Albania national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Albania

Nickname(s)	Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks) Shqiponjat (The Eagles)
Association	Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit (FSHF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Sylvinho
Captain	Etrit Berisha
Most caps	Lorik Cana (93)
Top scorer	Erjon Bogdani (18)
Home stadium	Arena Kombëtare
FIFA code	ALB
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	61 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest	22 (August 2015)
Lowest	124 (August 1997)
Elo ranking
Current	79 20 (3 March 2019)
Highest	32 (1946)
Lowest	118 (December 1994)
First international
Albania 2–3 Yugoslavia  (Tirana, Albania; 7 October 1946)
Biggest win
Albania 5–0 Vietnam  (Bastia Umbra, Italy; 12 February 2003)  Albania 6–1 Cyprus  (Tirana, Albania; 12 August 2009)  Albania 5–0 San Marino  (Elbasan, Albania; 8 September 2021)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 12–0 Albania  (Budapest, Hungary; 24 September 1950)
European Championship
Appearances	1 (first in 2016)
Best result	Group stage (2016)
Medal record Men's football Balkan Cup Gold 1946 Albania Team Malta International Gold 2000 Albania Team

The Albania national football team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e futbollit të Shqipërisë) represents Albania in men's international football, and is governed by the Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania.

Albania competes in the three major international football tournaments; the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and UEFA Nations League. Albania was the winner of the 1946 Balkan Cup and the 2000 Malta Rothmans International Tournament. At Euro 2016, Albania made its second appearance at a major men's football tournament after 50 years.

Since its completion in 2019, Arena Kombëtare (English: National Arena), known as Air Albania Stadium for sponsorship reasons, has been the team's home ground. Albania's highest FIFA World Ranking was 22nd in August 2015.

The colours of the team are red, white and black, and the double headed eagle its symbol. Its supporters are collectively known as the Tifozët Kuq e Zi and display as well as the country's national flag colours, red and black.

In 2020, Albania won for the first time a group by finishing first in group 4 of UEFA Nations League C and has been promoted in UEFA Nations League B.

History

20th century

Commemorative stamp (2003) of the ninety years of the first unofficial match of the football nation of Albania.

Loro Boriçi captained the team in winning the 1946 Balkan Cup.

Manifest of the Fifth Albanian Football Spartakiad (1984).

Although it never played any matches, the Albania national football team existed before the Albanian Football Association (Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) was created on 6 June 1930. Albania joined FIFA during a congress held between 12 June and 16 June. Albania played its first international match against Yugoslavia in 1946, which ended in a 3–2 home defeat at Qemal Stafa Stadium. In 1946, Albania also participated for the first time in the Balkan Cup in which Albania won by beating Romania 1–0 in the final. In 1954, Albania was one of the founding members of UEFA. Albania waited until 1962 to compete in a Euro Cup competition and the only time Albania was between the best 16 teams of the Continent, the reason being Albania got past the first leg as Greece, for political reasons forfeited the game. At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe. Albania participated at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the Men's qualification tournament, and closely lost both matches against Bulgaria in the preliminary round. They would participate for the second and last time at the 1972 Summer Olympics in which they faced Romania at the Men's European Qualifiers in the Playoffs. Albania would lose both matches close with 2–1 in the first leg and 1–2 at home in the second leg.

Albania participated for the first time in a qualifying phrase of a World Cup in the qualifiers of the 1966 edition in England. The team was drawn in the Group 5 which finished in the last position with only one point from six matches. In the qualifiers, of the UEFA Euro 1968 Albania had a draw 0–0 against West Germany that denied the Germans the participation to the UEFA Euro 1968 finals. In later years, Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the World Cup 1970, UEFA Euro 1976, World Cup 1978 and UEFA Euro 1980 for unknown political reasons. After six years without playing any international matches, Albania entered in the qualifiers of the World Cup 1982, managing to finish in a place other than last for the first time in a qualifying match, with Finland getting last place instead. In the following qualification for the World Cup 1986 Albania were able to beat famously Belgium at home in Tirana with 2-0 as well as drawing away in Mielec against Poland with 2-2 despite leading until the end of this match. Their last point were won against Greece at home. Missing out close for their first ever FIFA World Cup as they finished third in the standings. The qualifiers of the World Cup 1990 were probably the worst qualifier in Albania's history as there were 6 losses in as many games with no memorable matches.

21st century

In the qualifiers of the World Cup 2002, Albania recorded a 2–0 win over Greece which was the only team that they beat during the qualifiers. Albania was able to make some impact in the qualifying of the UEFA Euro 2004 by beating 3–1 Russia at Loro Boriçi Stadium. This match was also the debut of the German coach Hans-Peter Briegel who led Albania to an undefeated run at home matches. Despite the good results, Albania finished the group in the penultimate spot with only eight points. In the qualifiers of the World Cup 2006 Albania recorded some historical results. Two months after Greece beat Portugal to win the European Championship, Albania defeated Greece 2–1.

In the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 2008 Albania won twice in both matches against Luxembourg. Albania also drew 2–2 with Belarus and 0–0 away with Bulgaria. Albania's Euro campaign ended with a 6–1 loss away to Romania which resulted in the resignation of the coach Otto Barić and his assistant. In December 2007, Arie Haan was named Albania's head coach by signing a two-year contract for the qualifiers of the World Cup 2010, where Albania made a very negative performance by winning only one match. Albania won only seven points from ten matches and Haan was replaced by Josip Kuže in May 2009 following the end of the campaign. However, Kuže couldn't lead Albania to the better results as the team ended the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 2012 with only nine points from ten matches. With Kuže in charge, Albania recorded its second biggest win the history by defeating Cyprus 6–1 at home, equal with Albania's 5–0 victory over Vietnam in 2003.

The team of Albania took the field with the second shirt against Austria on 26 March 2016.

Josip Kuže parted ways with Albania three and a half years after he started the job, and in December 2011, Italian coach Gianni de Biasi replaced him. Albania started the qualifiers and was, at one point, 2nd in group with six matches played and four to spare, but failed to be successful in the last four, losing away in Slovenia and Iceland, as well as at home against Switzerland, and drawing in Cyprus. Albania started the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 2016 with an emphatic 1–0 away win against Portugal, which was followed by a 1–1 draw against Denmark at the newly renovated stadium Elbasan Arena. After beating Armenia 3–0 in the last qualifying match, Albania made history by qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2016, its first appearance at a major men's football tournament after 50 years. In the tournament itself, Albania lost 0–1 to Switzerland and 0–2 to hosts France. While they beat Romania 1–0 (their first win against Romania since 1947), the team finished last among the third-placed teams and didn't progress beyond the group stage.

Following the almost successful UEFA European Championship's, Albania suffered massive setback. In 2018 World Cup qualification, Albania failed to qualify and finished in 3rd, which was, however, their best result in history. During this era, their successful manager, Gianni De Biasi, resigned and Christian Panucci, another Italian, replaced him as coach of Albania. However, things were little improved. Albania played poorly in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, winning only to Israel 1–0 and lost the remaining three, especially the devastating 0–4 defeat to Scotland at home. Panucci would be sacked after a 0–2 defeat to Turkey in the opening campaign for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. Another Italian, Edoardo Reja, was appointed to help Albania to improve in a tough group, but improvement is still very little. Albania failed to qualify to UEFA Euro 2020, archiving just a disappointing 4th place.

Team image

Nicknames

The Albania national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Kuq e Zinjtë" ("The Red and Blacks") and "Shqiponjat" ("The Eagles"). In addition to the official nickname, the Albania national team had another nickname as:

• "Kosova B" ("Kosovo B") — During the period before 2016, the national teams of Albania and Kosovo have exchanged players with each other, which influenced these two teams to be nicknamed reserve (B) teams of each other, the Albania national team which was nicknamed Kosovo B due to of the large number of players of Kosovo Albanian descent in its composition, but the same thing happened with the Kosovo national team was nicknamed Albania B due to many players came to play for Kosovo as they had no space to play for Albania.

Kits

Albania home kit at 2016–17 season.

Albania' colours are red and black, mirroring the nation's flag. The team typically wears red shirts, black shorts and red socks. Away kits are usually all-white, with red and black trim. In the 2000s, Albania signed with German sportswear company Puma and was the first kit supplier of Albania in the 21st century. On 29 January 2016, Albania signed Italian sportswear company Macron, which continues to be Albania's kit.

Kit sponsorship

Kit supplier	Period	Contract
		Announcement	Duration
Puma	2000–2005
Nike, Inc.	2005–2010
Adidas	2010–2016
Macron	2016–present	26 January 2016	2016–2022
		9 June 2022	2022–2027

Home stadium

Construction of Arena Kombëtare in the city center, 2019

Albania's main stadium for most part of the history was Qemal Stafa Stadium located in Tirana. The work started in April 1939 during the Italy regime. The construction lasted for three years but it stopped briefly in August 1943 following the fall of fascist regime. The stadium had an Olympic Stadium shape, as idealized by Gherardo Bosio, a young fascist architect from Florence, Italy. The stadium's initial capacity was 15,000, this due to the fact that Tirana at that time had only 60,000 inhabitants. It was named after Qemal Stafa, a Hero of Albania in World War II. The stadium was inaugurated officially on 7 October 1946 when Albania played its first competitive match against Yugoslavia. Ever since then, further 130 international matches took place in the stadium, with the last being a friendly against Georgia in November 2015. In 2005, Cecilia de Marco and Elisabetta Lorusso, two young Italian students, called the stadium as "one of the strongest symbols of Italian impact in Albania". In November 2013, Qemal Stafa Stadium was shut down by FIFA for not fulfilling international standards. The stadium's demolition started in June 2016, and it was announced that is going to be replaced by Arena Kombëtare.

Albania sometimes has played home matches at other venues. Outside Tirana, the national team has played matches in Flamurtari Stadium in Vlorë, Tomori Stadium in Berat, Niko Dovana Stadium in Durrës, Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër and Elbasan Arena in Elbasan. In February 2014, due to Albania not having a stadium that fulfills international standards set by FIFA, the work for renovation of Elbasan Arena (at the time Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium) started. The work lasted for 7 months, and the stadium was inaugurated on 9 October when Albania played a friendly match against KF Elbasani under-19 squad; Albania won the match 17–0. The official inauguration occurred two days later in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Denmark.

The first international match at Loro Boriçi Stadium was played on 29 March 2003 against Russia, with Albania winning 3–1. In October 2014, Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, promised the reconstruction of the stadium. The stadium's construction started in May 2015 and finished in August 2016. In 2016–17, the stadium served temporary as the home of Kosovo national team, due to stadiums in Mitrovica and Pristina were under renovation and did not meet UEFA standards.

Albania national football team home stadiums
Nr. of matches	Image	Stadium	Capacity	Location	First match	Last match	Ref
131		Ex Qemal Stafa Stadium	25,000	Tirana, Albania	v.  Yugoslavia, 7 October 1946	v.  Georgia, 16 November 2015
18		Elbasan Arena	13,800	Elbasan, Albania	v.  Denmark, 11 October 2014	v.  San Marino, 8 September 2021
14		Arena Kombëtare	22,500	Tirana, Albania	v.  France, 17 November 2019	v.  Armenia, 19 November 2022
9		Loro Boriçi Stadium	20,200	Shkodër, Albania	v.  Russia, 29 March 2003	v.  Turkey, 22 March 2019
6		Niko Dovana Stadium	12,040	Durrës, Albania	v.  Uzbekistan, 11 August 2010	v.  Malta, 5 March 2014
2		Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes	19,336	Granada, Spain	v.  Ukraine, 29 March 1997	v.  Germany, 2 April 1997
1		Skënderbeu Stadium	12,343	Korçë, Albania	v.  FYR Macedonia, 17 November 2010
1		Tomori Stadium	17,890	Berat, Albania	v.  Cuba, 6 August 1988
1		Flamurtari Stadium	10,500	Vlorë, Albania	v.  Romania, 28 October 1987

Rivalries

Kosovo

This derby is otherwise known as Brotherly derby (Albanian: Derbi vëllazëror), also known as the Brotherly (Albanian: Vëllazërorja). The documented beginnings of this derby date back to the time during the World War II, respectively on 29 November 1942, where they played a friendly match as part of the celebrations for 30th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania and the match ended with a 2–0 win for Tirana, this derby is back 50 years after the first match, when the Football Federation of Kosovo signed a cooperation protocol with the Albanian Football Association and in the framework of this protocol it was decided to play on 14 February a friendly match between these two national teams, and this match ended with a 3–1 win for Albania.

Serbia

This football rivalry between Albania and Serbia is mainly due to historical tensions between the two countries. It has been described as "one of the fiercest rivalries in the world". During the Euro 2016 qualifying phase, the Serbian crowd were chanting "Kill, kill Albanians" and were throwing flares at the Albania team, after which there was a clash between the Serbia and Albania teams.

Supporters

A choreography of Tifozat Kuq e Zi in the national team's first match at Elbasan Arena against Denmark in October 2014.

Tifozat Kuq e Zi (English: Red and Black Fans, also known as the Albania National Football Team Supporters Club) is a non-profit football supporters' association for the Albania national football team and various national team sportive activities. It was founded on 25 December 2003. In cooperation with FSHF, it organises trips for football fans to visit games, and develops and sells merchandise to support itself and fund sporting related projects.

Tifozat Kuq e Zi stands firm in the political view that Albanians should share only one national team and have continuous aspirations to join in one state (Një Komb, Një Kombëtare), i.e. unification of Albania, Kosovo, etc. In this sense, TKZ is joined by different supporters' associations throughout Albanian-speaking regions mainly in Kosovo (Shqiponjat of Peja, Kuqezinjet e Jakoves of Gjakova, Plisat of Prishtina, Torcida of Mitrovica, etc.), North Macedonia (Ballistët of Tetovë, Ilirët of Kumanovë, Shvercerat of Shkupi, etc.) and in Albania itself (Ultras Guerrils of Partizani Tirana, Tirona Fanatics of KF Tirana, Vllaznit Ultras of Vllaznia Shkodër, Ujqërit e Deborës of Skënderbeu Korçë, Shqiponjat of KF Besa Pejë and many other different Albanian fans).

There are sports twinnings with some amateur football teams of the historic Albanian communities of Italy (Arbëreshë): in 2017, on the occasion of the Italy - Albania match played in Palermo (Sicily, Italy) for the World Cup qualifiers, the local team and the Municipality of Piana degli Albanesi welcomed the ambassador of the Republic of Albania, the official delegation of the Albanian football federation and numerous Albanian fans who also came from the Balkans, in a fraternal and sporting twinning Arbëreshë-Shqiptarë.

Albanian and Arbëreshë fans in Palermo (Sicily), for the Italy-Albania match of 24 March 2017, valid for the qualifiers for the Football World Cup.

The ongoing dispute between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Football Association of Albania has been seen as a political intrusion by FIFA and UEFA, which led to the banning of Albania from international sportive activities. FSHF president Armand Duka is highly unwanted by the TKZ who have numerously asked for his resignation believing he is responsible for internal corruption in the Albanian Football Association.

The TKZ have been praised by many different football players and managers, whom were not just Albanian. One example is with Switzerland's former coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld, who was astonished by how many Albanian fans turned up and how enthusiastic they were in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Switzerland and Albania where the Swiss won 2–0 thanks to goals from Gökhan Inler and Kosovo-born Xherdan Shaqiri. He didn't believe that there was 12,000 Albanian fans in the stands which was more than how many Swiss fans turned up for the game. He stated that "Albanian fans are fantastic and the most passionate fans I have ever seen". During that campaign, TKZ attended all games Albania played apart from a match against Cyprus in Nicosia and were also large in numbers in the away games to Slovenia in Maribor and Norway in Oslo.

Media coverage

Current Broadcaster Television channel Period Broadcast matches Qualifying Friendly SuperSport Albania N/A–present TV Klan 2022–present

Previous Broadcaster Television channel Period Albanian Radio Television until 2022 Radio Television of Kosovo RTK 1

Results and fixtures

      Win       Draw       Loss

2022

Friendly 26 March	Spain	2–1	Albania	Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain
19:45	F. Torres  75' Olmo  90'	https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18068	Uzuni  85'	Stadium: RCDE Stadium Attendance: 35,444 Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann (Malta)

Friendly 29 March	Albania	0–0	Georgia	Tirana, Albania
18:00		https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18079		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)

2022–23 Nations League 6 June	Iceland	1–1	Albania	Reykjavík, Iceland
20:45 (18:45; UTC±0)	Þorsteinsson  49'	https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2034448/	Seferi  30'	Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur Attendance: 4,033 Referee: Craig Pawson (England)

2022–23 Nations League 10 June	Albania	1–2	Israel	Tirana, Albania
20:45 (21:45; UTC+3)	Broja  45+2' (pen.)	https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2034481/	Solomon  57', 73'	Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 18,100 Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)

Friendly 13 June	Albania	0–0	Estonia	Tirana, Albania
18:00		https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18183		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Referee: Philip Farrugia (Malta)

2022–23 Nations League 24 September	Israel	2–1	Albania	Tel Aviv, Israel
20:45 (21:45; UTC+3)	Weissman  46' Baribo  90+1'	https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2034543/	Uzuni  88'	Stadium: Bloomfield Stadium Attendance: 29,200 Referee: Donatas Rumšas (Lithuania)

2022–23 Nations League 27 September	Albania	1–1	Iceland	Tirana, Albania
20:45	Lenjani  35'	https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2034569/	Anderson  90+7'	Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 8,800 Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (Spain)

Friendly 26 October	Saudi Arabia	1–1	Albania	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
16:30	Al-Shehri  43' (pen.)	https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18216	Balaj  47'	Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Adel Al Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Friendly 9 November	Qatar	1–0	Albania	Marbella, Spain
18:30	Ali  37' (pen.)	https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18249		Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella Attendance: 0 Referee: Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar)

Friendly 16 November	Albania	1–3	Italy	Tirana, Albania
20:45	Ismajli  16'	https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18210	Di Lorenzo  20' Grifo  25', 64'	Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Genc Nuza (Kosovo)

Friendly 19 November	Albania	2–0	Armenia	Tirana, Albania
17:30	Skuka  28' Asllani  64' (pen.)	https://eu-football.info/_match.php?id=18239		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (North Macedonia)

2023

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 27 March	Poland	v	Albania	Poland
20:45		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036321/

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 17 June	Albania	v	Moldova	Tirana, Albania
20:45		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036344/		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 20 June	Faroe Islands	v	Albania	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
20:45 (19:45 UTC+1)		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036368/		Stadium: Tórsvøllur

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 7 September	Czech Republic	v	Albania	Czech Republic
20:45		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036391/

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 10 September	Albania	v	Poland	Tirana, Albania
20:45		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036414/		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 12 October	Albania	v	Czech Republic	Tirana, Albania
20:45		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036436/		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 17 November	Moldova	v	Albania	Chişinău, Moldova
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036483/		Stadium: Zimbru Stadium

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying 20 November	Albania	v	Faroe Islands	Tirana, Albania
20:45		https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/match/2036506/		Stadium: Arena Kombëtare

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Sylvinho, the current head coach of Albania national football team.

Name	Role
Head coach	Sylvinho
Assistant coach(es)	Zabaleta, PabloPablo Zabaleta
	Dorival Guidoni
	Salihi, HamdiHamdi Salihi
	Bulku, ErvinErvin Bulku
Athletic coach(es)	Stermasi, TaulantTaulant Stermasi
	Kodra, EltonElton Kodra
Goalkeeping coach	Bozhiqi, IlirIlir Bozhiqi
Physiotherapist	Haxhia, AltinAltin Haxhia
Doctor	Stesina, GianlucaGianluca Stesina
Masseur	Voçi, ArzenArzen Voçi
Material base(s)	Salillari, EduardEduard Salillari
	Bulku, OsmanOsman Bulku
Osteopath	Llaperi, ArjanArjan Llaperi
Team manager	Babamusta, DritanDritan Babamusta
Video analyst	Rossi, Alarico MarcoAlarico Marco Rossi

Players

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Italy and Armenia, on 16 and 19 November 2022.
• Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2022 after the match against Armenia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Etrit Berisha (captain)	(1989-03-10) 10 March 1989 (age 34)	75	0	Torino
12	1GK	Gentian Selmani	(1998-03-09) 9 March 1998 (age 25)	4	0	Boluspor
23	1GK	Elhan Kastrati	(1997-02-02) 2 February 1997 (age 26)	2	0	Cittadella
4	2DF	Elseid Hysaj (vice-captain)	(1994-02-20) 20 February 1994 (age 29)	74	2	Lazio
3	2DF	Ermir Lenjani	(1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 34)	45	5	Ümraniyespor
18	2DF	Ardian Ismajli	(1996-09-30) 30 September 1996 (age 27)	30	2	Empoli
15	2DF	Marash Kumbulla	(2000-02-08) 8 February 2000 (age 23)	17	0	Roma
13	2DF	Enea Mihaj	(1998-07-05) 5 July 1998 (age 25)	13	0	Famalicão
6	2DF	Eneo Bitri	(1996-08-26) 26 August 1996 (age 27)	3	0	Partizani
25	2DF	Andi Hadroj	(1999-02-22) 22 February 1999 (age 24)	3	0	Partizani
5	2DF	Adrian Bajrami	(2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Benfica B
2	2DF	Erdenis Gurishta	(1995-04-24) 24 April 1995 (age 28)	2	0	Vllaznia
22	3MF	Amir Abrashi (3rd captain)	(1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 (age 33)	50	1	Grasshoppers
16	3MF	Ylber Ramadani	(1996-04-12) 12 April 1996 (age 27)	24	1	Aberdeen
7	3MF	Keidi Bare	(1997-08-28) 28 August 1997 (age 26)	23	2	Espanyol
14	3MF	Qazim Laçi	(1996-01-19) 19 January 1996 (age 27)	20	1	Sparta Prague
10	3MF	Nedim Bajrami	(1999-02-28) 28 February 1999 (age 24)	10	0	Empoli
8	3MF	Kristjan Asllani	(2002-03-09) 9 March 2002 (age 21)	7	1	Inter Milan
20	3MF	Enis Çokaj	(1999-02-23) 23 February 1999 (age 24)	5	0	Panathinaikos
17	3MF	Arbnor Muçolli	(1999-09-15) 15 September 1999 (age 24)	3	0	Vejle
26	4FW	Xhuliano Skuka	(1998-08-02) 2 August 1998 (age 25)	4	1	Partizani
24	4FW	Tedi Cara	(2000-04-15) 15 April 2000 (age 23)	2	0	Partizani
19	4FW	Ernest Muçi	(2001-03-19) 19 March 2001 (age 22)	2	0	Legia Warsaw

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Alen Sherri	(1997-12-15) 15 December 1997 (age 25)	1	0	Egnatia	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
GK	Mario Dajsinani	(1998-12-23) 23 December 1998 (age 24)	1	0	Laçi	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
GK	Arlis Shala	(2000-07-26) 26 July 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Drenica	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
GK	Endri Dema	(2004-04-17) 17 April 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Teuta	v.  Saudi Arabia, 26 October 2022PRE / U21
GK	Thomas Strakosha	(1995-03-19) 19 March 1995 (age 28)	21	0	Brentford	v.  Iceland, 27 September 2022
GK	Simon Simoni	(2004-07-14) 14 July 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Eintracht Frankfurt	v.  Estonia, 13 June 2022
GK	Angelo Tafa	(2000-07-05) 5 July 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Kukësi	v.  Iceland, 6 June 2022PRE / U21
DF	Berat Gjimshiti	(1993-02-19) 19 February 1993 (age 30)	48	1	Atalanta	v.  Italy, 16 November 2022CLUB
DF	Iván Balliu	(1992-01-01) 1 January 1992 (age 31)	8	0	Rayo Vallecano	v.  Italy, 16 November 2022CLUB
DF	Rudolf Turkaj	(1995-02-03) 3 February 1995 (age 28)	2	0	Laçi	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
DF	Esin Hakaj	(1996-12-06) 6 December 1996 (age 27)	2	0	Vllaznia	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
DF	Stivian Janku	(1997-06-23) 23 June 1997 (age 26)	2	0	Bylis	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
DF	Marsel Ismailgeci	(2000-03-14) 14 March 2000 (age 23)	2	0	Tirana	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
DF	Albion Marku	(2000-11-14) 14 November 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Teuta	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
DF	Artan Jazxhi	(2001-07-06) 6 July 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Teuta	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
DF	Mario Mitaj	(2003-08-06) 6 August 2003 (age 20)	2	0	Lokomotiv Moscow	v.  Saudi Arabia, 26 October 2022U21
DF	Frédéric Veseli	(1992-11-20) 20 November 1992 (age 31)	44	0	Benevento	v.  Iceland, 27 September 2022
DF	Arlind Ajeti	(1993-09-25) 25 September 1993 (age 30)	22	1	Pordenone	v.  Iceland, 27 September 2022
DF	Albi Doka	(1997-06-26) 26 June 1997 (age 26)	7	0	Budapest Honvéd	v.  Iceland, 27 September 2022
DF	Erion Hoxhallari	(1995-10-15) 15 October 1995 (age 28)	4	0	UTA Arad	v.  Estonia, 13 June 2022
DF	Jon Mersinaj	(1999-02-08) 8 February 1999 (age 24)	1	0	Lokomotiva	v.  Estonia, 13 June 2022
DF	Kevin Haveri	(2001-09-18) 18 September 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Rimini	v.  Estonia, 13 June 2022
DF	Kastriot Dermaku	(1992-01-15) 15 January 1992 (age 31)	13	1	Lecce	v.  Israel, 10 June 2022
DF	Lorenc Trashi	(1992-05-19) 19 May 1992 (age 31)	15	1	Qadsia	v.  Iceland, 6 June 2022PRE
DF	Sergio Kalaj	(2000-01-28) 28 January 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Frosinone	v.  Iceland, 6 June 2022PRE / U21
DF	Herdi Prenga	(1994-08-31) 31 August 1994 (age 29)	2	0	Budapest Honvéd	v.  Georgia, 29 March 2022
MF	Odise Roshi	(1991-05-21) 21 May 1991 (age 32)	71	5	Sakaryaspor	v.  Armenia, 16 November 2022CLUB
MF	Kristal Abazaj	(1996-07-06) 6 July 1996 (age 27)	2	0	İstanbulspor	v.  Italy, 16 November 2022INJ
MF	Sherif Kallaku	(1998-03-01) 1 March 1998 (age 25)	7	0	Tirana	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
MF	Arinaldo Rrapaj	(2001-08-09) 9 August 2001 (age 22)	2	0	Partizani	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
MF	Herald Marku	(1996-05-18) 18 May 1996 (age 27)	1	0	Vllaznia	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
MF	Ardit Deliu	(1997-10-26) 26 October 1997 (age 26)	1	0	Tirana	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
MF	Serxho Ujka	(1998-08-27) 27 August 1998 (age 25)	1	0	Laçi	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
MF	Arbin Zejnullai	(1999-02-15) 15 February 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Egnatia	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
MF	Ardit Toli	(1997-07-12) 12 July 1997 (age 26)	1	0	Vorskla Poltava	v.  Saudi Arabia, 26 October 2022
MF	Esat Mala	(1998-10-18) 18 October 1998 (age 25)	1	0	Vllaznia	v.  Saudi Arabia, 26 October 2022
MF	Klaus Gjasula	(1989-12-14) 14 December 1989 (age 33)	21	0	SV Darmstadt 98	v.  Iceland, 27 September 2022
MF	Endri Çekiçi	(1996-11-23) 23 November 1996 (age 27)	11	1	Konyaspor	v.  Israel, 24 September 2022INJ
MF	Lindon Selahi	(1999-02-26) 26 February 1999 (age 24)	4	0	Rijeka	v.  Iceland, 6 June 2022PRE
MF	Erdis Kraja	(2000-07-07) 7 July 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Pescara	v.  Iceland, 6 June 2022PRE / U21
MF	Armando Dobra	(2001-04-14) 14 April 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Chesterfield	v.  Iceland, 6 June 2022PRE / U21
FW	Myrto Uzuni	(1995-05-31) 31 May 1995 (age 28)	28	5	Granada	v.  Armenia, 16 November 2022CLUB
FW	Armando Broja	(2001-09-10) 10 September 2001 (age 22)	17	4	Chelsea	v.  Armenia, 16 November 2022INJ
FW	Redon Xhixha	(1998-09-14) 14 September 1998 (age 25)	2	0	Tirana	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
FW	Lorenco Vila	(1998-12-14) 14 December 1998 (age 24)	1	0	Teuta	v.  Qatar, 9 November 2022
FW	Sokol Cikalleshi	(1990-07-27) 27 July 1990 (age 33)	51	12	Khaleej	v.  Saudi Arabia, 26 October 2022
FW	Bekim Balaj	(1991-01-11) 11 January 1991 (age 32)	48	9	Ankara Keçiörengücü	v.  Saudi Arabia, 26 October 2022
FW	Taulant Seferi	(1996-11-15) 15 November 1996 (age 27)	10	1	Vorskla Poltava	v.  Iceland, 27 September 2022
FW	Eljon Toçi	(2003-01-09) 9 January 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Fiorentina	v.  Israel, 24 September 2022PRE
FW	Giacomo Vrioni	(1998-10-15) 15 October 1998 (age 25)	6	0	New England Revolution	v.  Estonia, 13 June 2022
FW	Rey Manaj	(1997-02-24) 24 February 1997 (age 26)	31	7	Watford	v.  Georgia, 29 March 2022INJ
Notes PRE = Preliminary squad/standby. U21 = Was called up from national U21 squad. CLUB = It is not part of the current squad after the club has not allowed him to join. INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury.

Records

.

Players in bold are still active with Albania.

Most appearances

Panajot Pano, awarded "The Player of the Century" by UEFA and rated by the Albanian Football Federation as the most outstanding national player of the last 50 years.

Lorik Cana is the most capped player in the history of Albania with 93 caps.

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934	Did not enter									Did not enter
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966	Did not qualify									4th	6	0	1	5	2	12
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify									4th	6	1	0	5	3	13
1978	Did not enter									Did not enter
1982	Did not qualify									4th	8	1	0	7	4	22
1986										3rd	6	1	2	3	6	9
1990										4th	6	0	0	6	3	15
1994										7th	12	1	2	9	6	26
1998										6th	10	1	1	8	7	20
2002										5th	8	1	0	7	5	14
2006										5th	12	4	1	7	11	20
2010										5th	10	1	4	5	6	13
2014										5th	10	3	2	5	9	11
2018										3rd	10	4	1	5	10	13
2022										3rd	10	6	0	4	12	12
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	-	0/22	-	-	-	-	-	-		—	114	24	14	76	84	200

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter										Did not enter
1964	Did not qualify										R16	4	3	0	1	7	4
1968											3rd	4	0	1	3	0	12
1972											4th	6	1	1	4	5	9
1976	Did not enter										Did not enter
1980
1984	Did not qualify										5th	8	0	2	6	4	14
1988											4th	6	0	0	6	2	17
1992											5th	7	1	0	6	2	21
1996											5th	10	2	2	6	10	16
2000											5th	10	1	4	5	8	14
2004											4th	8	2	2	4	11	15
2008											5th	12	2	5	5	12	18
2012											5th	10	2	3	5	7	14
2016	Group Stage	18th	3	1	0	2	1	3	Squad		2nd	8	4	2	2	10	5
2020	Did not qualify										4th	10	4	1	5	16	14
2024	To be determined										To be determined
Total	Group stage	1/16	3	1	0	2	1	3	—		—	103	22	23	58	88	173

Albania's European Championship history
First Match	Albania 0–1 Switzerland   (Lens, France; 11 June 2016)
Biggest win	Romania 0–1 Albania  (Lyon, France; 19 June 2016)
Biggest defeat	France 2–0 Albania  (Marseille, France; 15 June 2016)
Best Result	Group Stage (2016)
Worst result	—

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season	LG	GP	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	C	1	3rd	4	1	0	3	1	8		34th
2020–21	C	4	1st	6	3	2	1	8	4		35th
2022–23	B	2	3rd	4	0	2	2	4	6		27th
2024–25	B	To be determined
Total	14	4	4	6	13	18	27th

Other tournaments

Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
Balkan Cup
1946	Winner	1st	3	2	0	1	6	4	Squad
1947	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	2	13
1948	Fifth place	5th	3	1	2	0	1	0
Malta International Tournament
1998	Third place	3rd	3	0	2	1	3	6
2000	Winner	1st	3	3	0	0	5	0
Total	Best: Winner	5/5	16	6	4	6	17	23	—

Mediterranean Games

Mediterranean Games record
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1987	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1991	-	2	1	0	1	2	6
1993	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1997	-	2	0	0	2	1	7
2001	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
2005	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
2009	-	2	0	0	2	1	5
2013	-	4	0	1	3	4	8
2018	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
2022	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	4/19	10	1	1	8	8	25

FIFA Rankings

As of 26 July 2020 Source:

     Best Ranking       Worst Ranking       Best Mover       Worst Mover  

Albania's FIFA world rankings
Rank		Year	Pld	Best		Worst
				Rank	Move	Rank	Move
	66	2020	7	66	3	69	3
	66	2019	16	61	2	66	4
	60	2018	6	56	2	60	3
	62	2017	9	51	9	71	12
	49	2016	12	35	5	49	10
	38	2015	7	22	15	63	7
	58	2014	9	45	25	70	16
	57	2013	8	37	16	71	13
	63	2012	9	58	17	97	10
	74	2011	11	50	23	75	14
	65	2010	9	58	13	97	7
	96	2009	9	78	3	98	11
	81	2008	7	73	19	102	18
	80	2007	11	66	11	88	12
	87	2006	6	62	20	88	13
	82	2005	10	82	7	93	4
	86	2004	8	86	5	94	5
	89	2003	11	86	13	101	5
	93	2002	9	92	4	97	5
	96	2001	7	74	1	96	6
	72	2000	8	72	13	94	6
	83	1999	8	83	15	95	2
	106	1998	8	97	14	109	8
	116	1997	7	113	8	124	4
	116	1996	5	90	6	116	12
	91	1995	8	87	13	106	6
	100	1994	5	93	9	113	11
	92	1993	7	91	1	93	6

Honours

2007 Postage stamp of Albania, commemorating the 60th Anniversary of Victory at the Balkan Cup.

• Balkan Cup:
  • Champions (1): 1946
• Malta International Football Tournament:
  • Champions (1): 2000
• UEFA Nations League
  • Promotion (1): 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C

Head-to-head record

Opponent	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Differential	Reference
Algeria	2	1	1	0	4	1	+3	H2H results
Andorra	7	5	1	1	11	4	+7	H2H results
Argentina	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	H2H results
Armenia	6	4	1	1	10	5	+5	H2H results
Austria	7	0	0	7	2	19	−17	H2H results
Azerbaijan	5	3	1	1	5	3	+2	H2H results
Bahrain	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	H2H results
Belarus	7	3	2	2	10	10	0	H2H results
Belgium	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	H2H results
Bosnia and Herzegovina	5	1	2	2	4	5	–1	H2H results
Bulgaria	13	2	4	7	8	17	−9	H2H results
Cameroon	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	H2H results
China PR	2	0	1	1	3	4	–1	1957 match
Cuba	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	H2H results
Cyprus	6	2	2	2	12	7	+5	H2H results
Czech Republic	6	2	0	4	7	13	−6	H2H results
Denmark	10	1	3	6	4	19	−15	H2H results
East Germany	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	H2H results
England	6	0	0	6	1	19	−18	H2H results
Estonia	4	1	3	0	3	1	+2	H2H results
Finland	7	2	1	4	6	8	−2	H2H results
France	9	1	1	7	4	20	−16	H2H results
Georgia	15	3	4	8	13	23	−10	H2H results
Germany	22	0	2	20	12	60	−48	H2H results
Greece	15	4	3	6	10	13	–3	H2H results
Hungary	8	2	1	5	2	19	−17	H2H results
Iceland	9	3	2	4	11	12	-1	H2H results
Iran	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	H2H results
Israel	6	2	0	4	6	9	-3	H2H results
Italy	4	0	0	4	1	7	−4	H2H results
Jordan	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	H2H results
Kazakhstan	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	H2H results
Kosovo	7	5	1	1	13	9	+1	H2H results
Latvia	5	0	5	0	6	6	0	H2H results
Liechtenstein	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	H2H results
Lithuania	6	2	1	3	7	7	0	H2H results
Luxembourg	7	4	1	2	10	4	+6	H2H results
FYR Macedonia	10	2	4	4	7	12	−5	H2H results
Malta	8	5	2	1	14	3	+11	H2H results
Mexico	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	H2H results
Moldova	5	4	1	0	12	2	+10	H2H results
Montenegro	3	3	0	0	9	2	+7	H2H results
Morocco	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	H2H results
Netherlands	4	0	0	4	1	7	−6	H2H results
Northern Ireland	9	2	2	5	5	13	−8	H2H results
Norway	5	1	2	2	5	6	-1	H2H results
Poland	13	1	3	9	8	19	−11	H2H results
Portugal	7	1	1	5	5	13	−8	H2H results
Qatar	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	H2H results
Ireland	4	0	1	3	2	6	−4	H2H results
Romania	19	3	3	13	14	47	–33	H2H results
Russia	2	1	0	1	4	5	−1	H2H results
Scotland	2	0	0	2	0	6	-6	H2H results
San Marino	4	4	0	0	13	0	+13	H2H results
Saudi Arabia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	H2H results
Serbia  Yugoslavia	2(5)	1(0)	0(1)	1(4)	3(4)	2(13)	+1(-9)	H2H results
Slovenia	7	1	2	4	2	6	−4	H2H results
Spain	8	0	0	8	3	31	−28	H2H results
Sweden	5	1	1	3	5	10	−5	H2H results
Switzerland	7	0	1	6	4	12	−8	H2H results
Turkey	12	4	2	6	14	13	+1	H2H results
Ukraine	6	0	1	5	4	13	−9	H2H results
Uzbekistan	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	H2H results
Vietnam	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	H2H Results
Wales	4	1	2	1	2	3	–1	H2H results
65 nations	377	100	79	198	362	595	−233

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Albania para niños

• Albanian Football Association
• Football in Albania
• Albania national youth football team
• Albania national under-23 football team (defunct)
• Albania national under-21 football team
• Albania national under-20 football team
• Albania national under-19 football team
• Albania national under-18 football team
• Albania national under-17 football team
• Albania national under-16 football team
• Albania national under-15 football team