European Qualifiers
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EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS - 2014/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Elbasan Arena - Elbasan Thursday 8 October 2015 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Albania Group I - Matchday -4 Serbia Last updated 12/07/2021 15:47CET Official Partners of UEFA EURO 2020 Previous meetings 2 Match background 3 Squad list 4 Head coach 6 Match officials 7 Competition facts 8 Match-by-match lineups 9 Team facts 11 Legend 13 1 Albania - Serbia Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Elbasan Arena, Elbasan Previous meetings Head to Head 2016 UEFA European Championship Stage Date Match Result Venue Goalscorers reached 3-0 14/10/2014 QR (GS) Serbia - Albania Belgrade Match forfeited f 1968 UEFA European Championship Stage Date Match Result Venue Goalscorers reached Sprečo 44, Osim 48, 12/11/1967 PR (GS) Yugoslavia - Albania 4-0 Belgrade 82, Lazarević 56 14/05/1967 PR (GS) Albania - Yugoslavia 0-2 Tirana Zambata 22, 56 Final Qualifying Total tournament Home Away Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA EURO Albania 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 - - - - 3 0 0 3 0 9 Serbia 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - 3 3 0 0 9 0 FIFA* Albania - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Serbia - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Friendlies Albania - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 0 1 2 4 7 Serbia - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 2 1 0 7 4 Total Albania 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 - - - - 6 0 1 5 4 16 Serbia 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 - - - - 6 5 1 0 16 4 * FIFA World Cup/FIFA Confederations Cup 2 Albania - Serbia Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Elbasan Arena, Elbasan Match background Already certain of at least a play-off place, Albania will hope that a victory at home against Serbia can strengthen their case for a top-two finish in Group I – and a direct route to their first finals. • Albania have an inferior head-to-head record in the event that they finish level on points with Denmark. • Albania will thus have to settle for their current third position if they fail to overcome Serbia and the second-placed Danes beat Portugal. • Albania and Portugal have an identical head-to-head record in the event that the two sides finish level on points. Previous meetings • The teams' opening Group I meeting in Belgrade on 14 October 2014 was abandoned and the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body subsequently awarded a 3-0 forfeit win to Serbia, who were then deducted the three points. The UEFA Appeals Body upheld the decision on 3 December 2014. • A subsequent ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 10 July 2015 overturned the decision, awarding a 3-0 forfeit victory to Albania who moved onto ten points in Group I. • That was the nations' first encounter in their present form, though Yugoslavia twice beat Albania in 1968 UEFA European Championship qualifying. Form guide • Albania's five-game unbeaten run in Group I (W3 D2) was curtailed with a 1-0 home loss to Portugal last time out. • In addition to those competitive matches, Albania also scalped UEFA EURO 2016 hosts France 1-0 in Elbasan on 13 June. • Serbia picked up their first victory in the section – 2-0 against Armenia in Novi Sad – on the day Albania's unbeaten sequence ended. Disciplinary • Amir Abrashi, Ansi Agolli, Burim Kukeli and Taulant Xhaka will incur a suspension with their next yellow cards. • Branislav Ivanović and Aleksandar Kolarov are both a booking away from a ban. Trivia and links • Albania have never qualified for a major final tournament. • Albanian and Serbian clubs have met in four UEFA competition fixtures. In fact, the two countries' clubs have identical records (W1 D2 L1), though the Albanian team was victorious in both ties: Flamurtari edged Partizan 3-2 on aggregate in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup first round; away goals then proved the difference as Besa got the better of Bežanija in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup. 3 Albania - Serbia Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Elbasan Arena, Elbasan Squad list Albania Current season Overall Qual. FT Team No. Player DoB Age Club D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers - Orges Shehi 25/09/1977 38 Skënderbeu - 0 0 0 0 6 - - Alban Hoxha 23/11/1987 27 Partizani - 0 0 0 0 - - - Etrit Berisha 10/03/1989 26 Lazio - 6 0 0 0 27 - Defenders - Ansi Agolli 11/10/1982 32 Qarabağ * 6 0 0 0 56 2 - Andi Lila 12/02/1986 29 Giannina - 3 0 0 0 53 - - Arlind Ajeti 25/09/1993 22 - 2 0 0 0 5 - - Elseid Hysaj 20/02/1994 21 Napoli - 4 0 0 0 14 - - Berat Xhimshiti 19/02/1993 22 Zürich - 2 0 0 0 2 - - Amir Rrahmani 24/02/1994 21 Split - 0 0 0 0 1 - Midfielders - Lorik Cana 27/07/1983 32 Nantes - 6 0 0 0 85 1 - Migjen Basha 05/01/1987 28 Luzern - 2 0 0 0 11 2 - Odise Roshi 22/05/1991 24 Rijeka - 4 0 0 0 25 1 - Taulant Xhaka 28/03/1991 24 Basel * 6 0 0 0 6 - - Amir Abrashi 27/03/1990 25 Freiburg * 6 0 0 0 15 - - Burim Kukeli 16/01/1984 31 Zürich * 6 0 0 0 12 - - Ermir Lenjani 05/08/1989 26 Nantes - 6 1 0 0 12 1 - Ergys Kaçe 08/07/1993 22 PAOK - 1 0 0 0 12 2 - Ledian Memushaj 17/12/1986 28 Pescara - 1 0 0 0 9 - - Alban Meha 26/04/1986 29 Konyaspor - 0 0 0 0 6 2 Forwards - Shkelzen Gashi 15/07/1988 27 Basel - 3 1 0 0 8 1 - Bekim Balaj 11/01/1991 24 Rijeka - 4 1 0 0 11 1 İstanbul - Sokol Çikalleshi 27/07/1990 25 - 5 0 0 0 11 - Başakşehir - Armando Sadiku 27/05/1991 24 Zürich - 1 0 0 0 13 1 Coach - Giovanni de Biasi 16/06/1956 59 - 6 0 0 0 32 - 4 Albania - Serbia Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Elbasan Arena, Elbasan Serbia Current season Overall Qual. FT Team No. Player DoB Age Club D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers - Vladimir Stojković 28/07/1983 32 M. Haifa - 6 0 0 0 62 - - Marko Dmitrović 24/01/1992 23 Alcorcón - 0 0 0 0 - - - Predrag Rajković 31/10/1995 19 M. Tel-Aviv - 0 0 0 0 2 - Defenders - Duško Tošić 19/01/1985 30 Beşiktaş - 1 0 0 0 13 1 - Branislav Ivanović 22/02/1984 31 Chelsea * 6 0 0 0 81 10 - Nenad Tomović 30/08/1987 28 Fiorentina - 1 0 0 0 19 - - Aleksandar Kolarov 10/11/1985 29 Man. City * 5 0 0 0 56 6 - Ivan Obradović 25/07/1988 27 Anderlecht - 0 0 0 0 21 1 - Uroš Spajić 13/02/1993 22 Toulouse - 1 0 0 0 2 - - Stefan Mitrović 22/05/1990 25 Gent - 3 0 0 0 6 - Midfielders CSKA - Zoran Tošić 28/04/1987 28 - 6 2 0 0 68 10 Moskva - Miralem Sulejmani 05/12/1988 26 Young Boys - 0 0 0 0 16 1 - Ljubomir Fejsa 14/08/1988 27 Benfica - 2 0 0 0 21 - - Luka Milivojević 07/04/1991 24 Olympiacos - 0 0 0 0 8 - - Nemanja Gudelj 16/11/1991 23 Ajax - 3 0 0 0 10 1 - Nemanja Matić 01/08/1988 27 Chelsea - 6 1 0 0 23 1 - Darko Brašanac 12/02/1992 23 Partizan - 1 0 0 0 1 - Crvena - Aleksandar Katai 06/02/1991 24 - 0 0 0 0 - - zvezda - Sergej Milinković-Savić 27/02/1995 20 Lazio - 0 0 0 0 - - Forwards Lokomotiv - Petar Škuletić 29/06/1990 25 - 2 0 0 0 4 - Moskva - Dušan Tadić 20/11/1988 26 Southampton - 5 0 0 0 32 6 - Adem Ljajić 29/09/1991 24 Internazionale - 3 1 0 0 14 2 - Aleksandar Mitrović 16/09/1994 21 Newcastle - 5 0 0 0 15 2 Coach - Radovan Ćurčić 10/01/1972 43 - 3 0 0 0 10 - 5 Albania - Serbia Thursday 8 October 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Elbasan Arena, Elbasan Head coach Gianni De Biasi Date of birth: 16 June 1956 Nationality: Italian Playing career: Treviso FC, FC Internazionale Milano, AC Reggiana 1919, Pescara Calcio, Brescia Calcio, US Città di Palermo, Vicenza Calcio, Bassano Virtus 55 ST Coaching career: FC Pro Vasto, Carpi FC 1909, Cosenza Calcio, SPAL 1907, Modena FC, Brescia Calcio, Torino FC (three times), Levante UD, Udinese Calcio, Albania • Served apprenticeship as an academy coach and on the lower rungs of the Italian football ladder before making his name overseeing back-to-back promotions at Modena – guiding them from the third division to Serie A in 2002. It ended a 38-year absence from the top flight. • Helped Modena survive first season among the elite before moving to Brescia, where he stayed two years before embarking on a tumultuous spell at Torino in 2005. • Arrived with Torino picking up the pieces after bankruptcy and exceeded expectations by steering them back to Serie A in his first campaign, only to be replaced by Alberto Zaccheroni three days before the start of the next term. He was reappointed within seven months, leading the Granata to safety. • Spent 2007/08 at Levante, winning plaudits despite relegation, then returned for a third stint at Torino with five games of the season remaining and saved them from relegation again.