It’s hardly an appealing sight for a national manager at a major tournament: your team’s name listed among the tournament holders in Italy, the joint-most-successful team in the competition’s history in Spain, and previous quarterfinalists in Croatia.
It would be even less of an appealing sight if, say, your country was only heading to that tournament for the second time. But this is the challenge that awaits Albania’s boss Sylvinho – the ex-Premier League player has surprised many with the results he coaxed out of the Red and Blacks since taking charge in 2023, but will have a huge challenge to make that translate into success in Germany.
When Sylvinho took charge of Albania’s national team, they had won only one game in 2022, and a ticket to Germany seemed a tall order. However, the Brazilian, assisted by his former Manchester City colleague Pablo Zabaleta, has turned their fortunes around. Their qualification run was strong, losing only their first game to Poland before an eight-match unbeaten run saw them book their place in the finals.
Sylvinho played at club level in three countries (including spells with Arsenal and City) and has since managed Lyon and Corinthians with, it must be said, very little success – but he has taken to international management like a duck to water so far. His efforts in taking the Red and Blacks to the EUROs have even earned him a prestigious Golden Eagle medal from the country’s Prime Minister. Whether that can continue in the Group of Death, though, is another question.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlbania will have to pull off one of the upsets of the tournament if they are to move forward to the round-of-16 and better their only other effort (a group stage exit in 2016) in the process. As is the case in seemingly every major tournament, there is one particular group that promises some spectacular showdowns – and one particular team in that group that most armchair pundits count out before a ball has been kicked.
This year, that ‘Group of Death’ is Group B, and that poor little underdog is Albania. The fixture list throws them in at the deep end as they open their campaign in Dortmund against holders Italy, kicking off at 8pm on 15th June live on BBC One.
Their group stage (all of which will be covered here on FromTheSpot) is bookended by gruelling challenges – they will finish up with a clash against three-time winners Spain in Düsseldorf, also on the BBC at 8pm on 24th June. Their best chance of progression may well sit between those fixtures; if they can get a good result against Croatia on 19th June, they will improve their hopes of finishing among the best third-placed teams. That match will be played in Hamburg, kicking off at 2pm and available to watch on ITV.
Despite the numbers (Albania being the second-lowest-ranked team at the tournament, and Spain being the country with the joint-most wins), Sylvinho’s side are not going in to roll over and play dead. Far from it – his chosen 4-3-3 formation demands high intensity and high effort from his players, many of whom are making their major tournament debuts and might be looking to impress in the hope that their club managers are watching back home.
Embed from Getty ImagesSylvinho has proven himself to have a great eye for talent and has already offered several players their first chance on the international stage, with these gambles largely paying off; for instance, Jasir Asani has scored 4 goals in his 12 appearances (all under Sylvinho) after being called into the squad from Gwangju FC in South Korea. Despite Asani’s relatively quiet club career, Sylvinho – who recalls coming into the office at 9am to watch his games in K League 1 – saw the potential for him to slot into his system. Asani will be a key player to watch for Albania, and has already drawn attention with a couple of exquisite goals in qualifying and warm-up games.
The team as a whole had mixed results in their pre-tournament friendlies; they recorded two defeats in March to Chile and Sweden, but convincing 3-0 and 3-1 wins in recent weeks over Liechtenstein and Azerbaijan. Other than Asani, there are a couple of familiar names for Premier League fans – Brentford’s Thomas Strakosha and 22-year-old striker Armando Broja, currently on loan to Fulham from Chelsea, are also in the squad.
There are not many huge names in the Albanian ranks, but that’s not to say there’s no talent – their last six goals have been scored by six different players, showing the ability spread through the team. Many play in Italy, with Kristjan Asllani another one to watch. The Inter Milan midfielder struggled for a place in the starting lineup in Serie A this season, but for the Red and Blacks he is a central figure.
The issue for Albania is not a lack of capability, but in such a difficult group, their inexperience on the biggest of stages could be a factor, as could a conspicuous lack of minutes throughout the club season for players like Asani and goalkeeper Strakosha.
Sylvinho has done remarkably well to craft this gritty, talented team and completely turn around their form in such a short space of time but this will be by far their biggest challenge yet. If the Red and Blacks are to escape the Group of Death they will need all the “sweat, heart, and soul” (an evocative turn of phrase from their manager) that they can give – and more than a little bit of luck.
As the tournament edges closer, you can read more about their opponents in Group B and follow all of the action here on FromTheSpot.