Albania national under-21 football team
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| Nickname(s) | Kuq e Zinjtë (The Red and Blacks) Shqiponjat (The Eagles) Shpresat e Shqipërisë (Albanian Expectations/Hopes) |
|---|---|
| Association | Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit (FSHF) |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Head coach | Alban Bushi |
| Captain | Thomas Strakosha |
| Most caps | Amarildo Belisha (16) |
| Top scorer | Armando Sadiku (6) |
| Home stadium |
Elbasan Arena Loro Boriçi Stadium |
| FIFA code | ALB |
| First international | |
 Yugoslavia 1–0 Albania  (Thessaloniki, Greece; 25 June 1976) |
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| Biggest win | |
Albania 7–1 Romania  (Tirana, Albania; April 12, 1978) |
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| Biggest defeat | |
 Germany 8–0 Albania (Cologne, Germany; March 23, 2001) |
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| UEFA U-21 Championship | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1984) |
| Best result | Quarter-finals, 1984 |
The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, which is held every two years.
Albania U-21 participated in the Balkan Youth Championships, which started in 1969 and ended in 1981 in 10 overall competitions, and won the two last, the 1978 and the 1981 ones with finals against Romania and Bulgaria. Notably in 1978 the second leg of the final match against Romania was characterized by a large Albania win (7–1), which is, until September 2014, the largest win ever recorded of Albania U-21.
Albania Under-21's have managed to qualify only once in their history, and that came in the year of 1984 when they managed to qualify for the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, although they were competing for the first time in such tournament. They were drawn in a very tough group which included the West Germany, Turkey and Austria. The historic event in Albanian football history is the only occasion where any Albanian national team has ever managed to qualify for a major European or even World championship. To this day the team that qualified for 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship are still regarded as the most successful team in Albanian football history. Albania U21 managed to qualify without losing a single game and managing two very good draws against one of the biggest and best footballing nations, West Germany.
Albania played the quarter finals against Italy, against which it lost twice 0–1, and 0–1, in Albania and Italy respectively. Italy advanced to the semifinals of Euro '84 and lost them against England, eventual champions of the tournament.
In the 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came last in group after Poland and Greece, and could not qualify. In the 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came again last in group after Spain, Romania nd Austria. In the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania came last in group after Sweden, England and Poland. In the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship managed to leave last in groupe Iceland, but was preceded by Czechoslovakia, France and Spain. In the qualifiers of the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Albania againe left at bottom the Republic of Ireland, but was preceded by Spain, Germany and Denmark.
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