Albania – Squad, fixtures, odds and predictions

Albania – European Football Championship Overview

Albania is one of the smaller footballing nations. It has been a struggle to establish themselves on the international stage and they have done relatively well with few resources. They have not yet managed to qualify for the World Cup Finals and have only qualified for the finals of the Euros once before, in 2016, where they exited at the group stage. Albania’s only win came against Romania with Armando Sadiku’s goal in the 43rd minute securing a 1-0 victory.

Some of the most prominent Albanian players of all time include Lorik Cana, a former midfielder and defender who had a successful career in European leagues and represented Albania at international level. Another notable player is Erjon Bogdani, a striker known to be one of Albania’s all-time top goalscorers.

Other players worth mentioning are Ansi Agolli, a defensive player who has had a significant role in the national team, and Taulant Xhaka, a midfielder who has also represented the country at international level. Although Albania has not produced a large number of world-renowned footballers, these players have been important to the national team and have contributed to its development and achievements at the international level.

Ahead of the European Championship finals in Germany in 2024, which will be the nation’s second, Albania face a tough group, having been drawn against Spain , Italy and Croatia in Group B ?

How did Albania qualify for the European Championship?

Albania won qualifying Group E, an achievement which will rank pretty highly in their history. Albania overcame Poland, the Czech Republic, Moldova and the Faroe Islands to finish top with a total of 15 points recorded, the same as the runners-up Czech Republic, but the Albanians were better in head-to-head matches and also had a better goal difference. They scored 12 goals and conceded four, which shows that Albania are solid and diffiicult to break down, but do not score a lot of goals themselves. Only two of eight matches reached over 2.5 goals and in five of eight matches Albania kept a clean sheet.

Albania Euro 2024 Squad

Sylvinho has been in charge of the Albanian men’s national football team since 2023. He has proved to be popular and oversaw an excellent qualifying campaign. Winning the EC qualifying group before the clearly higher ranked Czech Republic and Poland was clearly surprising and in a total of eight matches there was only one loss. On paper, Albania’s EC squad is far from as star-studded as that of Spain, Italy and Croatia, but in the qualifiers they showed strength with a disciplined defensive game and quick transitions.

Sylvinho, who was coached by Arsene Wenger for a couple of seasons, has been inspired a lot by the Frenchman’s style of play. An offensive style of play based on quick passes, mobility and creativity in attacking play. Notable in the Albanian squad, non of the players are based in Albania.

Key players

Here we have listed three of the key players in the Albanian Euro 2024 squad:

• Kristjan Asllani – A dynamic midfielder with an impressive work-rate and excellent technical skills. Asllani is an all-round player who can function both as a defensive midfielder and as a creative playmaker. His ability to win the ball and distribute the play makes him important to both club team Inter and Albania.
• Berat Djimsiti – Djimstiti of Atalanta is a reliable defender with a strong presence and good positioning. The 31-year-old, who is now Albania’s team captain, is a physically strong player who is good in the air. His composure and experience in the back line is vital and helps Albania stay organised and hard to break down.
• Elseid Hysaj – The Lazio player is a reliable right-back with good defensive ability and the ability to contribute to the attack through his precise crosses. His speed, football intelligence and leadership on the pitch make him important in Albania’s defence.

Albania Odds at Euro 2024

At the time of writing, Albania are 250/1 to retain the tournament and 20/1 to win Group B with bet365, and are 11/2 to qualify for the round of 16 with BetUK. Albania, a nation of barely 3 million, are constantly battling against the odds. While they will probably not make it out of the group, the odds for them to qualify for the last 16 are quite attractive, given that they will be confident after their qualifying campaign and that they are a well drilled, well organisted side that doesn’t concede many goals.

Albania Euro 2024 Fixtures

These are the fixtures for Group B, with Albania’s matches highlighted, along with the pòtential dates for the knockout stages: