Albania invites fans to support in match against Israel, many comments against

Albania takes to the field for the first time on Wednesday night with new coach Rolando Maran. 

Starting at 20:00 PM on "Air Albania", the Red and Blacks play against Israel. The match is a friendly and the challenge seems to be filling the stadium with spectators.

The Albanian Football Association (AFC) has launched a campaign to attract spectators. The number of unsold tickets is still high.

On Tuesday, messages from Myrto Uzun and Juljan Shehu calling for support were also published.

But in both posts, just like in all other posts, most of the comments are for boycotting the match because of the opponent.

Albania will host Luxembourg in Tirana on June 6th. 

And the two friendlies will be the first test for Italian Maran, who took charge of Albania last week, replacing Sylvinho.

Maran appeared at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. He said he has seen readiness from the players, considering this important at the end of a long championship. Maran believes that the team is motivated and the players have the right desire for success.

"Playing against Israel is not easy, because it makes other teams play badly. We should not create too many spaces for the Israeli players. It will be a good test to see the team," emphasized Rolando Maran.

Albania failed to qualify for the World Cup, while appearing in the play-offs for the first time. In the play-off semi-finals, they lost 2:1 to Poland in Warsaw. Then on March 31, they lost 1:0 to Ukraine in a mandatory friendly. 

"Of course the result is important, but at the same time the performance. They are two friendly matches, but the result is important. It is the fans who hope that we will come out with a victory," said the experienced Italian.

Albania's captain, defender Berat Gjimshiti, also spoke at the press conference. The Atalanta defender stressed that he is not considering leaving the national team. Gjimshiti is expected to be captain in the next qualifying cycle, for Euro 2028.

"I think I'll play for a while. I haven't thought about leaving yet," Gjimshiti said.

Wednesday's friendly in Tirana is also important for Kosovo in a way. Israel is Kosovo's opponent in the next edition of the UEFA Nations League.

Austria and Ireland are also in Group 3 of League B. The Israel-Kosovo match is on October 1, but the venue has not yet been determined. It is expected to be played on neutral ground. Meanwhile, Kosovo hosts Israel on November 14.

While Albania has decided to play a friendly with Israel, there is a lot of opposition in Ireland to playing this team. Even a friendly last week was used to oppose Ireland's matches with Israel.