Albania will be seeking to record back-to-back victories in Group E when they visit Faroe Islands on Tuesday.

Having qualified for their first ever major tournament by reaching Euro 2016, the Eagles will sense another opportunity after missing out on Euro 2020.

Match preview

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Faroe Islands, of course, have never qualified for a major tournament, which is unsurprising given that they represent the fourth-smallest UEFA country in terms of population.

Located approximately 200 miles northwest of the United Kingdom, the islands form part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with a population of circa 54,000 making it difficult for them to compete at the elite level of football.

However, their Nordic neighbours Iceland have illustrated in recent years that size is not everything, with proper planning and infrastructure making it possible to consistently punch above one's weight.

Under Swedish-born Hakan Ericson, Faroe Islands have maintained their status in League C of the UEFA Nations League after gaining promotion from the bottom tier in 2021. Their victory against Turkey last September will live long in the memory as one of the nation's greatest ever results.

Ericson's side have begun qualifying with a point away to Moldova before losing at home to Czech Republic at the weekend, so they will be keen to bounce back with a positive result on Tuesday, even if qualifying for next summer's European Championship in Germany feels like a longshot.

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Albania, on the other hand, will quietly fancy their chances of ousting either Czech Republic or Poland into one of the automatic qualification spots.

Starting with a 1-0 defeat away to Poland in March was not the ideal opening game for former Arsenal full-back Sylvinho, who has entered his third role as a manager after previous spells with Lyon in France and Corinthians in Brazil.

However, the 49-year-old guided his side to an expected victory at home against Moldova on Saturday, and the same outcome will be expected of him and his players when they arrive in Torshavn on Tuesday.

With Albania unlikely to receive a chance of competing in Germany next summer via the Nations League playoffs, whether they can reach their second major tournament may end up coming down to whether they can take points from Czech Republic, or indeed in their reverse fixture against Poland in Tirana later this year.

Team News

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There were few surprises in terms of the squad that Ericson named, with the omission of former Manchester City goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen - who has made 70 caps for Faroe Islands - seemingly signalling the end of the 36-year-old's international career.

Klaemint Olsen and Joan Simun Edmundsson have 18 international goals between them, and along with star midfielder Brandur Hendriksson, they will likely carry the bulk of the hosts' goalscoring threat.

Albania, meanwhile, remain without Chelsea forward Armando Broja due to an ACL injury, meaning Sokol Cikalleshi and Armando Sadiku may lead the visitors' line together.

Lazio full-back Elseid Hysaj will captain the side should Etrit Berisha be named on the bench as expected, which would take Hysaj one clear of his team-mate on 76 caps, as he seeks to chase down the record holder Lorik Cana on 93.

Faroe Islands possible starting lineup:
Lamhauge; Joensen, Faero, G. Vatnhamar, Davidsen; Mikkelsen, S. Vatnhamar, Andreasen, Hendriksson; Edmundsson, K Olsen

Albania possible starting lineup:
Strakosha; Hysaj, Mihaj, Djimsiti, Aliji; Asani, Ramadani, Asllani, Uzuni; Siduku, Cikalleshi

We say: Faroe Islands 0-1 Albania

We expect a tight game to be played out between these two nations, who both know there is plenty at stake in this match.

Neither have exactly been free-scoring in recent times, which is hardly surprising given their modest resources, but we can envisage Albania taking another tight victory home with them.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Brett Curtis

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