Albanian Football Forum

This september starts the Nations League 2023-2024
We'll face Ukraine, Czechia and Georgia, all teams coming after Euro 2024 finals.

Actually a very tough group. Even Georgia looks like an excellent attacking team in the Euros.

Ukraine and Czechia are around our level or slightly better, and Georgia slightly worse or somewhat worse.

Basically this is the type of group that you would win if you want to go to the next level of competing in knockout stages of Euros/WC. It will tell us where our level is at as a team.

Albania is undefeated in the last 5 against Slavic teams!

10 goals scored and just 3 conceded against the best Slavs from Zagreb to Warsaw during that stretch!

Princ wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2024 7:42 am Albania is undefeated in the last 5 against Slavic teams!

10 goals scored and just 3 conceded against the best Slavs from Zagreb to Warsaw during that stretch!

I don't think it has anything to do with them being Slavic, but most Mid Tier teams are in central Europe and the Balkans, which happens to be mostly Slavic. (Orange is qualified to R16)



So at least we're "on par" with these Mid Tier teams.

But we have very poor, poor records against the big Western European teams. England and Spain run circles around us and we can never seem to score a goal against them. Italy and Germany we score against, but always lose by 1. With France we did well in friendlies, but friendlies are friendlies...

Portugal is the only team we've ever achieved anything against, and it all started with this match. We make fun of Bulku, Dallku & co but Cana with these boys managed to stop them away 0-0 in 2008 with Prime CR7 and with 10 men after Teli was an idiot. And then in 2014 we beat them 0-1 without CR7.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGPEUbTS-Mg

But now we need the scalp of a "big dawg". England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France. One of the big 5 leagues. We're so fucking shit against them.

I think Panajot Pano's Albania in the 1960s drawing West Germany 0-0 was the last time we got a positive result in an official game against these teams which is fucking pathetic. Look at Slovenia casually stopping England today.

So I checked... Panajot Pano's Albania in the 1960s drawing West Germany 0-0 was the only time we've ever gotten a positive result against the Top 5 league NTs in an official game. We got results against France with DB in 2 friendlies, but not officially.

This is a truly pathetic record lol. CRAZY.

Aurora Bulkualis wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2024 8:47 am So I checked... Panajot Pano's Albania in the 1960s drawing West Germany 0-0 was the only time we've ever gotten a positive result against the Top 5 league NTs in an official game. We got results against France with DB in 2 friendlies, but not officially.

This is a truly pathetic record lol. CRAZY.

Truly pathetic indeed. In 38 official games against the big 5 countries, we only have 1 draw against West Germany.

Our official record v. big 5 countries
England - 6 games, 6 losses only 1 goal scored against them
France - 7 games, 7 losses (positive is the draw and the win in 2 friendly games)
Germany - 14 games, 1 draw, 13 losses
Italy - 3 games, 3 losses (also 2 friendly losses)
Spain - 8 games, 8 losses (also 1 friendly loss)

The mental block is generational against these countries and I hope we end it asap. It's like we know we're going to lose before we even play them, which is so discouraging.

Yeah it's actually embarrassing because everyone else has pulled historic upsets like that.

Beating Portugal away is the greatest result ever but historically they are not on the same tier as France, Germany, Italy, Spain..

For mentality sake, Albania needed to pull an upset in these Euros. Every "small" country is doing it. Just in the last 2 days: Costa Rica drew Brazil, Slovenia drew England, Poland who finished 2 places below Albania drew France.

But too many people are just happy by not conceding too many goals. Even Sylvinho that's all he talks about. But in year 2024 nobody really gets destroyed like that with all the technology and professionalism.

People are satisfied with make feel good losses like Albania wasn't already the king of that.

It's funny cause I would put random names in there and couldn't find anything like us... Even Latvia had some recent results against those Top 5.

Georgia just went through to the round of 16.