Albania national under-21 football team

Albania U21

Nickname(s)	Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks) Shqiponjat (The Eagles) Shpresat e Shqipërisë (Albanian Expectations/Hopes)
Association	Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit (FSHF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Redi Jupi
Captain	Amir Rrahmani
Most caps	Amarildo Belisha (16)
Top scorer	Armando Sadiku (6)
Home stadium	Elbasan Arena Loro Boriçi Stadium
FIFA code	ALB
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
Appearances	1 (First in 1984)
Best result	Quarter-finals, 1984

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.

History

Albania U-21 participated in the Balkan Youth Championships, which started in 1969 and ended in 1981 in 10 overall competitions, and won the two last, the 1978 and the 1981 ones with finals against Romania and Bulgaria. Notably in 1978 the second leg of the final match against Romania was characterized by a large Albania win (7–1), which is, until September 2014, the largest win ever recorded of Albania U-21.^[3]

1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Albania Under-21's 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 in Albanian football history is the only occasion where any Albanian national team has ever managed to qualify for a major European or even World championship. 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 nd 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 leave last in groupe Iceland, but was preceded by Czechoslovakia, France and Spain. In the qualifiers of the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania againe left at bottom the 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 goalscoarer of the group. Albania drew in Russia against the famous hosts during that tournament, a noticeable fact.

2015 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification

Group stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	8	7	1	0	24	6	+18	22	Play-offs
2	Austria	8	5	1	2	15	12	+3	16
3	Hungary	8	3	0	5	12	13	−1	9
4	Bosnia and Herzegovina	8	2	0	6	10	22	−12	6
5	Albania	8	2	0	6	7	15	−8	6

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Group 4

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	6	6	0	0	23	1	+22	18	Final tournament		—	4–0	2 Sep	2–0	6 Sep	4–0
2	Albania (X)	8	3	3	2	10	14	−4	12	Possible Play-offs		1–6	—	1–1	2–1	0–0	2–0
3	Israel	6	3	2	1	9	4	+5	11			0–3	10 Oct	—	3–0	6 Oct	6 Sep
4	Hungary (X)	7	2	2	3	11	10	+1	8			6 Oct	2–2	0–0	—	2–1	1 Sep
5	Greece	6	2	1	3	8	7	+1	7			0–4	2 Sep	0–1	10 Oct	—	5–0
6	Liechtenstein (E)	7	0	0	7	0	25	−25	0			11 Oct	0–2	0–4	0–6	0–2	—

Updated to match(es) played on 28 March 2016. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated; (X) Cannot qualify directly as the top team, but may still qualify for the play-offs.

Players

Current Squad

The following players have been called up to participate in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Greece U21 and Hungary U21 on 24 & 28 March 2016 respectively.^[4]

Caps and goals as of 28 March 2016, 21:46 (UTC +1)

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Thomas Strakosha (Captain)	19 March 1995	10	0	Salernitana
12	GK	Aldo Teqja	4 May 1995	4	0	Anorthosis Famagusta
	GK	Alen Sherri	15 December 1997	0	0	Vllaznia Shkodër
19	DF	Amir Rrahmani	24 February 1994	8	0	RNK Split
4	DF	Bruno Lulaj	2 April 1995	8	0	Skënderbeu Korçë
5	DF	Herdi Prenga	31 August 1994	7	1	Lokomotiva Zagreb
2	DF	Mërgim Vojvoda	1 February 1995	7	0	FC Carl Zeiss Jena
3	DF	Erion Hoxhallari	15 October 1995	6	0	Tirana
	DF	Silvester Shkalla	10 August 1995	0	0	Teuta Durrës
	DF	Esin Hakaj	6 December 1996	0	0	Vllaznia Shkodër
17	MF	Enis Gavazaj	21 March 1995	11	1	Roeselare
11	MF	Liridon Latifi	6 February 1994	8	3	Skënderbeu Korçë
7	MF	Endri Çekiçi	23 November 1996	7	1	Lokomotiva Zagreb
8	MF	Qazim Laçi	19 January 1996	7	1	Olympiacos
10	MF	Milot Rashica	28 June 1996	6	1	Vitesse Arnhem
6	MF	Keidi Bare	28 August 1997	4	0	Atletico Madrid
14	MF	Rron Broja	9 April 1996	4	0	Gent
20	MF	Jurgen Bardhi	6 November 1997	2	0	Partizani Tirana
15	MF	Damian Gjini	6 April 1995	1	0	Kallithea
16	MF	Realdo Fili	14 May 1996	1	0	Apolonia Fier
	MF	Eros Grezda	15 April 1995	0	0	Lokomotiva Zagreb
	MF	Emiliano Hysi	12 July 1997	0	0	Backenham Town
9	FW	Rey Manaj	24 February 1997	5	3	Inter Milan
18	FW	Fiorin Durmishaj	14 November 1996	3	0	Panionios

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
GK	Klevis Hasanbelli	30 June 1997	0	0	Akademia Futbollit	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
GK	Gentian Selmani	9 March 1998	0	0	Laçi	v.  Portugal, 8 September 2015
DF	Erdenis Gurishta	24 April 1995	0	0	Vllaznia Shkodër	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
DF	Ardit Toli	12 July 1997	0	0	Olympiacos	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
DF	Kostandin Kariqi	1 January 1996	0	0	Asteras Tripoli	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
DF	Muhamet Cakolli	8 April 1997	0	0	SV Werder Bremen	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
DF	Kristi Marku	13 April 1995	2	0	Budapest Honvéd	v.  Portugal, 8 September 2015
MF	Myrto Uzuni	31 May 1995	2	0	Apolonia Fier	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Maldin Ymeraj	6 March 1995	1	0	Akropolis	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Fjoart Jonuzi	9 July 1996	0	0	Kukësi	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Jasir Asani	19 May 1995	0	0	Vardar	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Federico Zenuni	19 January 1997	0	0	Torino	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Berat Beqiri	3 June 1996	0	0	København	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Engjell Hoti	26 February 1997	0	0	Eintracht Braunschweig	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Xhuljo Tabaku	3 June 1995	0	0	FC Köln	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
MF	Kristi Qose	10 June 1995	4	0	Panserraikos	v.  Liechtenstein, 16 November 2015
MF	Klodian Gino	13 February 1994	7	0	Panargiakos	v.  Hungary, 13 October 2015
MF	Ennur Totre	29 October 1996	0	0	Shkëndija	v.  Hungary, 13 October 2015
MF	Valon Ahmedi	7 October 1994	1	0	Maribor	v.  Portugal, 8 September 2015
MF	Dejvi Bregu	24 October 1995	0	0	Flamurtari Vlorë	v.  Portugal, 8 September 2015
MF	Klaudio Hyseni	15 July 1994	2	0	Teuta Durrës	v.  Sweden, 16 June 2015
MF	Ardit Krymi	2 May 1996	0	0	Vllaznia Shkodër	v.  Sweden, 16 June 2015
MF	Elvir Maloku	14 May 1996	0	0	Hajduk Split	v.  Kazakhstan, 8 June 2015
FW	Isnik Alimi	2 February 1994	1	0	Maceratese	v.  Ukraine, 30 January 2016
FW	Albion Avdijaj	12 January 1994	1	0	Vaduz	v.  Portugal, 8 September 2015
FW	Esad Morina	17 January 1997	0	0	FC St. Pauli	v.  Sweden, 16 June 2015

• = Not called-up due to the injury.
• ^INJ = Withdrew due to the injury.

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff:^[5]

Position	Name
Head Coach	Redi Jupi
Assistant Coach	Vasillaq Zëri
Athletic Coach	Iris Selimi
Goalkeeping Coach	Gut Tafaj
Physiotherapists	Xhaferr Koçi

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
1984	Quarter-finals	2	0	0	2	0	2	Qualifying stage 1/4	6	4	2	0	9	3
1986	Did not qualify							Qualifying Stage 3/3	4	1	0	3	3	7
1988								Qualifying Stage 4/4	6	0	2	4	4	10
1990								Qualifying Stage 4/4	6	0	1	5	1	8
1992								Qualifying Stage 4/5	7	1	2	4	3	13
1994								Qualifying round 4/5	8	1	2	5	5	18
1996	Did Not Participate
1998	Did not qualify							Qualifying round 4/5	8	1	1	6	6	19
2000								Qualifying round 6/6	10	1	4	5	8	21
2002								Qualifying round 5/5	8	1	1	6	3	19
2004								Qualifying round 3/5	8	3	1	4	10	10
2006								Qualifying round 6/7	12	2	3	7	9	27
2007								Qualifying round 3/3	2	0	1	1	0	3
2009								Qualifying round 4/6	10	3	3	4	10	13
2011								Qualifying round 4/5	8	1	1	6	11	20
2013								Qualifying round 5/5	8	1	2	5	11	18
2015								Qualifying round 5/5	8	2	0	6	7	15
2017	To Be Determined
Total: 1/20	Best: Quarter-finals	0	0	0	0	0	0	Total	119	22	26	71	101	229

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Honours

Balkan Youth Championship

• Winners (2): 1978, 1981

See also

• Albania national 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 football team results
• Albania national youth football team
• Albanian Superliga
• Football in Albania
• List of Albania international footballers

References

1. Balkan Youth Championship 1976 RSSSF
2. Second leg of the Balkan Youth Championship final RSSSF
3. Balkan Youth Championship 1968–1981
4. Shpresat, gati dy ndeshje zyrtare FSHF.org
5. Kombëtarja U-21 (Albania national under-21 team) FSHF.org

External links

• Team profile at Soccerway
• Team profile at FSHF.org
• Team profile at UEFA.com