The is the national
Football team of
Albania and is controlled by the
Football Association Of Albania . It has never advanced to the finals of any major international competition.
Although long considered one of the weakest footballing sides in Europe, Albania have occasionally managed to hold their own against more illustrious opponents. In the
1968 European Championship qualifiers, they managed a 0-0 draw against
West Germany , which eliminated West Germany from qualification. During that era, Albania boasted arguably its greatest ever footballer,
Panajot Pano . It wasn't until the
1986 World Cup qualifiers that it would achieve notable results with a 2-2 draw away to
Poland and a 3-1 win over eventual semi-finalists
Belgium .
The qualifiers for the
1998 World Cup saw Albania forced to play some home games on neutral venues owing to civil unrest at home. However, they were able to hold their own against Germany, losing 3-2 at home and 4-3 away in the final game. The
2004 European Championship and
2006 World Cup qualifiers have seen Albania's results improve markedly, which the latter included a 2-1 opening victory against European Champions Greece.
- 1930 to 1962 - ''Did not enter''
- 1966 - ''Did not qualify''
- 1970 - ''Did not enter''
- 1974 - ''Did not qualify''
- 1978 - ''Did not enter''
- 1982 to 2006 - ''Did not qualify''
