Albania - Group A
It's the first time Gianni de Biasi's Albania team have ever qualified for a major tournament, and they find themselves in Group A alongside France, Switzerland and Romania
Get to know: Albania
Euro 2016 marks the first time that Albania have ever qualified for the finals of a major tournament, and they secured their place in France by virtue of finishing second in Group I alongside Portugal.
In the group stages, they collected 14 points with 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses, including a 3-0 walkover in the famous “Drone-gate” game with Serbia where violent scenes lead to the abandonment of the game in Belgrade.
In the draw for the main event, Albania were placed in Group A, alongside Switzerland, France and Romania.
Fixtures:
June 11 vs. Switzerland 1pm – Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens
June 15 vs. France 7pm – Stade Velodrome, Marseille
June 19 vs. Romania 7pm – Stade de Lyon, Lyon
Goal scorers:
During qualification, Albania scored 7 goals including 1 own goal
(in addition to the 3 they were awarded in the abandoned game vs Serbia)
Their goal scorers were:
- Bekim Balaj (1)
- Berat Djimsiti (1)
- Shkëlzen Gashi (1)
- Ermir Lenjani (1)
- Mërgim Mavraj (1)
- Armando Sadiku (1)
Qualification Stat Truths:
- Scored at the lowest rate of any qualifying team with seven goals in seven games.
- Shot the least frequently of any qualifier: 8.0 per match.
- Allowed shots more frequently than any qualifier: 12.0 per match.
- Only out-shot one of their qualifying opponents, the fewest of any qualifier.
- Only qualifier to score first in fewer than half of their qualifying matches (3/7).
- Four of the five goals they conceded during qualifying came in the final 15 minutes (at 80% this is the highest of any team at the finals).
- Won fewer corners per match than any other qualifier (2.9 per match).
All data based on Albania’s Euro 2016 qualification campaign. Courtesy of the Press Association.