Albania and Kosovo will face off in Wednesday's friendly, which will take place at the "Elbasan Arena" stadium. This duel comes before the important matches that the "Reds" and "Dardans" will have in the League of Nations.
But the friendly, which is otherwise also called brotherly, has not been desirable at this stage for the coach of Albania, Edi Reja, but also for the coach of Kosovo, Bernard Challandes.
At the media conference, the day before the match, Reja stated that it was not the time of the friendly and if asked, he would not play against Kosovo at this moment.
that I would not like to play with Kosovo at this moment. But to be honest it was the only team available, as you know we had a match with Gibraltar and also lost a friendly with Armenia because of the bad situation. This was the date determined by UEFA and we had to play and we had the opportunity to play with Kosovo, but it was not the ideal moment", said Reja, who emphasized that the duel against Kosovo will also serve for experiments in the formation.
"The fans really feel this match. I will field a competitive team, to do some tests before the official matches in the League of Nations which are very important for us. I expect it to be a friendly match and the players to be as motivated as possible, without crossing the limits of a friendly match, and I hope it will be a good atmosphere", said the Italian.
also
Albania-Kosovo match, the official lineups are published
Albania's goalkeeper, Etrit Berisha, stated at the media conference that if this was a qualifying match against Kosovo, it would be difficult for him and the other players. He is in favor of the Albanians having a team.
"It is not easy, but when we consider that it is a fraternity as it is said, then things are calmer. But if we had played in a very important qualification or match, which could happen very soon, then it would be very difficult, because for me Kosovo and Albania are one country and I have always gone with the conviction that I represent all Albanians. And I hope that in the future there will be a team, since the names that are in Kosovo and Albania were to become a team, it would become a super team and they would have the respect and fear of all of Europe. "Unfortunately, we find ourselves at a different moment and we have to play the brotherly game, which will be a good match", said Berisha.
A day before the friendly match against Albania, the Kosovo selector, Bernard Challandes, appeared at the media conference, who stated that the duel with the Albanian national team was not necessary to take place at this stage, due to the situation with the pandemic.
He has highly rated Albania and expects a difficult match. For bad results in the last matches, Challandesi has blamed the confrontation with North Macedonia.
"We are clear, it is not an easy situation at all, we are facing the coronavirus. I believe that the Albanian national team is also going through the same difficulties. For me, it was not necessary that this match take place. Albania is a very strong team well, there are players who play in strong leagues and there are players who are very high-quality", emphasized the coach of Kosovo. "It is clear why we have not won in this season's League of Nations games, as we have been focused only on North Macedonia," said Challandes.
The Swiss coach also spoke about striker Mirlind Daku, who has scored 17 goals in 10 games, earning him a place in Representative A for the November duels.
also
Reja admits that he did not want to play against Kosovo at this moment
"Daku has played good matches, he is young and has scored many goals. So I had to invite him. For me it is important to invite the best players, not to give them satisfaction. Since we haven't scored many goals with the national team and he has scored, that's the reason we invited him. I want to have as much competition as possible in the team", said Challandes.
Challandes has added that the center back Betim Fazliji will miss the matches against Slovenia and Moldova in the League of Nations, due to the lack of documentation. However, he has not ruled out the possibility of his activation towards Albania.
The central defender Amir Rrahmani has evaluated the confrontation with Albania as a help for the League of Nations matches. Rrahmani was absent from the matches in October, after he was not released by the health authorities of Naples.
"Each match will be important. The duel with Albania will help us prepare for the last two matches of the League of Nations. So all the matches will help us to prepare even better for the qualifications of the World Championship", said Rrahmani.
Albania and Kosovo are not in good shape. The "Reds" have two draws and one loss in the last three games, failing to score a single goal.
also
Etrit Berisha thinks that the match against Kosovo would be difficult if it was a qualifier
On the other hand, "Dardans" have not scored victories in eight consecutive meetings, where they have suffered six defeats and achieved two draws. The last triumph was more than a year ago against Montenegro, on October 14, 2019.
The match between Albania and Kosovo will be played on Wednesday from 16:00 at the "Elbasan Arena" stadium.
