Just one point from the Albanian holiday on “Air Albania”
Albania missed penalties and several other golden opportunities to take only one point from the match with Serbia. The Albania – Serbia match took place on Saturday night at “Air Albania” and ended goalless. It was related to the qualifications for the 2026 World Cup.
As expected, the atmosphere throughout the day was fiery in Tirana. The beautiful stadium was packed with spectators, and thousands more stood in the streets of Tirana. There were no organized groups of fans in the stadium, but the support was not lacking. There was no organized cheering, but there was “fire” from the stands that was nevertheless not rewarded with the much-desired victory.
The Rossoneri’s commitment on the field was evident. They fought for every ball, in every corner of the field, from start to finish.
In the final minutes of the first half, Albania missed a golden opportunity. After Elseid Hysaj was fouled in the penalty area, the referee awarded a penalty. Rey Manaj took the responsibility of taking the penalty from the penalty spot. But he shot weakly and the Serbian goalkeeper saved the shot. Thus, the first half ended 0:0.
The numbers did not change in the second half either. Substitute Nedim Bajrami had a good chance. After a pass from Mirlind Daku, Bajrami was in a good position but shot weakly. In the first half, Mario Mitaj sent a strong shot, while the other attempts of the red and blacks ended as half-chances.
Serbia was also dangerous, especially with powerful striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, but without any concrete results. Early in the second half, Albania was saved by goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha, after a precise header by Mitrovic.
Overall, the match was open, with many duels, but no chances. And the nets remained untouched.
There was no major tension between the players on the field of play. But there were insults towards Serbs from spectators throughout.
There have also been fervent calls for Kosovo, the KLA, the legendary commander Adem Jashari, for ethnic Albania…
There was a lot of passion and enthusiasm in the stands, but not goals on the field.
The Albanian celebration began early on Saturday, with thousands of fans filling the streets and squares of Tirana. Most of them were from Kosovo, but there were also those from North Macedonia and various cities in Albania. There were songs and dances, calls for patriotism, but also calls for protests against the Albanian Football Association and its president, Armand Duka.
Organized fan groups were not at the stadium. They protested the way tickets were distributed, by lottery, namely the fact that the AHF was not allocated tickets. They also protested the joint organization of the 21 U2027 European Championship by the AHF together with the Serbian federation.
For this reason, the tilt in the stadium was not coordinated, but it was ultimately large.
There were some cases of water glasses being thrown, but no safety concerns. In the end, the players were greeted, while the fans left the stadium peacefully.
Hysaj: We gave everything of ourselves
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 23:37
Right-wing defender Elseid Hysaj said that he and the other team players gave everything they had in the match against Serbia.
“I talked to Broja about him taking advantage of one-on-one situations because he is very fast and strong. We had chances to win the match. I believe that the Serbian players were more afraid to play football. They were waiting for some interruption to take risks, because they didn’t have anything in the game. We all know that these are tough matches and we have to give our all, like we did,” said Hysaj after the goalless draw with Serbia.
Sylvinho disappointed with the result but not with the performance
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 23:29
Albania drew 2026-XNUMX with Serbia on Saturday at the “National Arena” in the third match of the XNUMX World Cup qualifiers.
Sylvinho was disappointed with the result, but not with the players’ performance on the field.
“I’m disappointed with the result, but not with the team’s performance. I’m happy. Maybe the best match in the last two or three years. The attacking trio played well. We put in a good performance. Broja played at his limits, he was tired. The same thing more or less with Shehu. He played throughout all the matches in the championship. Hoxha’s first half was fantastic, a very good, intelligent player. We deserved a little more, but this is football. We prepared the match well, we deserved more. I congratulated the players after the match, I’m proud of them. We deserved more,” said Brazilian coach Sylvinho after the match.
Uzun leaves the draw with Serbia behind, aims for victory against Latvia
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 23:28
Myrto Uzuni came on in the 75th minute of the match against Serbia. He was pleased to have some minutes on the field and said that he gave his best for those minutes. After the match, he spoke about the goalless draw with Serbia, in the Group K qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup. He also said that
Rey Manaj was successful in executing penalties in training.
Albania plays its next match on June 10th, away to Latvia.
“I’m glad I came into the game. We wanted to win, but we should be proud of the whole team, because we gave our all on the field. No player would want to be in Manaj’s position. He experienced that moment badly because it was heavy. He played an extraordinary game, just like Broja and Hoxha. In training, Manaj and I scored all the penalties. Now Latvia is a strong opponent. There is no easy opponent. It is important for us to win the next match”, emphasized Uzuni after the match.
Stojkovic after the match with Albania: Find another coach
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 23:25
Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic, in a press conference after the draw with Albania (0:0), praised the Albanian national team as exceptionally good.
“Didn’t you like the game? Find another coach. Very difficult game. Albania is extremely qualitative. We have shown character. We were not afraid of the atmosphere which was fantastic. I congratulate them… We came to win. The formation we started shows that we wanted to score goals. It is not easy to play in such a stadium, Albania has a good and qualitative team. A draw is more realistic. This point is sweeter for us than for them,” said Stojkovic, reports “B92”.
He said the environment was fantastic and that he was focused only on the game.
Even Serbia captain Aleksandar Mitrovic considered the draw to be the fairest result.
Hoxha: It was a good match, we had a chance to win
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 23:17
Winger Arbër Hoxha said that Albania had a chance to win the match against Serbia. Albania drew 0-0 at “Air Albania” on Saturday.
“It was an emotional match. I think it was a good match, we had a chance to win. We gave our best… Let’s concentrate on the next match, we are in the game to achieve qualification,” said Hoxha.
Daku: Everything is open, we will fight to realize the dream of qualifying for the World Cup
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 23:14
Kosovo striker Mirlind Daku said he felt very good and the great desire to play made him forget about the injury he had. Daku came on in the second half of the match that Albania drew 0-0 with Serbia.
Daku said that he was motivated by the support of the fans, while adding that Albania deserved to win the three points.
“If we had been more open-minded, we would have won. We gave the last atom in the match, it was all we had this time… Everything is open. We have an important match in three days against Latvia, I believe we must do our best to win it… We will fight for the objective of reaching the World Cup, which is a dream that we must definitely realize,” said Daku.
Gjimshiti happy with the match
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 23:05
Albania captain Berat Gjimshiti said he was very happy with the performance of his players in Saturday’s goalless draw with Serbia at “Air Albania” in Tirana.
Gjimshiti said that he could have taken more risks, but admitted that there was more pressure and emotions in the match.
“We played a good match, we take this point and go forward. You can risk a little more to go forward, but in these matches there is a lot of pressure, tension and emotions. Of course you don’t want to make a mistake… I’m very happy for the team for the match they played today,” said Gjimshiti.
Just one point from the Albanian holiday on “Air Albania”
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 22:41
Albania missed penalties and several other golden opportunities to take only one point from the match with Serbia. The Albania – Serbia match took place on Saturday night at “Air Albania” and ended goalless. It was related to the qualifications for the 2026 World Cup.
As expected, the atmosphere throughout the day was fiery in Tirana. The beautiful stadium was packed with spectators, and thousands more stood in the streets of Tirana. There were no organized groups of fans in the stadium, but the support was not lacking. There was no organized cheering, but there was “fire” from the stands that was nevertheless not rewarded with the much-desired victory.
The Rossoneri’s commitment on the field, however, was not lacking. They fought for every ball, in every corner of the field, from start to finish.
In the final minutes of the first half, Albania missed a golden opportunity. After Elseid Hysaj was fouled in the penalty area, the referee awarded a penalty. Rey Manaj took the responsibility of taking the penalty from the penalty spot. But he shot weakly and the Serbian goalkeeper saved the shot. Thus, the first half ended 0:0.
The numbers did not change in the second half either. Substitute Nedim Bajrami had a good chance. After a pass from Mirlind Daku, Bajrami was in a good position but shot weakly. In the first half, Mario Mitaj sent a strong shot, while the other attempts of the red and blacks ended as half-chances.
Serbia was also dangerous, especially with powerful striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, but without any concrete results. Early in the second half, Albania was saved by goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha, after a precise shot by Mitrovic.
Overall, the match was open, with many duels, but no chances. And the nets remained untouched.
There was no major tension between the players on the field of play. But there were insults towards Serbs from the spectators throughout.
There were also fervent calls for Kosovo, the KLA, the legendary commander Adem Jashari, and for ethnic Albania.
There was a lot of passion and enthusiasm in the stands, but no goals.
The celebration began early on Saturday, with thousands of fans filling the streets and squares of Tirana. There were songs and dances, calls for patriotism, but also calls for protests against the Albanian Football Association and its president, Armand Duka.
Organized fan groups were not in the stadium. They protested the way the tickets were distributed, by lottery, namely the fact that the Albanian Football Association was not allocated tickets. For this reason, the crowd in the stadium was not coordinated, but it was ultimately large.
5 more minutes until the end
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 22:29
There are still five minutes left until the end of the Albania – Serbia match.
The result is 0:0.
Albania attempted several times in the second half, but without success.
Another substitution from Sylvinho.
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 22:19
In the 75th minute, another striker, Myrto Uzuni, was also included.
Uzun has replaced Armando Broja who was very active on the right wing.
Eid presents another golden opportunity
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 22:15
Nedim Bajrami missed a golden opportunity in the 72nd minute.
After a beautiful assist from Mirlind Daku, Bajrami shot weakly.
Double change in Albania
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 22:06
Coach Sylvinho made a double change in the 63rd minute.
Mirlind Daku and Nedim Bajrami have entered the game.
Daku has been included in place of Rey Manaj who missed a penalty at the end of the first half.
Meanwhile, Bajrami has replaced Arbër Hoxha.
Three minutes later, Italian referee Davide Massa temporarily stopped the match. Fans were again urged not to throw objects onto the pitch.
Super Thomas Strakosha
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 21:57
Goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha made a crucial save.
In the 53rd minute he stopped Aleksandar Mitrović’s accurate header.
Albania immediately on the attack
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 21:54
Armando Broja has been dangerous since the start of the second half.
Broja won a speed duel but no one responded to his cross into the area.
The Reds miss a penalty, first half 0:0
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 21:35
No goals were scored in the first half of the Albania – Serbia match.
The Reds had a golden opportunity at the end. But Rey Menaj failed to score from the spot. His shot was stopped by the Serbian goalkeeper.
Overall, the first half was lackluster. There were a few half-chances on both sides, but in the end, Albania had a golden opportunity after a tackle on Hysaj.
The atmosphere in the stands was noticeably more upbeat. Although somewhat uncoordinated, the support from the fans was fervent. There are no fan groups in the stadium. There are thousands of fans on the streets of Tirana.
Penalty for Albania
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 21:32
Albania won a penalty in the last minute of the first half.
Elseid Hysaj was illegally stopped in the area by Lazar Samardzic.
First shot on goal by Albania
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 21:00
Left-wing defender Mario Mitaj registered the first shot on goal for Albania.
Mitaj shot powerfully in the 12th minute, but it was the opposing goalkeeper who saved his attempt, which was central.
The match is briefly interrupted, fans are urged to remain calm.
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 20:58
The referee briefly stopped the match, while the stadium announcer called on the fans to show respect. The match was stopped when a Serbian player was attempting to take a corner kick.
The 10th minute of the match between Albania and Serbia, which belongs to the 2026 World Cup qualifying round, is underway.
Meanwhile, there were also insults from fans towards the president of the Albanian Football Federation, Armando Duka.
Serbian players are welcomed with the “Mora vlaše” of the KLA
11 months ago / 7 Jun 2025 20:05
The atmosphere at Air Albania in Tirana is electrifying with less than an hour left until the start of the Albania – Serbia match. The Serbian players were greeted with the song “Mora fħalce” and chants of “UÇK, UÇK”.
The match belongs to the qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup.
It is the third match for Albania, and they have already earned three points.
It is the first match for Serbia.