Albania Under-17
Nickname(s)Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks)
Shqiponjat (The Eagles)
AssociationFederata Shqiptare e Futbollit (FSHF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachErvin Bulku
CaptainEndri Çelaj
Most capsAndi Lila (9)
Vangjel Mile
Erlind Koreshi
Aldo Teqja
Endri Çekiçi
Top scorerMirel Çota (4)
Home stadiumElbasan Arena
Loro Boriçi Stadium
FIFA codeALB
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
First international
 Croatia 4–0 Albania 
(Vác, Hungary; 24 September 2001)
Biggest win
 Liechtenstein 0–6 Albania 
(Tatabánya, Hungary; 23 October 2012)
Biggest defeat
 Albania 0–7 Belarus 
(Riihimäki, Finland; 25 September 2008)
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Appearances0
Best result–
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Appearances0
Best result–

The Albania national under-17 football team represents Albania in international football at this age level in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, as well as any other under-17 international football tournaments. It is controlled by Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania.

Albania U17 has never qualified in an Under-17 major tournament, managing only "elite round" thrice in 2012, 2014 managed by coach Džemal Mustedanagić in both cases and in 2023. Despite not Qualifying in the past Albania U17 will host the 2025 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, who will be held in Tirana.[1]

History

2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification

Main article: 2016 UEFA Euro U-17 Championship qualifying round — Group 1

Group 1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 3 2 0 1 10 3 +7 6[a] Elite round
2   Switzerland 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6[a]
3  Wales (H) 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4  Albania 3 0 1 2 1 8 −7 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked by head-to-head record (Netherlands: 3 pts; Switzerland: 0 pts).
Switzerland 2–0 Albania
Zeqiri 9'
Kameraj 25'		 Report
Newport Stadium, Newport
Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)
Albania 0–5 Netherlands
Report Adekanye 4'
Lopez 10', 40'
Vente 79'
Kumbulla 80+2' (o.g.)
Newport Stadium, Newport
Referee: Alexandr Aliyev (Kazakhstan)
Wales 1–1 Albania
Evans 42' Report Kastrati 39'
Dragon Park, Newport
Referee: Thoroddur Hjaltalin (Iceland)

2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification

Main article: 2017 UEFA Euro U-17 Championship qualifying round — Group 4

Group 4

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy (H) 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7 Elite round
2  Serbia 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3  North Macedonia 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 4
4  Albania 3 0 0 3 1 5 −4 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Albania 0–1 Italy
Report Merola 62'
Stadio Bruno Benelli, Ravenna
Referee: Eitan Shmuelevitz (Israel)
Serbia 2–0 Albania
Djerlek 5' (pen.)
Bosić 13'		 Report
Stadio Bruno Bucci, Russi
Referee: Bryn Markham-Jones (Wales)
North Macedonia 2–1 Albania
Kolevski 54'
Stratorski 63'		 Report Bullari 52'
Stadio Tullo Morgagni, Forlì
Referee: Bryn Markham-Jones (Wales)

2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification

Main article: 2018 UEFA Euro U-17 Championship qualifying round — Group 2

Group 2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Croatia (A) 3 2 1 0 8 1 +7 7 Elite round
2  Spain (A) 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7
3  Albania (H, E) 3 1 0 2 5 2 +3 3
4  Liechtenstein (E) 3 0 0 3 0 14 −14 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (H) Hosts
Albania 0–1 Croatia
Report
Selman Stërmasi Stadium, Tirana
Referee: Mykola Balakin (Ukraine)
Spain 1–0 Albania
 Report
Selman Stërmasi Stadium, Tirana
Referee: Zbynek Proske (Czech Republic)
Liechtenstein 0–5 Albania
Report
  • Bozhanaj 10', 21', 50'
  • Rama 24'
  • Bullari 33'
Selman Stërmasi Stadium, Tirana
Referee: Zbynek Proske (Czech Republic)

Recent results

2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification

Main article: 2023 UEFA Euro U-17 Championship qualifying round — Group 7

Group 7

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Wales 3 1 2 0 5 3 +2 5 Elite round
2  Croatia (H) 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 4[a]
3  Albania 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4[a]
4  Sweden 3 0 2 1 6 8 −2 2
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Ranked on head-to-head: Croatia 1–0 Albania.
Sweden 1–3 Albania
Smajic 14' Report Vraniçi 29', 81'
Kashari 73'
Gradski Stadion "Laco", Novigrad
Referee: Chrysovalantis Theouli (Cyprus)
Croatia 1–0 Albania
Živković 90+1' Report
Stadion Veli Jože, Poreč
Referee: Rauf Jabarov (Azerbaijan)
Albania 0–0 Wales
Report
Gradski Stadion "Laco", Novigrad
Referee: Oleksii Derevinskyi (Ukraine)

2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification Elite Round

Main article: 2023 UEFA Euro U-17 Championship qualifying Elite Round — Group 8

Group 8

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  France 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 9 Final tournament
2   Switzerland 3 1 1 1 7 5 +2 4
3  Albania (H) 3 0 2 1 2 6 −4 2
4  Latvia 3 0 1 2 4 8 −4 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
France 4–0 Albania
 Report
Arena Kombëtare, Tirana
Referee: David Dickinson (Scotland)
Switzerland 1–1 Albania
  • Romano 66'
 Report
  • Sulejmani 14'
Arena Kombëtare, Tirana
Referee: Sivert Øksnes Amland (Norway)
Albania 1–1 Latvia
  • Duro 56'
 Report
  • Ivulāns 80'
Arena Kombëtare, Tirana
Referee: David Dickinson (Scotland)

Current squad

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Alain Taho (2007-04-30) 30 April 2007 (age 16) 3 0 Italy Inter U17
12 1GK Darius Zadeja (2007-05-07) 7 May 2007 (age 16) 0 0 Albania Tirana U17
2 2DF Davide Avdullari (2007-01-13) 13 January 2007 (age 17) 14 0 Italy Hellas U17
21 2DF Renato Halili (2007-10-25) 25 October 2007 (age 16) 12 2 Italy Südtirol U17
4 2DF Kleo Shpuza (2007-01-07) 7 January 2007 (age 17) 9 0 Italy Udinese U17
6 2DF Kris Gecaj (2008-11-14) 14 November 2008 (age 15) 9 1 Italy Juventus U-15
15 2DF Enea Elmazi (2007-05-12) 12 May 2007 (age 16) 6 0 Albania Tirana U17
3 2DF Fabjano Nuhaj (2008-04-06) 6 April 2008 (age 15) 5 0 Greece Olympiacos U17
19 2DF Samuele Sina (2007-02-14) 14 February 2007 (age 17) 4 0 Italy Feralpisalò U17
20 2DF Rinaldo Nela (2007-01-20) 20 January 2007 (age 17) 2 0 Albania Partizani U17
8 3MF Matteo Dashi (2007-01-22) 22 January 2007 (age 17) 10 0 England Crystal Palace U18
17 3MF Eraldo Karaj (2007-02-17) 17 February 2007 (age 17) 9 0 Germany Darmstadt U17
5 3MF Jetmir Laze (2007-07-22) 22 July 2007 (age 16) 7 0 Albania Skënderbeu U17
18 3MF Mattia Huqi (2007-06-21) 21 June 2007 (age 16) 4 0 Italy Empoli U17
13 3MF Serxho Vogli (2008-03-21) 21 March 2008 (age 15) 0 0 Albania Akademia U15
10 4FW Tedi Malaj (2007-07-02) 2 July 2007 (age 16) 12 1 Albania Partizani U19
11 4FW Oresti Rifa (2007-02-08) 8 February 2007 (age 17) 10 3 Albania Partizani U17
22 4FW Matias Gici (2007-05-18) 18 May 2007 (age 16) 10 7 Italy Venezia U17
7 4FW Xheto Joi Nuredini (2007-08-05) 5 August 2007 (age 16) 7 3 Italy Genoa U17
9 4FW Brayan Gjyla (2007-07-26) 26 July 2007 (age 16) 6 0 Italy Feralpisalò U19
14 4FW Gabrian Cani (2008-09-05) 5 September 2008 (age 15) 1 0 Albania Vllaznia U17

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up last 12 months and are still eligible to represent the under-17 side:

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
Notes

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff:[3]

Position Name
Head Coach Albania Ardian Behari
Assistant Coach Albania Agron Kërçova
Goalkeeping Coach Albania Elvis Kotorri
Team doctor Albania Adriatik Shahini
Physiotherapists Albania Sabri Nurce
Athletic preparator Albania Ardi Bekteshi
Videoanalystic Albania Edon Beliu
Team manager Albania Eno Xhaferraj

Competitive record

UEFA European Under-17 Championship

UEFA European Under-17 Championship record UEFA European Under-17 Championship Qualification/Elite record
Year Round Pld W D * L GF GA Position Pld W D * L GF GA
Denmark 2002 did not qualify Qualifying round[4] 4/4 3 0 0 3 4 11
Portugal 2003 Second qualifying round[5] 4/4 6 2 2 2 8 7
France 2004 First qualifying round[6] 4/4 3 0 0 3 3 10
Italy 2005 Qualifying round[7] 3/4 3 1 0 2 8 7
Luxembourg 2006 Qualifying round 4/4 3 0 0 3 1 10
Belgium 2007 Qualifying round 4/4 3 0 1 2 2 7
Turkey 2008 Qualifying round[8] 4/4 3 0 1 2 1 10
Germany 2009 Qualifying round 4/4 3 0 1 2 3 14
Liechtenstein 2010 Qualifying round 4/4 3 0 0 3 2 11
Serbia 2011 Qualifying round 3/4 3 0 1 2 1 5
Slovenia 2012 Elite round 3/4 6 2 1 3 5 11
Slovakia 2013 Qualifying round 3/4 3 1 0 2 2 6
Malta 2014 Elite round 4/4 6 1 1 4 3 7
Bulgaria 2015 Qualifying round 3/4 3 1 0 2 5 6
Azerbaijan 2016 Qualifying round 4/4 3 0 1 2 1 8
Croatia 2017 Qualifying round 4/4 3 0 0 3 1 5
England 2018 Qualifying round 3/4 3 1 0 2 5 2
Republic of Ireland 2019 Qualifying round 3/4 3 1 0 2 2 9
Estonia 2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[9][10]
Cyprus 2021
Israel 2022 did not qualify Qualifying round 3/4 3 0 1 2 4 10
Hungary 2023 Elite round 3/4 6 1 3 2 5 8
Cyprus 2024 to be determined
Albania 2025 Qualified as hosts
Total: 0/22 Best: – Total 72 11 13 48 66 164

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

See also

References

  1. ^ https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/kampionati-europian-u17-do-te-mbahet-ne-tirane-rama-gjera-te-paimagjinueshme-vite-me-pare
  2. ^ "Elite Round i Europianit / Shqipëria U-17 nis grumbullimin, trajneri Bulku shpall listën me emrat e 25 lojtarëve të ftuar" (in Albanian). Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Kombëtarja U-17". FSHF.org. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  4. ^ UEFA European U-17 C'ship - 2002[permanent dead link] en.archive.uefa.com
  5. ^ UEFA European U-17 C'ship - 2003 en.archive.uefa.com
  6. ^ UEFA European U-17 C'ship - 2004[permanent dead link] en.archive.uefa.com
  7. ^ UEFA European U-17 C'ship - 2005[permanent dead link] en.archive.uefa.com
  8. ^ UEFA European U-17 C'ship - 2008 en.archive.uefa.com
  9. ^ "U17 finals in Estonia cancelled". UEFA. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  10. ^ "2020/21 Under-17 EURO cancelled". UEFA. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.

External links

Albania national football team
Football in Albania
National under-17 football teams of Europe (UEFA)
National sports teams of Albania
Categories