The Albanian national team is ready for the penultimate qualifying challenge for the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
The Reds will face Andorra on Thursday night, in the city of Encamp, starting at 20:45 PM.
Albania coach Sylvinho, in a press conference held on Wednesday, praised the opponent and demanded maximum concentration from his team. He emphasized that Andorra is a well-organized team in defense and that the match will require patience and caution.
“They are two different matches. The Andorra coach has been there for a long time and knows the team and his players very well. He is good in defensive play and gets the most out of his players. It is a team that concedes a maximum of two goals and we have seen this in other matches that we have analyzed.
“Even in Tirana it was difficult at first, but when we scored the first and second goal we were calmer. We have also seen the other matches, so Serbia was tied in the first half. They are a difficult team to beat, but I hope that tomorrow we will manage to win the match,” said Sylvinho.
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The Brazilian coach emphasized that Albania is going through a very positive period, not only in terms of sports, but also in the overall development of national football.
He emphasized that the team is at a historic moment, very close to achieving a major goal — qualifying for the playoff stage for the World Cup.
“We are growing a lot as a federation. When we grow, others grow too, of course. This is also seen in the results we have had in the qualifiers, the European and now in the World Cup qualifiers. The differences in football are now becoming smaller and this is the passion that football brings.”
“When you play away it’s more difficult. We have shown better results at home. We are in a good situation, which we have never had before in the history of the national team, to be very close to qualifying for the playoffs. I hope we have a good match tomorrow against Andorra”, said Sylvinho.
Albania is in a favorable position in the group and a victory over Andorra would bring it significantly closer to its big goal – historic participation in the 2026 World Cup.Telegraph/