History of the Albania national football team

History

Although it never played any matches, the Albanian national football team existed before the Albanian Football Association was created in 1930. This is witnessed by the registration of the Albanian team in the Balkan Cup tournament of 1929-1931, which started in 1929, a year before the creation of the association. Albania, however, eventually retired from the competition, before the competition itself started. FSHF was founded on 6 June 1930, and, in 1932, Albania joined FIFA (during the congress 12 June — 16 June), however no national team matches were registered until the first international match, a debut against Yugoslavia in 1946. In 1954, Albania was one of the founding members of UEFA.

Balkan Cup 1946: Albania is Champion of the Balkans

The early years oversaw a notably successful Balkan Cup in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming Yugoslavia on level points but a better goal difference. 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-war cup.

1960 European Nations' Cup

Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the 1960 European Nations' Cup.

1964 European Nations' Cup

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 forfeited 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. At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe.

1966 FIFA World Cup

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 Ireland and Switzerland. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to Northern Ireland in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.

Switzerland qualified.

UEFA Euro 1968

This participation will be remembered for a draw 0–0 in Albania with West Germany that denied the Germans the participation to the UEFA Euro 1968 finals.

1970 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1972

For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup 1970 and the UEFA Euro 1972.

1974 FIFA World Cup

Albania was last of the class behind Finland in these qualifiers. In this campaign Albania participated after having been idle of international matches for nearly 6 years.

East Germany qualified.

UEFA Euro 1976, 1978 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 1980

For unknown political reasons Albania did not participate in the qualifiers of the UEFA Euro 1976, FIFA World Cup 1978, and UEFA Euro 1980.

1982 FIFA World Cup

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".

West Germany and Austria qualified.

UEFA Euro 1984

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 Turkey 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 Stafa, also losing to Austria 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.

1986 FIFA World Cup

In a 4-team group, Albania got 4 points with one win and 2 draws. After losing to Belgium in Brussels, Albania were visitors in eventual group winners Poland. 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 Greece away and Poland at home, Albania got its last point in its last game against neighbour rivals Greece in a 1–1 draw.

Poland qualified. Belgium advanced to the UEFA Play-offs.

UEFA Euro 1988

All 6 matches ended up in losses for Albania in this campaign. The group proved to be too strong for Albania that managed to score only two goals in the entire campaign.

1990 FIFA World Cup

This was probably the worst qualifier in Albania's history as there were 6 losses in as many games with no memorable matches. Probably 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.

Sweden qualified. England also qualified with the second-best record among runners-up of Groups 1, 2 and 4.

UEFA Euro 1992

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. It is to be mentioned that the match was played in a very difficult time for Albania because of heavy political turmoil.

1994 FIFA World Cup

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.

Spain and Republic of Ireland qualified.

UEFA Euro 1996

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 (Moldova) as guests in an international qualifier campaign.

1998 FIFA World Cup

In the 1998 World Cup, Albania was drawn in a 6-team group which included Germany, Portugal, Ukraine, Northern Ireland and Armenia, 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, in both games taking a lead. Albania got a 1–0 win against Northern Ireland and a 2–2 tie against Armenia.

UEFA Euro 2000

In a relatively easy group, Albania couldn't go past one single victory at home turf at the expense of Georgia. However, there were some memorable draws against 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.

2002 FIFA World Cup

After a loss to Finland, Albania won over Greece 2–0 with an own goal and a late goal of Ervin 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.

UEFA Euro 2004

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 Dossena for the first two matches and Hans-Peter Briegel 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 Ireland 0–0 and beat Georgia 3–1. Away Albania got 0 points, but managed to score 4 goals.

Switzerland qualified. Russia and Ireland advanced to the Play-offs.

2006 FIFA World Cup

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 Georgia away and Denmark at home, before returning to winning ways by beating Kazakhstan 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.

Ukraine qualified. Turkey advanced to the UEFA Play-offs (see ranking of runners-up).

UEFA Euro 2008

In the matches for the 2008 European qualifiers 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 Belarus, two wins against Luxembourg home and away (2–0, 3–0) and a 0–0 draw away to Bulgaria have been the most cherished results. Great matches have been played against Netherlands in both legs, although allegedly dubious referee decisions have marred Albania's performances, ending up in two losses (2–1, 0–1). Other setbacks have also been suffered after drawing 0–0 against Slovenia and losing 0–2 to Romania 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 Barić and his assistant.

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

2010 FIFA World Cup

On December 2007, Football Association of Albania's president, Armand Duka, announced Arie Haan would replace Croatian-Austrian Otto Barić as Albania's head coach. Haan signed a two-year contract on 4 January 2008. On 14 March 2008, Albania was suspended from international football (FIFA and UEFA), due to heavy political interference in the Football Association. The suspension lasted 46 days.

With Haan as coach Albania started 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification with a 0–0 draw against Sweden at home. Four days later, the Albanians defeated Malta 3–0 with goals from Erjon Bogdani, Armend Dallku and Klodian Duro. On 11 October 2008, Albania lost 2–0 to Hungary in Budapest and then drew 0–0 with Portugal in Braga, making the biggest shock on this group. On 11 February 2009, Albania drew with Malta in Ta'Qali 0–0. Albania then lost 1–0 to Hungary at home on 28 March 2009 and 3–0 to Denmark in Copenhagen on 1 April 2009. In the home match against Portugal, Hugo Almeida scored early for Portugal, before Albania equalised with a goal from Erjon Bogdani. However, with just a few seconds left in the game, Bruno Alves scored the winner for Portugal, eliminating Albania. At the end of the campaign, Albania drew 1–1 against Denmark and lost 4–1 to Sweden and Haan was replaced by Croatian coach Josip Kuže in May 2009.

UEFA Euro 2012

The draw for the qualifying rounds of UEFA Euro 2012 was held on 7 February 2010 in Congress Hall of Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw, with matches set to begin on 3–4 September 2010. Seedings were based on the UEFA national team coefficient ranking. Albania was drawn in Group D along with France, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, and Luxembourg.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Josip Kuže parted ways with Albania three years and a half after he started the job, and in December 2011, Italian coach Gianni de Biasi replaced him. Albania started well the qualifiers and was, at one point, 2nd in group with 6 matches played, and 4 on hand, 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. With De Biasi the Albania national team reached an unprecedented high number of players, who although are ethnically Albanian, were not born in Albania, but either in Kosovo, or outside of Kosovo, while hailing from Albanian Kosovar parents. As of 13 August 2013, 14 Albanians of Kosovo origin were either part of the start-up team, or have received recent call-ups.

Presence of ethnic Albanian players at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

After the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying ended, Albania captain Lorik Cana was included in the best eleven of the players which missed out at the 2014 FIFA World Cup because of failing to qualify with their national team. Some of the other well known players (non-ethnic Albanian) on the list that miss out were Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden), Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and Gareth Bale (Wales).

Before the 2014 World Cup, a significant presence of ethnic Albanians had been noted in several national teams. On 5 March 2014, 54 ethnic Albanians were called up by seven different national teams: Albania (19), Kosovo (22), Switzerland (5), Macedonia national football team (4), Finland (2), Germany (1) and Montenegro (1).

The Catalan newspaper El Mundo Deportivo reported a significant presence of Albanians in the 2014 World Cup thanks to an article published by it. The article said that Albania is not in the World Cup 2014, as a result of the "originating stars who are springing up in major competitions on the globe," noting Xherdan Shaqiri. According to the newspaper, if Gianni De Biasi had been able to use Swiss representative footballers and Adnan Januzaj of Belgium, at the 1/8 finals against Argentina would not be Switzerland, but the Red & Blacks of Albania. According to the article, a country with three million inhabitants, which had never previously participated in a major tournament, could have been present in the Brazilian World Cup if the stars of Albanian origin had chosen to play for Albania. The article said that Xherdan Shaqiri, currently the star of the Swiss youth was too ambitious to play for the Albania in the past, and holds two passports, the Swiss and Albanian. Born in Gjilan, Kosovo, in the end he decided to wear the shirt of Switzerland, the country where he grew up and trained as a footballer. The second name that could have done the job for De Biasi, according to Catalan daily, was Adnan Januzaj of Belgium, which the label as a great talent. For the latter, El Mundo Deportivo writes that he was born in Brussels but emphasizes the origins of his father, who is an Albanian from Kosovo. The article also mentions how the two Xhaka brothers are split, with the younger one, Granit, playing for Switzerland and the elder one, Taulant, for Albania, whereas Macedonian-Albanians, such as Blerim Džemaili, Admir Mehmedi and Valon Behrami, according to El Mundo Deportivo, would make the team of Albania one of the most talented in Europe.

Then, in September 2014, it was reported that 80 Albanians played with foreign (thus excluding Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia) senior and youth national teams, out of which 46 with Switzerland only.

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifications campaign

The qualifying draw took place on 23 February 2014. Albania was drawn in Group I along with Portugal, Denmark, Serbia, and Armenia. Qualifying matches started in September 2014. Albania started the qualifiers by grabbing an historic result as they beat the group favourites of Portugal 1–0 at Estádio Municipal de Braga thanks to a goal from Bekim Balaj. In the second match against Denmark at the newly renovated stadium Elbasan Arena, Albania was on lead until the 82th minute where Lasse Vibe equalized, with the match ending 1–1. In the next game against Serbia at Partizan Stadium, the match was abandoned in 42th minute after several on and off the field incidents. Despite the great violence by Serbia's houligans against Albania at Partizan Stadium, Serbia absurditly was awarded with the 3–0 victory after the decision by UEFA. The decision was appealed by both Serbia and Albania, but the decision was upheld by UEFA. Both associations then filed further appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and on 10 July 2015 the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the appeal filed by the Serbian FA, and upholds in part the appeal filed by the Albanian FA, meaning the match is deemed to have been forfeited by Serbia with 0–3 and they are still deducted three points.

In the fourth match against Armenia at home, Albania were behind from the 4th minute after an own goal from Mërgim Mavraj, but it was also Mavraj who equalized the result in the 77th with a powerful header. Four minutes later it was the substitute Shkëlzen Gashi who sealed the 2–1 triumph to put Albania in the 2nd position along with Denmark with 10 points. It was the first time that Albania ended the first part of the qualifiers in the second spot. Albania made history again by beating for the first time ever the one-time World Champions and the major UEFA Euro 2016 tournament hosts of France at Elbasan Arena in the "Group I" Friendly Match. After a draw against Denmark, Albania clinched at least a play-off place. Despite losing to Portugal and Serbia, Albania defeated Armenia 3–0 in Yerevan and qualified for UEFA Euro 2016, its first ever appearance at a major men's football tournament. For this achievement the entire team was bestowed the Honor of Nation Order by Albania's President Bujar Nishani. In addition to the qualification, Albania achieved a world record in terms of not conceding any away goal during the tournament, while scoring seven away goals.

To make this a year to remember for Albanian football, local team KF Skënderbeu Korçë qualified for 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, where they claimed first ever points in UEFA competition with a 3–0 victory over Sporting CP.

After the Serbia–Albania match, the national team of Albania was awarded by the cities of Tirana, Vlore, Kamëz, and Bajram Curri awards of honor and city recognition for protecting the national symbols.

UEFA Euro 2016

The draw for the finals will take place at the Palais des Congrès de la Porte Maillot in Paris on 12 December 2015, 18:00 CET. The 24 qualified teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams, with the hosts France being automatically placed in position A1. The remaining teams will be seeded into four pots of five (Pot 1) or six teams (Pots 2, 3 and 4). As the title holders, Spain will be seeded in Pot 1, while the other 22 teams will be seeded according to the UEFA National team coefficients updated after the completion of the qualifying group stage (excluding the play-offs), which were released by UEFA on 14 October 2015.