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. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, which is held every two years.

Albania U21
Nickname(s)Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks)
Shqiponjat (The Eagles)
Shpresat e Shqipërisë (Albanian Hopes)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachAlban Bushi
CaptainKeidi Bare
Most capsAmarildo Belisha (16)
Top scorerOdise Roshi (7)
Home stadiumElbasan Arena
Loro Boriçi Stadium
FIFA codeALB
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
First international
 Yugoslavia 1–0 Albania 
(Thessaloniki, Greece; 25 June 1976)[1]
Biggest win
 Albania 7–1 Romania 
(Tirana, Albania; April 12, 1978)[2]
Biggest defeat
 Germany 8–0 Albania 
(Cologne, Germany; March 23, 2001)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances1 (first in 1984)
Best resultQuarter-finals, 1984

Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the Albanian under-21 team was formed.

History

Balkan Youth Championship
Main article: Balkan Youth Championship

Albania Under-21 participated in the Balkan Youth Championship as a succeder of Under-23 team, in the 1976–78 and 1981 competitions, winning both with finals against Romania and Bulgaria. Notably in 1978, the second leg of the final match against Romania was characterized by a large Albania's win 7–1, which is the largest win ever recorded by Albania U-21.[3]

1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Albania Under-21s have managed to qualify only once in their history, and that came in the year of 1984 when they managed to qualify for the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, although they were competing for the first time in such tournament. They were drawn in a very tough group which included the West Germany, Turkey and Austria. The historic event was the first time any Albanian squad qualified for a Europe or World Championship, and is only the second time any Albanian squad qualified for the major championships. To this day the team that qualified for 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship are still regarded as the most successful team in Albanian football history. Albania U21 managed to qualify without losing a single game and managing two very good draws against one of the biggest and best footballing nations, West Germany.

Albania played the quarter finals against Italy, against which it lost twice 0–1, and 0–1, in Albania and Italy respectively. Italy advanced to the semifinals of Euro '84 and lost them against England, eventual champions of the tournament.

1986–1994

In the 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came last in group after Poland and Greece, and could not qualify. In the 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came again last in group after Spain, Romania and Austria. In the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came last in group after Sweden, England and Poland. In the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship managed to precede Iceland as last in the group, but was preceded by Czechoslovakia, France and Spain. In the qualifiers of the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania preceded bottom team Republic of Ireland, but was preceded by Spain, Germany and Denmark.

1996–2002

In the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification Albania did not participate. In the qualifiers of the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania left behind Armenia, but had to trail in the final rankings Germany, Ukraine, and Portugal. In the qualifiers of the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania trailed Greece, Norway, Georgia, Latvia, and Slovenia and closed at the bottom of the group. In the qualifiers of the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came again last behind England, Greece, Germany, and Finland.

2004–2007

In the qualifiers of the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania had the best result since Euro '84, when it had won the group, as it left two teams behind (Republic of Ireland and Georgia), but was preceded by Switzerland and Russia, and thus failed to qualify to the main tournament. In the qualifiers of the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania left behind itself Kazakhstan, but was preceded by Denmark, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, and Georgia. In the qualifiers of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, in a 3 teams group, Albania came last behind Spain and Slovakia and failed to qualify.

2009–2013

In the qualifiers of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania was fourth out of 6 teams in the final ranking, leaving behind the Faroe Islands and Azerbaijan, but trailing behind Italy, Croatia and Greece. In the qualifiers of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania left again behind Azerbaijan but trailed Scotland, Belarus, and Austria in the final rankings. In the qualifiers of the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came last trailing behind Russia, Portugal, Poland, and Moldova. However, as a consolation for the first time an Albanian footballer, Armando Sadiku was the top goalscorer of the group. Albania drew in Russia against the famous hosts during that tournament, a noticeable fact.

2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Group stage
Main article: 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 4
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 8 7 1 0 24 6 +18 22 Play-offs — 1–1 1–0 3–2 4–0
2  Austria 8 5 1 2 15 12 +3 16 2–6 — 4–2 2–0 1–3
3  Hungary 8 3 0 5 12 13 −1 9 0–1 0–2 — 4–1 0–2
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 2 0 6 10 22 −12 6 1–6 0–2 1–4 — 4–1
5  Albania 8 2 0 6 7 15 −8 6 0–2 0–1 1–2 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Group 4
Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 4
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 10 8 2 0 34 5 +29 26 Final tournament — 0–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 4–0
2  Israel 10 6 3 1 21 4 +17 21 0–3 — 4–0 4–0 3–0 4–0
3  Greece 10 4 1 5 13 14 −1 13 0–4 0–1 — 2–1 3–1 5–0
4  Albania 10 3 3 4 11 20 −9 12 1–6 1–1 0–0 — 2–1 2–0
5  Hungary 10 3 3 4 19 16 +3 12 3–3 0–0 2–1 2–2 — 4–0
6  Liechtenstein 10 0 0 10 1 40 −39 0 1–7 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–6 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
Main article: 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Group 2
Main article: 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 2
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 10 9 0 1 31 10 +21 27 Final tournament — 1–2 5–1 1–0 3–0 3–1
2  Northern Ireland 10 6 2 2 15 11 +4 20 3–5 — 1–0 0–0 1–0 4–2
3  Slovakia 10 6 0 4 17 18 −1 18 1–4 1–0 — 0–2 4–1 2–0
4  Iceland 10 3 2 5 16 19 −3 11 2–7 0–1 2–3 — 2–3 5–2
5  Albania 10 1 4 5 9 17 −8 7 0–1 1–1 2–3 0–0 — 0–0
6  Estonia 10 0 2 8 11 24 −13 2 0–1 1–2 1–2 2–3 2–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: UEFA

Fixtures and results
23 March 2018 2019 UEFA QAlbania 2–3 SlovakiaTirana
Manaj  44', 52' Report Špalek  48'
Dimun  80'
Mráz  87'		 Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium
Referee: Stefan Apostolov (Bulgaria)
27 March 2018 2019 UEFA QSlovakia 4–1 AlbaniaŽilina
Haraslín  19'
Mráz  45+2', 74'
Sipľak  70'		 Report Manaj  63' Stadium: Štadión pod Dubňom
Referee: Iwan Arwel Griffith (Wales)
28 May 2018 FriendlyAlbania 0–2 Bosnia and HerzegovinaElbasan
19:00 (CET) Report Dujaković  11'
Kuzmanović  82'		 Stadium: Elbasan Arena
5 June 2018 FriendlyAlbania 3–2 BelarusElbasan
19:00 Shefiti  45'
Sahiti  63', 69'		 Report Fedosov  30'
Antilevsky  89'		 Stadium: Elbasan Arena
8 June 2018 FriendlyAlbania 1–1 BelarusElbasan
19:00 Selmani  90+3' Report Bakhar  4' Stadium: Elbasan Arena
16 September 2018 (2018-09-16) FriendlyItaly 3–1 AlbaniaCagliari
Dimarco  27'
Murgia  90+3'
Parigini  90+4'		 Report Vrioni  90+1' Stadium: Sardegna Arena
Referee: Lionel Tschudi, Switzerland
6 September 2018 (2018-09-06) 2019 UEFA QSpain 3–0 AlbaniaCórdoba
 Report Stadium: Nuevo Arcángel
Referee: Krzysztof Jakubik (Poland)
11 October 2018 (2018-10-11) 2019 UEFA QAlbania 0–1 SpainTirana
Report
Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium, Tirana
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)
16 October 2018 (2018-10-16) 2019 UEFA QEstonia 2–2 AlbaniaPärnu
 Report
Stadium: Pärnu Rannastaadion
Referee: Yigal Frid (Israel)
16 November 2018 (2018-11-16) FriendlyAlbania 2–0 MaltaTirana
18:00 Hebaj  35'
Imeri  41'		 Report Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium
19 November 2018 (2018-11-19) FriendlyAlbania 3–2 MaltaShkodër
18:00 Shefiti  11'
Hebaj  76' (pen.), 87'		 Report  37', 66' Brincat Stadium: Loro Boriçi Stadium
Referee: Eldorjan Hamiti
23 March 2019 (2019-03-23) 2021 UEFA QAlbania 1–2 TurkeyElbasan
19:00 Stafa  20' Report  11' Yüksel
 78' Özcan		 Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Attendance: 1,900
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
26 March 2019 (2019-03-26) 2021 UEFA QAndorra 2–2 AlbaniaIstanbul
18:30 Aláez  19', 55' Report  53' Imeri
 86' Sula		 Stadium: Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella
Attendance: 578
Referee: Kári Jóannesarson Á Høvdanum
7 June 2019 (2019-06-07) 2021 UEFA QTurkey 2–2 AlbaniaIstanbul
20:30 Müldür  54'
Dervişoğlu  85'		 Report  49' Maloku
 90+5' Bullari		 Stadium: Necmi Kadıoğlu Stadium
Attendance: 2,100
Referee: Alain Durieux
9 June 2019 (2019-06-09) FriendlyAlbania 2–1 WalesTirana
17:00 Broja  48', 60' Report  80' Pugh Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium
Attendance: 280
11 June 2019 (2019-06-11) FriendlyAlbania 3–1 WalesDurrës
15:00 Bullari  9'
Mala  14'
Broja  65'		 Report  90' (pen.) Lewis Stadium: Niko Dovana Stadium
Attendance: 275
Referee: Andi Koci
5 September 2019 (2019-09-05) FriendlyFrance 4–0 AlbaniaAmiens
21:00 Gouiri  43' (pen.)
Édouard  78', 89'
Zagadou  90+3'		 Report Stadium: Stade de la Licorne
9 September 2019 (2019-09-09) 2021 UEFA QAlbania 0–4 AustriaDurrës
18:00 Report  6' Raguž
 9', 73' Lovrić
 72' Baumgartner		 Stadium: Niko Dovana Stadium
Attendance: 1,200
15 October 2019 (2019-10-15) 2021 UEFA QAlbania 2–1 KosovoElbasan
18:00 Stafa  76'
Mucolli  81'		 Report  90' Baftiu Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Attendance: 845
Referee: José Luis Munuera Montero
5 November 2019 (2019-11-05) 2021 UEFA QAlbania 0–3 EnglandShkodër
19:00 Report  22' Foden
 43' Gallagher
 90+3' Nelson		 Stadium: Loro Boriçi Stadium
Attendance: 1,050
Referee: Léonce Lionel Tschudi

Players

Current squad

COACH: Alban Bushi

The following players were called up for a 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against England on 5 November 2019. Caps and goals as of 11 November 2019.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Gentian Selmani (1998-03-09) 9 March 1998 11 1 Menemenspor
1GK Andrea Hoxha (1999-09-28) 28 September 1999 1 0 08 Villingen
1GK Romeo Harizaj (1998-09-26) 26 September 1998 0 0 Apolonia
2DF Leonardo Maloku (1998-05-18) 18 May 1998 13 1 San Roque de Lepe
2DF Geraldo Bajrami (1999-09-24) 24 September 1999 2 0 Birmingham City
2DF Sergio Kalaj (2000-01-28) 28 January 2000 1 0 Lazio
2DF Jon Mersinaj (1999-02-08) 8 February 1999 1 0 Lokomotiva
2DF Franklin Domi (2000-05-24) 24 May 2000 0 0 Queens Park Rangers
2DF Marsel Ismailgeci (2000-03-14) 14 March 2000 0 0 Tirana
3MF Jurgen Çelhaka (2000-12-06) 6 December 2000 6 0 Tirana
3MF Omar Imeri (1999-12-13) 13 December 1999 4 2 Shkëndija
3MF Esat Mala (1998-10-19) 19 October 1998 4 0 Partizani
3MF Juljan Shehu (1999-09-06) 6 September 1999 2 0 Laçi
3MF Arbin Zejnullai (1999-02-15) 15 February 1999 2 0 Shkëndija
3MF Sherif Kallaku (1998-03-01) 1 March 1998 1 0 Teuta
3MF Aristidi Kolaj (1999-04-09) 9 April 1999 1 0 Pro Patria
3MF Enis Çokaj (1999-02-23) 23 February 1999 0 0 Lokomtiva
4FW Indrit Tuci (2000-09-14) 14 September 2000 2 0 NK Lokomotiva
4FW Eridon Qardaku (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 1 0 Bylis
4FW Redon Xhixha (1998-07-14) 14 July 1998 1 0 Laçi
4FW Agim Zeka (1998-09-06) 6 September 1998 1 0 Fortuna Sittard

Recent call-ups

Following players have been called up in the previous 12 months and are still eligible to represent Under 21 team.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
MF Lindon Selahi (1999-02-26) 26 February 1999 5 0 Twente v.  France, 5 September 2019 INJ
Notes
  • INJ = Withdrew due to the injury.
  • KOS = Withdrew to play for Kosovo U21.

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff:[4]

Position Name
Head Coach Alban Bushi
Assistant Coach Arjan Bellaj
Goalkeeping Coach Alfred Osmani
Athletic Coach Iris Selimi
Team Doctor Erald Derveni
Physiotherapists Gledi Rexha
Physiotherapists Edison Koçi
Base materials Roland Rarani

Competitive record

UEFA European Under-23 Championship

The event was classified as a U-23 tournament where at time were played three competitions, 1972, 1974 & 1976.

Main article: Albania national under-23 football team § Competitive record

UEFA U-21 Championship Record
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship record UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification record
Year Round Pld W D * L GF GA Position Pld W D * L GF GA
1978 Did Not Participate
1980
1982
1984Quarter-finals200202Qualifying stage 1/4642093
1986 Did not qualify Qualifying Stage 3/3410337
1988Qualifying Stage 4/46024410
1990Qualifying Stage 4/4601518
1992Qualifying Stage 4/57124313
1994Qualifying round 4/58125518
1996 Did Not Participate
1998 Did not qualify Qualifying round 4/58116619
2000Qualifying round 6/610145821
2002Qualifying round 5/58116319
2004Qualifying round 3/583141010
2006Qualifying round 6/712237927
2007Qualifying round 3/3201103
2009Qualifying round 4/6103341013
2011Qualifying round 4/581161120
2013Qualifying round 5/581251118
2015Qualifying round 5/58206715
2017Qualifying round 4/6103341120
2019 Qualifying round 5/610145917
Total: 1/22Best: Quarter-finals200202Total139263380121266

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

*The 2019 Competition in Italic is currently playing

Balkan Youth Championship Record
Balkan Youth Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1976–1978 Champions 1st 6 3 2 1 12 6
1981 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 6 2
Total 2 Titles 2/2 8 5 2 1 18 8
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty shoot-out.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.

Honours
Balkan Youth Championship
  • Winners (2): 1978, 1981
gollark: https://dragcave.net/lineage/ayQ7TGenius.
gollark: Is coast EMPTY?
gollark: I can offer these mageiaæ, but I should *probably* keep them for my IOU.
gollark: _is out of random nonsense_
gollark: Aeons? Time to offer RANDOM NONSENSE!

See also

References
  1. Balkan Youth Championship 1976 RSSSF
  2. Second leg of the Balkan Youth Championship final RSSSF
  3. Balkan Youth Championship 1968–1981 RSSSF
  4. Kombëtarja U-21 (Albania national under-21 team) FSHF.org
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