FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
From the start of the match, Albania made three passes, Italy made a mistake from the throw-in and Nedim Bajrami jumped to hit the ball, scoring after only 23 seconds of play and realizing the fastest goal in EURO history.
The prestigious international media "Reuters" has devoted a special analysis to the Albanian national football team and its journey to EURO 2024.
The media considers it as the most beautiful surprise of the European Championship that is taking place in Germany, at least until these moments.
"Reuters" article about the Albanian national team and the "red" fans:
Albania return home as bottom of their group at Euro 2024 with just one point, but these facts say nothing of their excellent contribution to the tournament in passionate battles against three of the tournament's top teams.
With Albania in Germany facing reigning champions Italy in their opening game, Brazilian coach Sylvinho could never have imagined in his wildest dreams how well the second European tournament in history would start for the Reds.
From the start of the match, Albania made three passes, Italy made a mistake from the throw-in and Nedim Bajrami jumped to hit the ball, scoring after only 23 seconds of play and realizing the fastest goal in EURO history.
A goal that ignited the celebration among tens of thousands of fans wearing "red" in Dortmund, chaos in the bars and houses of the Albanian capital, Tirana, and an immortal moment for the proud Balkan nation.
Italy then scored twice, but Albania kept them under pressure until the end, almost equalizing in extra time, bringing applause to the stadium and surprising the world for a team that nobody expected to do anything in the group where it was located.
Against Croatia in the next match of Group B, Albania thrilled their fans again after challenging and drawing 2-2 with a goal in the dying seconds in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament so far.
The Albanians looked more composed in their third match, in a narrow 1-0 loss to Spain, but still gave their opponents plenty of chances through Jasir Asani and Kristjan Asllani.
The ambitious football federation of Albania hopes that the experience in Germany will help them for the future, with more regular appearances.
One thing that Albanians can be sure of is the extraordinary support.
Many were surprised to see the Albanians outnumber the Italians in the opening match, and this continued throughout, the noise and color of the "red" fans matching their sheer numbers. Some came from home and others from the global Albanian diaspora.
Lini një Përgjigje