3-28-2009 (33)
|-
|2||
Foto StrakoshaFotaq 'Foto' Strakosha in Tepelena, Albania, is a former Albanian goalkeeper of Ethnic Greek descent. However, he is one of Albania's most popular goalkeepers and was the captain of the national team for a number of years, who holds the record for the most caps for with 73 caps.-Career:Strakosha...
||73 ||0 ||5-30-1990 ||08-13-2004 (39)
|-
|3||
Igli TareIgli Tare is an Albanian former football striker. He is currently the technical area coordinator of Lazio.-Career:...
||68||10||1997 || 7-2-2007 (33)
|-
|4||
Alban BushiAlban Bushi is an Albanian footballer who plays for Levadiakos F.C. in the Greek Super League.-Club career:...
*||67 ||14 ||1995 ||17-11-2007 (34)
|-
|5||
Altin HaxhiAltin Haxhi is an Albanian footballer. He currently plays in defence for APOEL F.C. . APOEL FC signed him in the January 2008 transfer window.-Club career:...
*||65 ||3 ||1995 ||21-11-2007 (32)
|-
|6||
Altin RraklliAltin Rraklli is a retired Albanian footballer, who played as a forward.-Football career:Rraklli began his career in 1987 with KS Besa Kavajë, moving to the professionals three years later...
||63 ||11 ||1992 ||30-3-2005 (34)
|-
|7||
Rudi VataRudi Vata is a former Albanian footballer who played as a defender.Vata's career in Western football began in France in 1991, when the KS Dinamo Tirana player claimed political asylum following an international match.He played for Le Mans Union Club 72 and Tours FC, before playing for Celtic...
||59 ||5 ||30-5-1990 (21)||1-9-2001 (32)
|-
|8||
Ervin SkelaErvin Skela is an Albanian footballer currently playing for TuS Koblenz in Germany.-Albania:Skela started his playing career in Albania, from a young age he was involved in football. He started his professional career with his local team KS Flamurtari Vlorë, who at the time were one of the best...
*||53 ||12 ||2000 (23)||12-8-2008 (32)
|-
|9||
Klodian Duro{Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth = {Football player infobox| playername = Klodian Duro| image =| fullname = Klodian Duro| dateofbirth = | cityofbirth =...
*||50 ||3 ||2000 (22)||10-9-2008 (31)
|-
|10||
Arjan XhumbaArjan Xhumba is a former Albanian footballer. He has 48 appearances for Albanian national team.-Career:* 1987-1992 : KS Luftetari Gjirokaster* 1992-1994 : PAS Giannina* 1994-1997 : AO Kalamata...
||48 ||0 ||1992 ||2002
|-
|}
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):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!No!!Name!!Goals!!First game !!Last game
|-
|1||
Alban BushiAlban Bushi is an Albanian footballer who plays for Levadiakos F.C. in the Greek Super League.-Club career:...
||14 ||1995 ||2007
|-
|2||
Ervin SkelaErvin Skela is an Albanian footballer currently playing for TuS Koblenz in Germany.-Albania:Skela started his playing career in Albania, from a young age he was involved in football. He started his professional career with his local team KS Flamurtari Vlorë, who at the time were one of the best...
*||12 ||2000 ||2009
|-
|3||
Erjon BogdaniErjon Bogdani is an Albanian football striker. Bogdani plays for Chievo Verona, in Italian Serie A and the Albanian national team.-Career:...
*||12 ||1996 ||2009
|-
|4||
Altin RraklliAltin Rraklli is a retired Albanian footballer, who played as a forward.-Football career:Rraklli began his career in 1987 with KS Besa Kavajë, moving to the professionals three years later...
||11 ||1992 ||2005
|-
|5||
Sokol KushtaSokol Kushta was an Albanian football player. Kushta was a striker who made 31 caps for Albania and scored 10 goals for the national team. He played in Greece for Iraklis Thessaloniki and Apollon Kalamarias, in Cyprus for Ethnikos Achnas and Olympiakos Nicosia and in Albania for Flamurtari Vlorë...
||10 ||1987 ||1996
|-
|6||
Igli TareIgli Tare is an Albanian former football striker. He is currently the technical area coordinator of Lazio.-Career:...
||10 ||1997 ||2007
|-
|7||
Adrian AliajAdrian Aliaj is an Albanian football defender who plays for NK Solin in Croatia.-Club career:Adrian Aliaj started his career at FK Partizani in Albania where he made his first team debut at the young age of 16. He then left for Hannover 96 in 1995 then moved to Croatia the season later...
||8 ||2002 ||2006
|-
|8||
Loro BoriciLoro Boriçi was an Albanian football player most famous in 1940s and 1950s.In his career he played mostly for Partizan Tirana and FC Vllaznia. He was also captain of Albania national football team in 1949 and played in Italian Serie A with S.S. Lazio...
||6 ||1946 ||1958
|-
|9||
Edmond KapllaniEdmond Kapllani is an Albanian footballer who currently plays as a striker for FC Augsburg in the German 2nd Bundesliga.-Club career:...
*||6 ||2004 ||2008
|-
|10||Regip Babamusta||6 ||1940 ||1945
|-
|}
Senior team
- Winners of VIII Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
(TiranaTirana is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. The Municipality of Tirana lies on the river Ishëm, about inland and is located at in Tirana District, Tirana County...
, October 1946)
- Winners of Rothmans Football International Tournament (Valletta
Valletta is the capital city of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta and the city proper has a population of 6,315....
, February 4 — February 10, 2000)
Albania U-23
- 3rd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1969 in RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
- 3rd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1970 in BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
- 2nd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1974 in RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
Albania U-21
- 3rd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1976 in GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
- Winners of Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1978 (home-away matches)
- Winners of Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1981 in GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
Albania U-18
- 2nd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1979 in BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
- 3rd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1985 in GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
- 3rd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1987 in TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
- 2nd place in Adriatic Tournament 1990 in Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
- 2nd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1990 in GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
- 3rd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
1995 in TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
Albania U-15
- Winners of Beato Annibale Maria di Francia Tournament 1996 in Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
- 3rd place in Balkan Cup
The Balkan Cup was an international football tournament played on and off between 1929 and 1980 between countries from the Balkan region. The first tournament was played between Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria over 3 years from 1929 to 1931....
2001 in Albania
World Cup record
- 1930
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the first FIFA World Cup, the world championship for international football teams. It was played in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July...
to 1962The 1962 FIFA World Cup, the seventh staging of the World Cup, was held in Chile from 30 May to 17 June. Chile was chosen as host by FIFA in June 1956, as the World Cup returned to the continent of South America after 12 years...
- Did not enter
- 1966
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England was chosen as hosts by FIFA in August 1960 to celebrate the centenary of the codification of football in England...
- Did not qualify
- 1970
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. Mexico was chosen as hosts by FIFA in October 1964. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of...
- Entry not accepted by FIFA
- 1974
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. West Germany had been chosen in July 1966 as hosts by FIFA. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio...
- Did not qualify
- 1978
The 1978 FIFA World Cup, the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Argentina between 1 June and 25 June. Argentina was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1966. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time in the final...
- Did not enter
- 1982
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. Spain was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1966. This World Cup was won by Italy, who beat West Germany 3-1 in the final. With their third World Cup title , Italy drew level with Brazil as the most...
to 2010The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international football tournament. It is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010 in South Africa. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved...
- Did not qualify
European Championship record
- 1960 - Did not enter
- 1964 to 1972 - Did not qualify
- 1976 - Did not enter
- 1980 to 2008 - Did not qualify
Fifa Ranking
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Rank
! Date
|-
| Worst Ever Rank
| 124
| August 1997
|-
| Best Ever Rank
| 62
| August 2006
|-
| Current Rank
| 94
| August 2009
|}
See also
- Kategoria superiore
The Albanian Superliga , the highest level of association football in Albania, was founded in 1930 under the name Kategoria e Pare ....
- 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...
- Albania national under-20 football team
- Albania national under-19 football team
The Albania national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Albania controlled by Football Association of Albania-Results:08.10.2008 England - Albania 3:010.10.2008 Serbia - Albania 5:0...
- Albania national under-17 football team
- Latest Squad : Updated from UEFA European under-17 Championship 2009...
- List of Albanian footballers
External links