Albania officially announce their final 26-man squad ahead of Euro 2024 this summer, but who has made the cut and which star names have been left out?
Albania have officially confirmed their final 26-man squad ahead of competing at Euro 2024 this summer.
UEFA confirmed last month that squad sizes have been increased from 23 to 26 players for this year’s eagerly-anticipated tournament held in Germany, and all squads must include at least three goalkeepers.
Managed by former Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City player Sylvinho, Albania are regarded as one of the rank outsiders for Euro 2024 and have been drawn in a daunting Group B with Spain, Croatia and holders Italy.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at Albania’s 26-man squad for Euro 2024, who has been selected and who are the unfortunate players to miss out.
Which Albanian stars have been selected?
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Atalanta BC defender Berat Djimsiti will have the honour of captaining Albania at Euro 2024. The 31-year-old has been capped 58 times for his country and also played 54 times in the 2023-24 campaign for an Atalanta side that won the Europa League.
Djimsiti is one of 10 Albanian players based in Italy at club level and is one of nine defenders called up to Sylvinho’s final squad along with Lazio full-back Elseid Hysaj, who is the most-capped member of the 26-man squad having made 84 appearances for his country.
Etrit Berisha and Thomas Strakosha are two experienced goalkeepers who will be battling for the number one jersey following frustrating club campaigns predominantly watching on from the bench at Empoli and Brentford respectively.
One of the standout Albanian names to be picked for Euro 2024 is attacking midfielder Nedim Bajrami, who was the joint-top scorer for the Red and Blacks in qualifying with three goals in seven starts. However, he was also a regular in the Sassuolo side that were relegated from Serie A last season.
Klaus Gjasula also suffered relegation in 2023-24 with German outfit SV Darmstadt 98, while fellow midfielder Kristjan Asllani played 23 times for Serie A champions Inter Milan. Lecce‘s Medon Berisha, meanwhile, has also been called up and earned his first international cap in a friendly clash against Liechtenstein on June 3.
Armando Broja is set to spearhead the Albanian attack and the Chelsea striker will hope to quickly put aside his disappointing loan spell at Fulham, while Sivasspor‘s Rey Manaj and Gwangju’s Jasir Asani have also made the cut for Euro 2024.
Which Albanian stars will miss Euro 2024?
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One of the standout names who will miss Euro 2024 is 33-year-old striker Sokol Cikalleshi, who played in all eight qualification matches for Albania, albeit scoring only one goal.
The 59-cap international has since announced his retirement, saying: “The end of a journey. The journeys are beautiful, with their ups and downs. During journeys, if you have done things right, the end is happy, but we don’t always choose the way ourselves.
“It has been an indescribable pride and emotion to represent the jersey of the national football team. Carrying the emotions of a nation on my back is as much a privilege as it is a responsibility, which has made me humble and grateful to everyone who believed, to everyone who gave me the courage to continue, and of course, in a special way to everyone who cheered for me.”
Three other surprise omissions from Sylvinho’s squad are Fatih Karagumruk defender Frederic Veseli, Espanyol midfielder Keidi Bare and Granada forward Myrto Uzuni. All three players were called up for March’s international break, but they will not travel to Germany this summer.
Bristol City’s Anis Mehmeti was also in the mix to earn a call up but is another who misses out. The 23-year-old received his first international call up in March 2023 and played in each of Albania’s first three qualifiers, but the London-born attacker has not represented his country since.
Nineteen-year-old goalkeeper Simon Simoni was initially named in Albania’s preliminary set-up, but the Eintracht Frankfurt youngster has since been cut from the final squad.
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What are Albania’s pre-tournament preparations?
Sylvinho’s squad initially linked up for training in Tirana on May 29 and had a couple of days in their homeland before travelling to Hungary for a 3-0 friendly win over European minnows Liechtenstein five days later.
The Red and Blacks then claimed another positive result on June 7 at the same stadium – Haladas Stadion – as they beat Azerbaijan by a 3-1 scoreline.
Albania will travel to Germany on June 8 to their Euro 2024 base camp at SportCentrum Kaiserau, where they will prepare for their opening Group B fixture against Italy at Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion on June 15, before facing Croatia on June 19 and then Spain on June 24.
Albania’s 26-man squad for Euro 2024:
Goalkeepers: Etrit Berisha (Empoli), Thomas Strakosha (Brentford), Elhan Kastrati (Cittadella)
Defenders: Berat Djimsiti (Atalanta BC), Elseid Hysaj (Lazio), Ivan Balliu (Rayo Vallecano), Ardian Ismajli (Empoli), Arlind Ajeti (CFR Cluj), Naser Aliji (Voluntari), Mario Mitaj (Lokomotiv Moscow), Enea Mihaj (Famalicao), Marash Kumbulla (Sassuolo)
Midfielders: Amir Abrashi (Grasshopper Zurich), Kristjan Asllani (Inter Milan), Nedim Bajrami (Sassuolo), Medon Berisha (Lecce), Klaus Gjasula (Darmstadt), Qazim Laci (Sparta Prague), Ernest Muci (Besiktas), Ylber Ramadani (Lecce)
Attackers: Jasir Asani (Gwangju FC), Armando Broja (Chelsea), Mirlind Daku (Rubin Kazan), Arber Hoxha (Dinamo Zagreb), Rey Manaj (Sivasspor), Taulant Seferi (Baniyas)
