TIRANA, Nov. 16, 2022 – It’s not everyday that serial World Cup winners arrive in town for a match, so no one is surprised that Tirana’s Air Albania Stadium has sold out for Wednesday night’s friendly match between Italy and Albania.
It is the first time in more than a year that the country’s national arena and largest stadium has sold out in more than a year without pandemic restrictions.
The match is the last for both countries before the biggest global footballing event of four years starts in Qatar later this month.
The Azzurri are not in the World Cup in Qatar, so the test is just to get Roberto Mancini’s men some regular playing time ahead of the long break in domestic competition.
The match will likely be the last for Albania’s coach Edy Reja, who is Italian. Many critics believe the Albanian under-performed during his tenure. No official statement on a replacement has been made yet.
Albania si fielding several players the Italians are very familiar with, including Torino goalkeeper Etrit Berisha, Roma‘s Marash Kumbulla, Lazio‘s Elseid Hysaj and Empoli‘s Nedim Bajrami and Ardian Ismajli are expected to feature in the starting eleven along with Chelsea striker Armando Broja, one of Milan’s targets for 2023.
Italian coach Mancini is expected to use a 3-4-3 line-up, with Giorgio Scalvini making his debut as a starter.
The teams last played each-other in the World Cup 2018 Qualifiers in Renzo Barbera stadium in Palermo.
