Albania women's national football team

Albania
Nickname(s)Kuq e Zinjtë
(The Red and Blacks)
AssociationAlbanian Football Association
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachVioresin Sinani
CaptainAlbina Rrahmani
Most capsDenisa Proto (22)
Top scorerFurtuna Velaj (7)
Home stadiumElbasan Arena
FIFA codeALB
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 75 1 (25 March 2022)[1]
Highest40 (April 2015)
Lowest136 (December 2011)
First international
 Albania 1–0 Macedonia 
(Pogradec, Albania; 5 May 2011)[2]
Biggest win
 Albania 5–0 Armenia 
(Tirana, Albania; 21 October 2021)
Biggest defeat
 Albania 0–11 Norway 
(Durrës, Albania; 13 September 2014)
This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Albania national football team.

The Albania women's national football team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e Femrave) represents the country of Albania in international football and is controlled by the Albanian Football Association which is headquartered in the city of Tirana. The team is affiliated with UEFA and competes in the two major professional tournaments, the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship.

Women's football was long met with skepticism in Albania, and the first recorded tournament took place as late as 2007, before the FSHF formed the Albanian Women's National Championship in 2009, which is the only women's league in the country. The rise in popularity of the sport among women led to the formation of the Albania national team in 2011, and they made their debut in a friendly match against Macedonia that ended in a 1–0 win. The current head coach is Armir Grimaj, replacing Altin Rraklli who was in charge from the formation in 2011 until 2016.

History

The Albanian women's national football team was formed in 2011 and made their debut in a friendly against Macedonia FYR on 5 May 2011 at the Gjorgji Kyçyku Stadium.[3] The match ended 1–0 with Albania's first win and midfielder Aurora Seranaj scoring the first goal for Albania.[3]

Towards the end of 2011, the national team strengthened its squad with the arrival of football players from the Albanian diaspora communities, notably Furtuna Velaj, Dafina Memedov, Ellvana Curo, Elizabeta Ejupi, Arjeta Krasniqi and Arbnora Robelli. The national team ended the year with their second win against Macedonia FYR away in Struga. [4] The second victory against Macedonia FYR is currently the national team's biggest win.

On 15 May 2012, Albania faced Montenegro in Bar and won 4–2. [5] Three days later, the Albanian team won again with a rematch against Montenegro, winning 4–3 at the Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër. [6] On 22 May, Albania encountered Macedonia FYR again, winning 2–0 with 2 goals from Suada Jashari. [7] The national team had so far been undefeated in 5 games, with 15 goals scored, and 6 goals conceded. On 29 August, The Albanian national team participated in an unofficial football tournament held in Drama. The national team drew 1–1 with Amazons Drama[8] and lost 0–3 to Greece.[9]

Team image

Kit suppliers
Kit provider Period
Legea 2011
Adidas 2011–2016
Macron 2016–present

Home stadium

The Elbasan Arena is currently the national stadium of the Albania women's national football team. The first home match in the country was played in the Gjorgji Kyçyku Stadium of Pogradec in May 2011.[3] Following the completion, the National Arena in Tirana will be the home venue of both the men's and women's national team.

In November 2013, Qemal Stafa Stadium was shut down by FIFA for not fulfilling international standards.[10] During the period of friendly games and the Euro qualifier with Greece in 2015, the women's team used the Loni Papuçiu Stadium in Fier to hold their matches. The Qemal Stafa Stadium held the match between France and Albania on 27 November 2015.

Results and fixtures
Main article: Albania women's national football team results

This Is the schedule of past & upcoming games for the Albania women's football team.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

2021
12 July Friendly Albania  1–2  Turkey Elbasan, Albania
  • Gjini 4'
 Report (SW)
Stadium: Elbasan Arena
15 July Friendly Albania  1–4  Turkey Tirana, Albania
Stadium: Selman Stërmasi Stadium
16 September 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification Albania  1–1  Kosovo Elbasan, Albania
19:00
Report
Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Referee: Elvira Nurmustafina (Kazakhstan)
21 September 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup F Belgium  7–0  Albania Brussels, Belgium
 Report Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium
Referee: Désirée Grundbacher (Switzerland)
21 October 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification Albania  5–0  Armenia Tirana
 Report Stadium: Arena Kombëtare
Referee: Maria Marotta (Italy)
25 November 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification Albania  0–7  Norway Rrogozhinë
Report
Stadium: Rrogozhinë Stadium
Referee: Miriama Matulova (Slovakia)

2022
7 April 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification Albania  0–5  Belgium Elbasan, Albania
18:30 Report
Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Referee: Eszter Urban (Hungary)
12 April 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification– UEFAGroup F Armenia  0–4  Albania Armavir, Armenia
19:30 Report
Stadium: Armavir City Stadium
Referee: Angelika Söder (Germany)

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff
Position Name Ref.
Head coach Vioresin Sinani

Manager history

Players
Main article: List of Albania women's international footballers

Current squad

The following players were named to the squad for the matches against  Norway and  Kosovo on 25 and 30 November 2021.[12]

Caps and goals accurate up to and including 27 November 2020.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Viona Rexhepi (1996-07-24) 24 July 1996 7 0 Mitrovica
12 1GK Antigona Hyska (2003-06-23) 23 June 2003 1 0 Apolonia
5 2DF Arbiona Bajraktari (1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 23 1 Vllaznia
6 2DF Sara Maliqi (1995-10-09) 9 October 1995 19 0 Vllaznia
8 2DF Endrina Elezaj (1997-01-12) 12 January 1997 10 0 Mitrovica
3 2DF Arbenita Curraj (1996-07-28) 28 July 1996 8 0 Vllaznia
2DF Matilda Gjergji (2003-05-21) 21 May 2003 Vllaznia
2DF Aglia Iliadhi (2004-11-30) 30 November 2004 Apolonia
16 3MF Luçije Gjini (1994-05-02) 2 May 1994 30 2 Vllaznia
11 3MF Megi Doçi (1996-10-14) 14 October 1996 23 5 Vllaznia
10 3MF Qëndresa Krasniqi (1994-06-28) 28 June 1994 18 1 Vllaznia
2 3MF Alma Hila (2000-02-02) 2 February 2000 5 0 Orobica
20 3MF Vanesa Levenaj (2001-08-10) 10 August 2001 1 0 Vllaznia
4 3MF Mikaela Metalla (2002-10-22) 22 October 2002 1 0 Tirana AS
3MF Luana Zajmi (2002-06-14) 14 June 2002 0 0 Leicester City
3MF Gresa Berisha (1998-04-26) 26 April 1998 0 0 Vllaznia
18 3MF Ezmiralda Franja (1997-02-04) 4 February 1997 Vllaznia
17 4FW Kristina Maksuti (1993-02-06) 6 February 1993 13 1 Klepp IL
7 4FW Mimoza Hamidi (1998-04-28) 28 April 1998 1 0 Basel
9 4FW Esi Lufo (2001-09-10) 10 September 2001 Vllaznia
13 4FW Mesuare Begallo (2000-03-01) 1 March 2000 Partizani
4FW Gleona Taullai 0 0

Recent call ups

The following players have been called up to the squad in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ardiola Raxhimi (1998-09-12) 12 September 1998 0 0 v.  Poland, 26 October 2021
DF Xhulia Xhindole (1999-01-24) 24 January 1999 Tirana AS v.  Poland, 26 October 2021
DF Rabie Tota (1994-02-14) 14 February 1994 0 0 v.  Poland, 26 October 2021
DF Albina Rrahmani (1989-02-24) 24 February 1989 33 1 Vllaznia v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 9 April 2021
MF Ilarja Zarka (2001-10-01) 1 October 2001 1 0 Vllaznia v.  Poland, 26 October 2021
MF Valentina Troka (2002-11-15) 15 November 2002 KFF Tirana AS v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 9 April 2021
MF Armela Tukaj (2001-05-25) 25 May 2001 Apolonia v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 9 April 2021
FW Klea Hamonikaj (2003-05-28) 28 May 2003 Apolonia v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 9 April 2021

Records

Individual
As of 5 August 2021

*Active players in bold.

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Pld W D * L GF GA GD Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
1991 Did not enterDid not enter
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015 Did not qualify6/613319856−48
2019 4/511326925−16
2023 To be determined
Total0/9–––––––Total2463151781−64

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship
UEFA Women's Championship record Qualification record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD Position Pld W D* L GF GA GD
1984 Did not enterDid not enter
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017 Did not qualify5/58008331−28
2021 Did not qualify4/58206721–14
Total0/11–––––––Total1620141052−42

Head-to-head record
As of 5 August 2021
Opponent Games Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Differential
 Belgium 2 0 0 2 0 8 −8
 Croatia 2 0 0 2 2 10 −8
 Finland 2 0 0 2 1 11 −11
 France 2 0 0 2 0 12 −12
 Greece 5 2 0 3 6 12 −6
 Hungary 1 0 0 1 0 6 −6
 Kosovo 1 1 0 0 3 2 −1
 Latvia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
 Luxembourg 2 2 0 0 4 2 +2
 North Macedonia 4 3 0 1 10 5 +5
 Malta 2 0 2 0 1 1 0
 Montenegro 3 2 0 1 8 6 +2
 Netherlands 2 0 0 2 1 14 −13
 Norway 2 0 0 2 0 18 −18
 Portugal 3 0 0 3 1 11 −10
 Poland 2 0 1 1 2 5 –3
 Romania 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6
 Turkey 2 1 0 1 1 1 0
 Ukraine 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6
19 Countries411132739134−95

See also

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. Kirill (16 August 2010). "Albania matches". Kirill. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  3. Fatjon Pandovski - Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) (6 May 2011). "Seranaj scores as Albania women make their debut". uefa.com.
  4. Sue Prior. "Winning International debut for Liz". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  5. "Montenegro vs. Albania 2 – 4". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  6. "Albania vs. Montenegro 4 – 3". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  7. "Albania vs. Macedonia FYR 2 – 0". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  8. "Δράμα -Αλβανία μέσα απο το φακό". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  9. "Αυλαία στο τουρνουά της Δράμας (+photos)- Κόγγουλη "Καλό τεστ το τουρουά για την Εθνική"". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  10. "Sport.albeu.com – UEFA "djeg" edhe "Ruzhdi Bizhutën" e "Niko Dovanën"". Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  11. Rraklli largohet nga stoli i Kombëtares së femrave, ja kush e zëvendëson
  12. "Botërori për femra/Grima shpall listën për ndeshjet me Norvegjinë dhe Kosovën". 19 November 2021.
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