Albania loses two Euro 2012 qualifiers

TIRANA, Sep. 7 – Albania lost two qualifiers for the Euro 2012, last Friday in Tirana against France (2-1) and this Tuesday (also 2-1) against Luxembourg.
Albania remains second to last in the group with just eight points and only two other matches to hold.
Coach Josip Kuze acknowledged that Tuesday’s match was a great loss and said that the country should now think of creating a new national squad– though he didn’t say how much he bears responsibility for that loss and why he has not already started the team shake-up.
Albania had expected a win in Luxembourg, though it had stated that a draw with France would be satisfactory.
However, France beat Albania 2-1 in the Euro 2012 qualifier Friday despite a shaky defensive performance to increase its lead atop Group D.
France striker Karim Benzema opened the scoring with a low drive in the 11th minute and Yann M’Vila doubled the lead by firing home a diagonal shot in the 18th.
Albania forward Erjon Bogdani beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to pull one back in the 46th.
The hosts had spells of domination in the second half but France held on to its lead.
“In spite of all the respect I have for Albania, we were superior to them in this match,” said France’s coach Laurent Blanc.