Albanian national football team (U-21 men)
Association | Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit | ||
confederacy | UEFA | ||
Technical sponsor | Macron | ||
Head coach | Artan Bushati | ||
FIFA code | ALB | ||
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Successes in tournaments | |||
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European Championship | |||
Participation in the finals | 1 ( first : 1984 ) | ||
Best results | 1984 (quarter-finals) | ||
(As of September 2008) |
The Albanian U-21 national soccer team is a selection team of Albanian soccer players . She is subordinate to the Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit and represents him at the U-21 level in friendly matches against the national teams of other national associations, but also at the European Championship of the continental association UEFA . Eligible to play are players who have not yet reached the age of 21 and who are Albanian citizens . In tournaments, the age at the first qualifying game is decisive.
history
For the first time in their history, Albania's U-21s qualified for a U-21 European football championship . In 1984 the Southeast Europeans won Group 6 and secured first place. They left the teams from West Germany , Austria and Turkey behind. Both games against the German team ended in a 1-1 draw. The Albanians won against the other teams. Only because of another slip by the junior team from Germany did the Albanian team secure participation in the European Championship final tournament. Nevertheless, Albania's qualification was a sensation. In the quarterfinals, the red-blacks faced the team from Italy . Both games were lost with a close 0: 1.
In qualifying for the European Championship in 1996 , the Albanians reached fifth out of seven places in Group 2, leaving the Georgian and Kazakh teams behind. The team celebrated two wins and four draws, but lost six more comparisons with a goal difference of 9:26. The team scored notable successes with their draws against Turkey and Ukraine .
Since the next European Championship took place in 2007 after the EM 2006 and not every two years as usual, this qualification was played out in a fast-track process with a preliminary round, a short group phase with three teams and the play-off games. Albania needed to get into the group stage first. In Group 2, the Albanian national team was drawn from Slovakia and Spain . There was only one game against each team, so the teams had one away and one home rights. In the first game against Slovakia, the team scored 0-0 and had their first point on the account. On the second matchday, the players from the Adriatic coast welcomed the team from Spain. With 0: 3, the team was clearly defeated and missed participation in the play-off games.
In qualifying for the European Championship in 2009 , the Albanians had a tough lot with Italy and Croatia . Against the Italians they lost the first game 0: 4, but were able to win in the second leg with a 0: 1 respect. Against the other favorites from Croatia they could even win the first leg 1-0, but lost in Croatia 0-4. Against the bottom of the table Azerbaijan , the team did not get more than two draws and gave away points. The biggest victory was against the Faroe Islands, which they defeated 0-5 on foreign soil. In the end, the team finished fourth.
Participation in U-21 European championships
1978 | not qualified |
1980 | not qualified |
1982 | not qualified |
1984 | Quarter finals |
1986 | not qualified |
1988 | not qualified |
1990 | not qualified |
1992 | not qualified |
1994 in France | not qualified |
1996 in Spain | not qualified |
1998 in Romania | not qualified |
2000 in Slovakia | not qualified |
2002 in Switzerland | not qualified |
2004 in Germany | not qualified |
2006 in Portugal | not qualified |
2007 in the Netherlands | not qualified |
2009 in Sweden | not qualified |
2011 in Denmark | not qualified |
2013 in Israel | not qualified |
2015 in the Czech Republic | not qualified |
2017 in Poland | not qualified |
Note : Between 1978 and 1992, the final round of a U-21 European Championship was not played in one country, but instead was played back and forth in the respective participating nations.
Former and well-known players
selection