Albania will play tomorrow its second match against Andorra at the “Arena Kombëtare” valid for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. On the eve of this challenge, where the national team will seek its first 3 points in Group K, coach Sylvinho and captain Berat Djimsiti attended the official media conference.
Coach Sylvinho stated that the team will enter the field tomorrow solely to secure three points, while emphasizing that there may be changes in the lineup. He highlighted that the players’ condition is good and stressed that there should be no room for mistakes in the match against Andorra, despite the challenges.
Two of the last matches we lost without showing good football. What do we expect tomorrow against a theoretically easier opponent? – First, I want to express my condolences for the passing of journalist Saimir Demi. My thoughts and strength go to his family! Football is hard. We improve and restart. It wasn’t easy at Wembley, new coach, a team with the best players in the world, physically, technically, tactically, and psychologically. A team that has reached the finals of the last two European Championships, we saw strong players, very important, the Premier League has an extraordinary rhythm. But we weren’t too far behind, if given the opportunity, we could have equalized, and if they left space, we could have won. We were in the game until the second goal, but after that, the match was over. If you don’t prepare well, that team will kill you, they will score 5-6 goals in 45 minutes. If you play in “Bernabeu” or “Camp Nou” against Spain, you must be careful, because in 45 minutes they will score 5-6 goals, and you’ll go home. I’m proud of the players, because they were there until the end, until the 70th minute, but then everything closed. From tomorrow, we have a path in which we cannot afford mistakes, we cannot make mistakes. It will be a tough and challenging match. I watched their game against Latvia, everything was equal, but the match was decided by small moments. We need to find the spaces, which is not easy, so we have more opportunities to score. Today we have a slightly more tactical training to precisely find these spaces.
It’s a different match compared to England. You mentioned using Uzuni, as he comes back to defend. Will we see other players, will there be changes in the starting lineup? -The choice was made to get the best out of the players. From a match at “Wembley” where we defend in tight spaces and restart. He helps a lot in the defensive phase, he spent a lot of energy. We needed to try something different there, as the two center-backs were very strong. We might consider making changes tomorrow because it’s a different game strategy. Now at home, it’s different.
Tomorrow, Albania will need to do the “England” – Football is difficult, but we will need to find the right spaces. Andorra is a team that defends well, playing with a 5-4-1 formation. I know their coach, the players play with a lot of grit and passion for the shirt. We will make some changes in the strategic aspect of the game to find the right spaces because the whole game will be played over 40-50 meters. They are a team that starts well, and they have a good and very intelligent player who plays well with the ball. In the strategic aspect, we need to make changes to see how we progress.
How difficult is it to prepare for tomorrow’s match? – There might be changes, but in the strategic aspect, not necessarily due to a player’s fatigue or physical issues. We work a lot with videos, we have a training session today where we will focus on some tactical elements. We also use individual videos with specific players. We might have 2-3 changes, and it’s not easy to adapt the players in such a short time and make these changes. We need to transition from a match where we had to close spaces and start the ball ourselves, to a match where we need to create opportunities to be dangerous.
Player condition – Balliu and Aliji had a very important match against England, as did all the other players, and they expended a lot of energy. We will need to make the proper assessments tomorrow. At the moment, they look very good and are recovering. As for the attack, there are possibilities for anything, changes may or may not happen. We have 2-3 options. But tomorrow afternoon, we will communicate with the staff and doctors, and by also communicating with the players, we will make decisions.
What do we need to bring back enthusiasm and surprise in the team? – The qualifiers are over, that chapter is closed now. Even the Nations League is a closed chapter, we earned 7 points. Now we are starting a new journey, and I as a coach and the staff need to find a solution to bring out the best on the field. It’s not always easy because in these qualifiers only the first team goes directly to the finals and the second goes through the play-offs. Everything must be done right. The players are very enthusiastic, but we need to unlock ourselves to score goals. When you don’t unlock, it’s hard to win the match. I think the people in the stadium will bring us a lot of energy, and tomorrow I hope we will play a beautiful game for the fans in the stadium and those who follow us.
Fouls – In today’s football, there are some rules set by UEFA to make everything go the right way, and even the slightest foul is penalized with a yellow card. Football is a contact sport, where with one foul, a player is penalized and then you are practically dead because with another foul, the game ends for you. I’m not in favor of the anti-football idea, where there are 2-3 players stopping every possible attack. I’m in favor of football because that’s how the game should be played. During the European Championship, we had a good defense without needing to commit fouls and stop the game.
Some players seem more superior to others in the squad, have you noticed? – I feel that my players want to do their best with the team. Of course, sometimes you create an opportunity, and it results in a goal, sometimes you create 10 opportunities and don’t manage to score. It depends on the moment of the players and the matches. I have the option to choose from 26 players who are gathered, 23 of them, and then I send 11 onto the field. Generally, I put the best players to help the team. I would be the first to say thank you to a player whom I feel is not ready to be with the team. I’ve told them in the last video session that if we want to achieve something important, if we want to realize the dream of going to the World Cup, we need to sacrifice a lot. I’ll give you an extra bit of information about this topic, about Ismajli, who had a recurrence of his physical issue in training before we got to London, and unfortunately, he is not at 100% to be ready for tomorrow. But he has a big heart, he wants to stay with us. But in this case, the responsibility lies with me and the coaching staff to decide about the player. I saw that he stopped before we went to London, he had a small issue, he’s coming back a bit better, tomorrow somewhat… But I say he wants to be with us 100%, but he is not at his peak. He wants to stay with us, but if I feel anyone doesn’t want to, no problem.
The captain of the national team, Berat Gjimshiti, said that the match against Andorra is a difficult challenge, even though it may seem easy on paper. He praised the Andorra team, adding that they have a coach who has been working with the team for many years, but emphasized that Albania must create space and put the opponent in difficulty to secure the three points. Additionally, Gjimshiti stressed that the team is 100% focused on tomorrow’s match to secure the win in front of the fans at “Arena Kombëtare.”
Can the match against Andorra be considered as the first eliminatory match? – Personally, no, I see that match as an opportunity, just like the one against England. Of course, after the result, I believe you may think of it that way, but as a team, we don’t see it like that. It was an opportunity for us, England is a world-class team, they play to win titles. Tomorrow will be a different match, very difficult. It’s important for everyone to be focused on that match because on paper, it may seem easy, but in today’s football, there are no easy games. We need to focus 100% tomorrow.
Andorra? – I believe they have an advantage because they have a coach who has been with them for many years, a team that has played together for a long time. I think the difficulty will be at the physical level, as they are very well prepared and stay deep in defense. We need to be the ones to put them in difficulty, to put them in individual duels with our forwards, to create space for our teammates. That will be the key point.
Pressure on the team? – I believe that in football, there is pressure in every match. It’s different from what it was with England because tomorrow we are the favorites. We need to face this pressure, as on paper it seems easy, but it’s not that simple. I was also part of that 2-2 draw, where we conceded two goals from counterattacks. We know the difficulties, but we will be ready.
Talk with the fans? – I believe it has already been seen in the video what was requested. I don’t need to say now what the fans have asked for, I believe it’s clear in the video. There was a question about tickets, and I think they will take the necessary measures, and we will overcome this difficulty as well. But we are always grateful for the support of the fans. I have often said that they are the best fans in the world. You don’t see fans making that much noise in stadiums with national teams, only in clubs. We are all grateful to the fans, and I hope they will support us as always. I’m sure they will.
Psychological block when playing against renowned teams? – The national team is different because you’re not with someone you play with every day, and you don’t know the movements your teammate makes. It’s psychological, against England, when they press you down and you have the ball, you’re not fresh enough to execute an attacking phase. That’s the most important thing that we lacked against England.
Will we return to winning against Andorra in the “Arena Kombëtare”? – I hope so, but it’s not just me saying it, and we will win the match. My first job is to not concede a goal, and then others, who have more quality than I do, will score. We have learned from the Nations League matches, and we’ve discussed it with the coach, as the whole team has. Certainly, we will improve in this edition for the World Cup qualifiers. I believe that tomorrow will be a different Albania. Let’s bring joy and victory to our fans.
Does Albania need to play against Andorra like they did against England? – It’s very difficult. It often happens even in clubs that you face different dynamics. It’s challenging, but I believe that everyone is a professional. The more experienced players help the younger ones or those with fewer international appearances. Tomorrow will be a different game, and dealing with the pressure must be 100% because you can lose against these smaller teams, and it does even more damage if something negative happens.
