Albania national under-23 football team
The Albania national under-23 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level and is controlled by Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania. The team competed in the UEFA European Under-23 Championship & Balkan Youth Championship, but after the rule change in 1975s, the event had an age limit of 21.
| Nickname(s) | Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks) Shqiponjat (The Eagles) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit (FSHF) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Most caps | Millan Vaso (15) | ||
| Top scorer | Ilir Përnaska (9) | ||
| FIFA code | ALB | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Greece 1–0 Albania .svg.png.webp){kind=small} (Bucharest, Romania; 25 June 1969) | |||
| Last international | |||
 Italy 4–0 Albania  (Foggia, Italy; 19 June 1997} | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Albania 6–0 Turkey  (Bucharest, Romania; 28 June 1969) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bulgaria 1–0 Albania (Athens, Greece; 7 July 1971) | |||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Balkan Youth Championship U23 | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 1969 | Team |
| 1970 | Team |
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 1974 | Team |
| 1976 | Team |
History
Balkan Youth Championship
Albania Under-23 participated in the Balkan Youth Championship tournaments from 1969 until 1976 when the age limit rule changed to the under-21 and then Albania participated with the Albania national under-21 football team. In two first tournament 1969 & 1970, Albania U23 was ranked 3rd out 5 national teams participations in both occasions. Then in the 1971 & 1972 tournament they were ranked in the 4th place in both cases. They withdrew from the 1973 tournament and in the 1974 edition, Albania U23 managed to reach the final after winning Group B against Turkey U23 & Greece U23. In the final they lost 1–0 against Romania U23.[1]
UEFA European Under-23 Championship
Albania U23 participated in 2 out 3 UEFA European Under-23 Championship in 1972 & 1974 where they were eliminated in both cases in the qualifying stages.[2][3]
1991 Mediterranean Games
Group stage – Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Greece |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 4 |
| Albania |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 2 |
 Algeria |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
1997 Mediterranean Games
Group stage – Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 4 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} FR Yugoslavia |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
| Albania |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 |
| FR Yugoslavia | 3 – 1 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Bogdani  60' |
Players individual records
Top appearances
| Rank | Position | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MF | 1970–1974 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2 | FW | Agim Janku |
1970–1971 | 13 | 3 |
| FW | 1970–1972 | 13 | 9 | ||
| 4 | MF | 1969–1971 | 12 | 5 | |
| MF | 1970–1974 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 6 | MF | 1969–1971 | 11 | 2 | |
| MF | 1970–1971 | 11 | 0 | ||
| MF | Gjergji Thaka |
1970–1971 | 11 | 0 | |
| 9 | DF | 1969–1971 | 10 | 0 | |
| GK | 1969–1971 | 10 | 0 | ||
| DF | 1969–1971 | 10 | 0 | ||
| DF | 1969–1970 | 10 | 0 | ||
Competitive record
UEFA European Under-23 Championship Record
| UEFA European Under-23 Championship record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 1972 | Qualifying Stage | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 1974 | Qualifying Stage | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 1976 | Did Not Enter | ||||||
| Total | 0/2 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
Balkan Youth Championship Record
| Balkan Youth Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
| 1968 | Did Not Enter | |||||||
 1969 |
Group Ch. | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
 1970 |
Group Ch. | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 1971 |
Group Ch. | 4th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 |
| 1972 |
Semi-final | 4th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 1973 |
Group Ch. | Withdrew | ||||||
| 1974 |
Runners-Up | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 1975 |
Did Not Enter | |||||||
| 1976 |
Third Place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Total | Best:Runners-Up | 6/8 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 31 | 30 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty shoot-out.
- **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
Mediterranean Games - Football
| Football at the Mediterranean Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| 1991 | Group stage | 6th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 1997 | Group stage | 11th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Total | 0/2 | Best: 6th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
See also
- Albania national football team
- Albania national under-21 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 under-15 football team
- Albania national football team results
- Albania national youth football team
- Albanian Superliga
- Football in Albania
- List of Albania international footballers
References
External links
- Tournament archive at UEFA.com
- UEFA U-23 European Championship at RSSSF.com
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