Albania national football team

Although it never played any matches, the Albania national football team existed before the Albanian Football Federation (Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) was created on 6 June 1930. Albania joined FIFA during a congress held between 12 and 16 June. Albania was invited to play in the 1934 World Cup, but did not take part due to logistical problems.^[5] Albania played its first international match against Yugoslavia in 1946, which ended in a 3–2 home defeat at Qemal Stafa Stadium.^[6] 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.^[7] In 1954, Albania was one of the founding members of UEFA. Albania waited until 1962 to compete in a Euro Cup competition, and the reason being Albania got past the first leg against Greece, for political reasons forfeited the game.^[8][9][10] At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe.^[11][12][13] Albania participated at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the Men's qualification tournament, and closely lost both matches against Bulgaria in the preliminary round.^[14] They would participate for the second and last time at the 1972 Summer Olympics in which they faced Romania at the European qualifiers in the playoffs. Albania would lose both matches narrowly, 2–1 in the first leg and at home in the second leg.^[15][16]

Albania participated for the first time in a qualifying phase of a World Cupin1966. The team was drawn in the Group 5, finishing in the last position with only one point from six matches. In the qualifiersofUEFA Euro 1968, Albania drew 0–0 against West Germany, denying the Germans a chance to participate in the finals.^[17][18] Albania did not participate in World Cup 1970, UEFA Euro 1976, World Cup 1978 and UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying for unknown political reasons.

After six years without playing any international matches, Albania entered the 1982 World Cup, managing to finish second-to-last in the qualifying stages. For qualifying for the World Cup four years later, Albania beat BelgiuminTirana 2–0 as well as drawing PolandinMielec 2–2.

In the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Albania only beat Greece. For the Euros two years later, Albania beat Russia 3–1 at Loro Boriçi Stadium.^[19] This match was also the debut of the German coach Hans-Peter Briegel who led Albania to an undefeated run in home matches. Despite good results, Albania finished in the penultimate spot with only eight points. Albania defeated Greece 2–1 two months after they won Euro 2004.^[20]

InEuro 2008 qualifying, Albania defeated Luxembourg twice, and also drew 2–2 with Belarus and 0–0 away with Bulgaria. Albania's Euro campaign ended with a 6–1 loss away to Romania which resulted in the resignation of coach Otto Barić and his assistant.^[21] In December 2007, Arie Haan was named Albania's head coach by signing a two-year contract for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Albania won only won match, with seven points from ten matches and Haan was replaced by Josip Kuže in May 2009 following the end of the campaign.^[22] However, Kuže failed to lead Albania to better results as the team ended the Euro 2012 qualifying with nine points from ten matches. With Kuže in charge, Albania recorded its second biggest win in history by defeating Cyprus 6–1 at home.^[23] Josip Kuže parted ways with Albania after three and a half years, and in December 2011, Italian coach Gianni de Biasi replaced him.^[24] Albania was, at one point, second in the 2014 World Cup qualifying group, but then lost to Slovenia and Iceland, as well as at home against Switzerland, and drawing in Cyprus.^[25]

Albania began UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group I with an emphatic 1–0 away win against Portugal,^[26][27] followed by a 1–1 draw against Denmark at the newly renovated Elbasan Arena.^[28] They then beat Serbia 3–0 in a match full of incidents. They finally qualified for a Euro, its first appearance at a major men's football tournament.^[29] In the tournament itself, Albania lost 1–0 to Switzerland and 2–0 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 were eliminated in the group stage.^[30]

In2018 World Cup qualification, Albania was drawn in a group with Spain, Italy, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, and Israel. Despite the difficult draw, they placed third in the group, their best result in history without qualifying for the final tournament. During this time, manager Gianni De Biasi resigned after disputes with the FSHF and was replaced by Christian Panucci.^[31] Albania played poorly in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, winning only once against Israel and losing the return leg as well as both matches against Scotland.^[32] Panucci would be sacked after a 2–0 defeat to Turkey in the opening match of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.^[33] Edoardo Reja replaced Panucci as Albania faced home and away series against both 2018 FIFA World Cup champions France and Iceland as well as the return leg against Turkey.^[34] In the end, Albania placed fourth in the group, failing to qualify.^[35]

Albania qualified for UEFA Euro 2024, their second major tournament.^[36] They were drawn into a "group of death" against Spain, Italy, and Croatia, all three opponents being Euros and World Cup medalists. With two losses to Spain and Italy and a draw against Croatia, the team finished at the bottom of their group and did not advance.^[37]

Albania is set to compete in the UEFA Nations League B in fall 2024, followed by qualification matches for the 2026 World Cup.

The team's nickname is commonly known as『Kuqezinjtë』("The Red and Blacks") During the period before 2016, the national teams of Albania and Kosovo exchanged players with each other due to the complexities of descent brought on by Kosovo's independence, leading supporters to refer to each team as the other team's "reserve" side.^[38]

Albania's uniform colors are red and black, mirroring the nation's flag. The team typically wears red shirts, black shorts and red socks. Away kits are usually all-white, with red and black trimming.

Over the years, the national team has sported kit wear from renowned sportswear brands such as Legea, Puma, Nike and Adidas, to name a few. The partnership with Puma began in 1996 and lasted nine years. Nike outfitted the team during the UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. A collaboration with Adidas followed, in a contract signing which allowed it to manufacture kits for the Euro 2012 qualifiers, as well as the 2014 World Cup and the Euro 2016 qualifiers.^{[citation needed]}

On 24 March 2016, the Albanian Football Federation unveiled a new jersey for the national team players, set to be worn during the forthcoming UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, hosted that year in France. Manufactured by Macron, the jersey redesign, labelled "Triumfi," was conceptualised by Tirana-based studio PIK Creative.^[39][40]

For most of Albania's history, the home stadium was Qemal Stafa StadiuminTirana. Construction started in April 1939 during the Italy regime, lasted for three years but stopped briefly in August 1943 following the fall of fascist regime.^[41] The stadium had an Olympic Stadium shape, as idealised by Gherardo Bosio, a young fascist architect from Florence.^[42] The stadium's initial capacity was 15,000, due to the fact that Tirana at that time had only 60,000 inhabitants.^[42] It was named after Qemal Stafa, a Hero of AlbaniainWorld War II.^[43] The stadium was inaugurated officially on 7 October 1946 when Albania played its first competitive match against Yugoslavia.^[44] Ever since then, a further 130 international matches took place in the stadium, with the last being a friendly against Georgia in November 2015.^[45] 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".^[41] In November 2013, Qemal Stafa Stadium was shut down by FIFA for not fulfilling international standards.^[46] The stadium's demolition started in June 2016, and it was announced that it would be replaced by Arena Kombëtare.^[47]

Albania has played home matches at other venues; outside Tirana, the national team has played matches in Flamurtari StadiuminVlorë,^[48] Tomori StadiuminBerat,^[49] Niko Dovana StadiuminDurrës,^[50] Loro Boriçi StadiuminShkodër^[51] and Elbasan ArenainElbasan.^[52] In February 2014, renovations for Elbasan Arena (at the time Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium) started.^[53] The work lasted for seven months, and the stadium was inaugurated on 9 October when Albania played a friendly match against KF Elbasani's under-19 squad; Albania won the match 17–0.^[54] The official inauguration occurred two days later in the Euro 2016 qualifying match against Denmark.^[55]

The first international match at Loro Boriçi Stadium was played on 29 March 2003 against Russia, with Albania winning 3–1.^[19] In October 2014, Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, promised the reconstruction of the stadium.^[56] The stadium's construction started in May 2015 and finished in August 2016.^[57] In 2016–17, the stadium served temporary as the home of Kosovo national team, due to stadiums in Mitrovica and Pristina being renovated and not meeting UEFA standards.^[58]

This derby is otherwise known as Brotherly derby (Albanian: Derbi vëllazëror), or the Brotherly (Albanian: Vëllazërorja). The documented beginnings of this derby date back to World War II, specifically on 29 November 1942, where they played a friendly match as part of the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the independence of Albania. The match ended with a 2–0 win for Tirana.^[a][60][61]

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"^[62] and were throwing flares at Albania, after which there was a clash between the two teams.^[63]

Tifozat Kuq e Zi (Red and Black Fans) is a non-profit football supporters' association for the Albania national football team and various national team sportive activities.^[64][65] It was founded on 25 December 2003.^[64] 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.^[66][67] In this sense, TKZ is joined by different supporters' associations throughout Albanian-speaking regions mainly in Kosovo (Shqiponjat of Peja, Kuqezinjet e JakovesofGjakova, PlisatofPrishtina, TorcidaofMitrovica, etc.), North Macedonia (BallistëtofTetovë, IlirëtofKumanovë, ShverceratofShkupi, etc.) and in Albania itself (Ultras GuerrilsofPartizani Tirana, Tirona FanaticsofKF Tirana, Vllaznit UltrasofVllaznia Shkodër, Ujqërit e DeborësofSkënderbeu Korçë, Shqiponjat of KF Besa Pejë and many other different Albanian fans).^[64]

The ongoing dispute between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Football Federation of Albania has been seen as a political intrusion by FIFA and UEFA, which led to the banning of Albania from international sportive activities. FSHF president Armand Duka is highly unwanted by the TKZ who have numerously asked for his resignation believing he is responsible for internal corruption in the Albanian Football Federation.^{[68][69][70][71]}

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".^[72] During that campaign, TKZ attended all games Albania played apart from a match against CyprusinNicosia and were also large in numbers in the away games to SloveniainMaribor and Norway in Oslo.^[73][74][75]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

• The following 26 players were called up for the final squad for UEFA Euro 2024.^[78]
• Caps and goals are correct as of 24 June 2024, after the match against Spain.

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

As of 15 June 2024.^[79]

Players in bold are still active with Albania.

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

**League stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.

As of December 2022^[83]

Legend:   Best Ranking
  Worst Ranking
  Best Mover
  Worst Mover

• Balkan Cup
  •   Champions (1): 1946
• Malta International Football Tournament
  •   Champions (1): 2000^[84]

As of 25 June 2024 after the match against Spain.