Red and Blacks to play friendly with Italy

TIRANA, Oct. 2 – Albania’s national football team will holds its first friendly match against Italy next month, an event that had been long awaited by Albanian football players and officials.
Albania, which is led by Italian coach Gianni de Biazi, is now officially scheduled to play against Italy’s Antonio Conte on Nov. 18. The match will be played in Italy, said a statement by the Albanian Football Federation, the FSHF.
The news came following a meeting de Biazi and Conte held during a training session last week and it fulfills a pledge the head of Italian football made earlier this year.
Through sheer coincidence Albania has never landed in the same group with Italy in the European or world cup qualifiers, which means the team have never officially played against each other. And there has never been a friendly between the four-time world champions and its smaller neighbor which has never been able to qualify for a major tournament.
Albania’s place in the FIFA World Ranking rose significantly last month after defeating Portugal 0-1 in an away game. It now faces games against Denmark at home next week in Elbasan and against Serbia later this month in Belgrade.