TIRANA, Oct 10 /ATA/ The Albanian national team is set to play against Serbia tomorrow in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match.
Ahead of the challenge, coach Sylvinho told the official press conference, held on Friday afternoon at the “Gradski stadion Dubočica” where the match will take place, that the team will take the field with the goal of securing a positive result.
The coach of the Red and Blacks stressed that the upcoming match against Serbia is the most crucial at this point, aiming to achieve the maximum result in this showdown between the two main contenders for the play-off stage.
“All matches are important. Today, absolutely. A month ago it was against Latvia—if we hadn’t won, it wouldn’t have made sense. If we win, the following match against Andorra will become the key one. It’s emblematic and exciting, as we saw in Tirana. I’m confident it will be a great game,” Sylvinho stated.
Sylvinho described the match as an exciting experience to play.
“We’ve had continuous training sessions in Tirana, using video analysis, practicing on the field, and making adjustments. Yesterday, we conducted a high-intensity session. Everyone is prepared and responded well to the drills. Tomorrow, we will select the players to take the field. I’m not concerned about the lack of goals—it’s the final objective of football, of course, built around creating scoring opportunities. I trust all the players, and each one is capable of delivering what we’ve worked on in training. I’m confident that every player is ready to step onto the field and score,” he added.
“Football is unpredictable—it constantly proves that. That’s why you can’t bet on results. I’m a coach, and I played for 15–16 years, modestly at the highest levels. I’ve participated in a World Cup as an assistant and a European Championship with Albania. I’ve never seen a match won without actually playing it,” stated coach Sylvinho.
He added, “This is a strong team with considerable individual quality in top leagues. We’ve grown a lot at home following a European Championship, gaining valuable experience. Anything can happen in 90 minutes; both we and our opponents know that. In my opinion, it’s not about percentages—what matters is playing with intensity, heart, and soul. After that, we’ll see. I have complete confidence in our team.”
When asked by journalists whether he fears being dismissed if the team loses this match, Sylvinho said he is happy in Albania, but, like a player, the future can change from one day to the next.
“We are not eternal,” he emphasized.
“They are a very strong team, with players who compete individually in top leagues. They score, play physically demanding football, excel in one-on-one situations, and in offense, they have key players who can score and play aggressively. I remember in 2018, Brazil won the World Cup, and in the third match in Russia against Serbia, we studied all the teams. It’s a different team now, but Kostić is still active. This is a high-quality team, a good team. I could name 2–3 players, but there are 5–6–7 like that. Do they have strong players? Yes,” Sylvinho stated.
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