FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The coach has made his choices for this challenge, putting an end to the dilemmas for the advanced unit, where the trio whose main task will be to threaten the opposing goal will consist of Broja and Uzuni on the wings, while Manaj will be in the center.
The Albanian national team plays the most important match on its journey towards the 2026 World Cup against Serbia today in Leskovac.
The Reds want to maintain second place in the group and a victory would bring the team led by Silvinjo closer to securing the play-offs.
Silvinjo has not left much room for surprises, lining up this starting lineup from the first minute: Strakosha in goal, Gjimshiti-Ajeti in the center of defense, Mitaj and Hysaj on the wings, Shehu-Laçi and Asllani in midfield. In attack, on the left Uzuni, who can also be called a bit of a surprise, in the center Manaj and on the right Broja.
-Team form
Albania: With a 1-0 home win over Latvia last month, Albania remains unbeaten in its last five matches (3 wins, 2 draws) and is aiming for a third consecutive win for the first time since October 2023.
Albania has managed to get only 1 point in its two away matches in Group K. (Draw with Latvia and loss to England). Mathematics does not allow them to lose points even in the match against Serbia, as things get complicated. A positive result against Serbia is the key that opens a door to go to the World Cup for the first time in history.
Serbia: An unbeaten start to qualifying in Group K (2 wins, 1 draw), coupled with three clean sheets, had Serbia looking like a strong contender for first place, but a crushing 5-0 home defeat to England in their final match brought the Serbs back to their feet. This heavy defeat came somewhat unexpectedly, as Dragan Stojković's side were unbeaten in their previous seven matches (3 wins, 4 draws). It was also their first home defeat since September 2023 (4 wins, 3 draws). The match against Albania requires just three points if the Serbs are to secure a third consecutive appearance at the World Cup finals.
-Who will judge the Serbia-Albania match?
Istvan Kovac from Romania will be the main referee for the match, assisted by Mihai Marica and Ferenc Tunjogi. UEFA has appointed Horacio Fesnica, also from Romania, as the fourth official. The VAR room will be occupied by Germans Bastian Dankert and Pascal Müller.
-The mistake that cost Albania dearly
Albania made a mistake and is in a slightly worse position than Serbia before the most important match in Group K. Our national team managed to defeat Andorra, but a draw in the first match against Latvia cost us dearly. In the second, we won with a minimal score, 1-0. This false step puts us in second place with 1 point more than Serbia, which has one match less than us.
In the last two years, Silvinho has built a very strong and combative team that finds it difficult to concede goals, but on the other hand, finds it difficult to score them.
-Head-to-head matches
Serbia and Albania have played three matches so far, but none have been as important as today's one in opening a door to the World Cup.
However, the first one will be remembered for a very long time, mainly for the things that happened off the pitch. In the Euro 2016 qualifiers, the famous drone incident occurred, which caused the match to be interrupted due to chaos in the stadium. The points were later awarded to Albania on the table.
In the return match in Tirana, Serbia defeated Albania 2:0 with goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Adem Ljajić in the last minutes of the match.
Meanwhile, the third meeting was played in June of this year and there were no goals. Albania had a golden opportunity to score with a penalty awarded at the end of the first half, but Manaj's shot was stopped by Serbian goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović.
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