The President of the Football Federation, Armand Duka, was a guest on the TV Klan programme “L’America”, hosted by Lenida Halilaj, a show dedicated to the 2026 World Cup.
During the interview, President Duka shared his impressions from the atmosphere and organisation of the World Cup, analysed the teams competing for the trophy, and commented on the most interesting developments of the tournament so far.
The head of football’s governing body also spoke about the Albanian National Team, the objectives for EURO 2028 and the Nations League, preparations for organising the UEFA European U-21 Championship 2027 in Albania, as well as various issues of European and world football.
Below you can read the full interview of President Armand Duka on the programme “L’America”:
President, you attended the opening match of the World Cup in Mexico, Mexico vs South Africa. How did the atmosphere seem to you? – We look forward with great excitement to every such European or World competition, and what we experienced in the stadium or on screen truly met our expectations for a fantastic competition, very well organised.
I believe everyone saw the opening ceremony on television; it had a fantastic artistic-sporting blend. The atmosphere, everything was perfect, except for a match that was not at the level expected from a World Cup. It is truly experienced as a sporting festival by the whole world, only we have a small problem with sleep, as we cannot manage to watch all the matches. The desire is to watch them all, but it is difficult. We compensate with highlights and your programmes.
A different World Cup, with more teams, more matches. What makes this World Cup special for you? – There can be many differences compared to the previous World Cup, or also some negative aspects. The previous World Cup was more enjoyable because in one day you could watch up to four matches live, it was in Qatar, very close to each other. Whereas now only Gianni Infantino can watch two matches a day, while for the rest of us it is very difficult physically to watch two or more matches a day.
In terms of level, football progresses every day, and what is special are African teams, which in my opinion have delivered very good performances, although not all with positive results. But from what they have shown on the pitch, I think they have surprised, in a way, especially us European viewers, with what they have delivered.
So far, has any team impressed you, and who do you see as favourites to win the trophy? – I think it is really too early to say. Of course, we all have the right, before the competition starts, to think about who might be a favourite based on what they showed in qualifiers or the condition of their players. But once the competition starts, things may change.
Because final tournaments have their own specifics; they are not the same as qualifiers, not the same as long league seasons, and things change. I am not excluding the fact that England could be a semi-finalist or finalist for the World Cup, but with the England I saw yesterday, it makes me doubt whether it is truly a very strong team.
The England I saw against Croatia seemed very strong, aggressive and dominant on the pitch, whereas against Ghana they created almost nothing, only in the final minutes a shot against the post and one missed chance by Kane. Maybe it is early, but theoretically France has shown in its matches truly great potential. They also have a star like Mbappé, but not only him — the whole team is very strong. I see them as very strong favourites for the World Cup. I think the World Cup will come to Europe.
Do you see any difference, either in organisation or in emotions, between the European Championship and the World Cup, especially since we experienced it firsthand two years ago? – Each has its own specifics. What we experienced, being with the team in Germany, was fantastic. At least for those of us who were in the tournament, and for those who had the opportunity, it was very beautiful, especially because of the participation of our team, which is not frequent.
The World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico has very large distances, the atmosphere is more spread out and not as concentrated as in the European Championship or the previous World Cup.
When we look at the group matches where Albania could have been, we could have done well, right? – At every ceremony, especially when I see the flags placed on the pitch, I say that our flag should be here too. But we did not make it.
Now it is easy to speak when we are not part of it, but in fact, in the group we would have been in, with the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia, I think we could have done better than Tunisia at least, or even better than Sweden, although they have won one match against Tunisia.
How difficult is it to remain neutral when watching matches at this level, President? You have always said that you are a permanent fan of Albania and do not support any other team, but does the same happen in UEFA and FIFA? Do you sometimes become a bit of a fan of someone? – Look, even if you start a competition neutral, or even a 90-minute match neutral, you do not really have emotions. But during the game you become attached to one team, so you experience the match or competition together with that emotion.
In my position, I cannot support any team other than Albania. I have my sympathies; for many reasons I support European teams, but also Brazil. Brazil is, let’s say, an old love of mine. Brazil now has a bit of Europe inside it for the first time in history, so that legitimises even more being on Brazil’s side.
President, which will be your next match to watch at the World Cup? – On screen I will watch Switzerland vs Canada today, while in the stadium I will attend the semi-final in Atlanta and the final in New Jersey. I hope to see the Netherlands in Atlanta.
President, the 2028 European Championship will be held in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Can the World Cup come home before such a spectacular event as the European Championship? – The English have been saying for years that the cup will come home. I hope they have a chance to bring the cup home. They are not a team that does not deserve to win it, but with the match against Ghana they have really raised doubts.
Maybe they have created a kind of dependency on Kane. If Kane does not score, England does not score and they do not win. We have also had an experience, because we played in the same qualifying group and Kane scored four goals against us.
Thomas Tuchel has taken a certain risk with the other players he left at home, who could have decided matches, like Palmer or Foden. He is not just a pragmatic coach. He has taken risks and started the competition like this.
I do not think he saw the match against Ghana with the pragmatism that a draw is enough, but he did not manage to get more. Perhaps he did not manage to motivate the team at the right level to win the match and take first place.
Now first place is at risk; it is no longer secure, even though they are currently ranked first, but after the third match they could lose it.
President, Albania will host the U-21 European Championship next year. How are the preparations going? – For us it is a very big event. Considering the country’s capabilities, capacity, and size, the experience we have shows that this is a major event, and we have already started preparations for some time. It remains challenging for us because the entire infrastructure must be prepared. The event itself lasts only around 20 days, but preparing for those 20 days takes a long time. It takes a long time to prepare training pitches and stadiums, even though from the outside it may seem that they are ready, in reality they are not ready for such an event.
We need to make many interventions in stadiums. We need to make many interventions in sports infrastructure, and we have started working on time. To be honest, all the Federation staff has been made available to the UEFA working group, because they are leading the process. But we have little support from local and municipal authorities. I hope they wake up from their sleep. I was thinking about this recently, because I really liked the celebration made by Norwegian fans. I also really liked those images from the parliament. I said to myself: if our parliament members went to a World Cup or European Championship, they would do the same, because they only react when we qualify for a World Cup or European Championship. Now that we are not there, we are considered “dead”, but we must work to become alive again.
President, a few days ago we celebrated Elseid Hysaj’s 100 matches with the national team. How do you see Luka Modrić reaching 200 matches with Croatia? – Fantastic. Luka Modrić is one of the stars of world football, a Ballon d’Or winner. He has made extraordinary contributions to Croatia’s results over the past two decades, not just one decade. He is a very good player. I am sorry that now he will inevitably have to leave active football, and he is still a key figure for Croatia. He was also a key player at AC Milan; we saw that when Modrić was injured, Milan almost did not win any matches until they were eliminated from the Champions League. It is very beautiful to watch him play. If you go deeper into his history, he is truly admirable.
In fact, in the match against Albania at Euro 2024, he did not particularly impress me, perhaps due to the strength of our midfield. For us it was a very good match that we should have won. We played very well for 80 minutes, but not for 10 minutes, and we conceded two goals, then we were lucky to equalise. Croatia is not the same anymore. I believe Modrić will not play at EURO 2028. Things evolve, and the Croatian team will need renewal, and there are other stars on the horizon that football can produce.
New national team coach, Nations League, and the objective of reaching the 2028 European Championship? – It is no longer just our wish, but a duty the team has set for itself: we must always be contenders to reach the European Championship. This is no longer just a dream or a desire, but a possibility we can achieve. It is a possibility that does not come by itself; we must work hard to achieve it.
The two friendly matches with the new coach are results to forget, but maybe it is better this way to understand that in football, especially for teams like ours, only by giving 120% can you achieve results. We do not have the luxury of winning a match with 90 or 95% effort; we can only win and go far when we give over 100%. These friendly matches, for many reasons, perhaps because it was the end of the season and the players’ minds were not there, the focus was not right, and the effort was not maximum, gave us those results, which we should not have had. If we see the glass as half full, the team must understand that only with over 100% effort can we succeed, and we will definitely fight for this objective.
We will start with the Nations League, where we have a group that on paper looks easy, but in football today there are no easy opponents, because the pitch makes things difficult. As we saw with England yesterday and as we have seen ourselves against Latvia, against whom we very difficultly took three points in Tirana and one point away. That same team, which took four points against Serbia, struggled to get the same points against Latvia. We must fully value the Nations League, not only because we are obliged to finish first in the group, but also because it is a way of testing the team for the qualifiers. We are waiting for the draw in December, which is also important, and it would be very nice to play the European Championship in Britain.
Italy’s absence from the World Cup, elections in the Italian Football Federation, and Bosnia at the World Cup? – Italy’s elimination for the third time has been experienced as a tragedy in Italy, rightly so, because for one of the best teams and one of the most developed football nations in Europe and the world not to participate in the World Cup is very painful.
Things must also change in the team, because Italy has achieved fantastic results. I mentioned this also at the Assembly of the Italian Federation: they are U-17 European champions, U-19 European champions, U-21 finalists, and European champions in 2021 with the senior national team. They will definitely return, because football is like this: post hits the post, tragedy; post goes in, hero. Now everything is seen as black in Italy, but it is not like that. Italy has all the potential and possibilities to return where it should be, as a contender for European and world titles, now with new leadership. Bastoni’s red card was truly Italy’s tragedy, along with the missed chance to make it 2–0.
Switzerland vs Canada match? – The Switzerland vs Canada match is a very strong match, and it is not just about preference to talk about Xhaka, but to me Switzerland is Xhaka. If Xhaka plays well, Switzerland wins; if he is not at 100% form, Switzerland will struggle.
Of course, Switzerland also has other players, like Manzambi, who came on as a substitute and scored two goals. However, I believe Switzerland depends a lot on Xhaka. He is the team’s playmaker, its leader, and has extraordinary qualities. If he performs at his level, Switzerland will win against Canada, especially thanks to his experience and leadership.
Bosnia vs Qatar? – I believe that on paper Bosnia is better than Qatar, but football is not an exact science and is not predictable. Theoretically, Bosnia should win.
Brazil at the World Cup under Carlo Ancelotti? – At the start of this World Cup, Brazil has not shown a major difference compared to other teams and has not left the impression of being the main favourite. However, Brazil is always Brazil and remains a contender. There is no doubt they will qualify from the group and could go far. I do not think they will have problems against Scotland.
Neymar? – I do not have high expectations from Neymar for Brazil, but the team has other players who can carry it forward. If I had to choose the biggest star or talent in Brazil at the moment, it would be Vinícius Jr. He can help the team more. If Brazil needs spectacle, then Neymar is needed.
Cristiano Ronaldo is an example to follow not only in football but in all areas of life, because he reached where he is through hard work, while Neymar reached it mainly through talent.
Morocco’s progress in football? – Morocco is no longer a surprise. It has a good team and has performed well in all competitions, even better now. One of the most anticipated matches in this World Cup was Brazil vs Morocco.
However, in a match between Morocco and the Netherlands, I would very much want the Netherlands to go through at home. There is nothing accidental about Morocco.
