Albania vs Andorra

Albania will look to get on the board in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying group when they take on minnows Andorra at the Arena Kombetare.

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Albania in 2024, with the Red and Blacks suffering UEFA Nations League relegation and winning only two of their nine competitive matches across the year (D2, L5). The hope is that they will turn the corner in 2025, but starting their World Cup qualifying campaign with a win was always unlikely against group favorites England as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Wembley Stadium. Despite never reaching the World Cup finals, they narrowly missed out on a play-off spot for the 2022 tournament. Furthermore, they’ve qualified for two of the last three Euros under Sylvinho. However, they must halt an underwhelming run of four consecutive winless outings in Tirana (D2, L2), during which they only scored once.

Meanwhile, Andorra’s visit could be just what the doctor ordered for Albania, with the visitors heading into proceedings having failed to score in their last six away matches (D1, L5). Finding the net has long been a problem for the Tricolours, who have netted just 22 goals in 63 previous World Cup qualifiers, with their most recent match resulting in a 1-0 defeat to Latvia on matchday one. Unsurprisingly, 56 of those 63 matches have ended in defeat (W4, D3), including two 1-0 losses to Albania in the last cycle. Ominously, it’s been two-and-a-half years since Koldo Álvarez’s side last won a competitive match, as they enter this round on a 16-game winless run (D4, L12).