"Goal.com", one of the most popular sports websites in the world, has today published its ranking of the national teams that have managed to qualify for the 2024 European Championship in Germany.
There are 24 national teams in total, including Georgia who qualified for the first time. Georgia, as it qualified with difficulty, ranks last in the list, i.e. 24th.
However, just after Georgia, the Albanian national football team ranks 23rd.
Here is the complete ranking according to "Goal" and the rating for Albania:
24 – Georgia
23 – Albania
22 – Poland
21 – Serbia
20 – Scotland
19 – Romania
18 – Slovenia
17 – Czech Republic
16 – Switzerland
15 – Slovakia
14 – Ukraine
13 – Turkey
12 – Denmark
11 – Croatia
10 – The Netherlands
9 – Austria
8 – Hungary
7 – Italy
6 – Spain
5 – Germany
4 – England
3 – Belgium
2 – Portugal
1 – France
Comment on Albania:
Albania got the point it needed in Moldova last November to reach the European Championship finals for the second time in its history.
What is remarkable is that the Eagles, who are coached by former Arsenal and Barcelona defender Sylvinho, were beaten in their first qualifying match, losing 1-0 to Poland. However, they then took 15 points from a possible 21 with a sensational 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic, the undoubted highlight of a historic seven-game unbeaten run in Group E.
However, while Albania also beat Poland at home in the qualifiers and boast some top Serie A players in the likes of Elseid Hysaj, Berat Gjimshiti and Nedim Bajrami, it would be a huge surprise to see them progress to the knockout stages in Germany. The draw couldn't have gone any worse for them, with Spain, Italy and Croatia for company in Group B, while back-to-back defeats in March internationals to Chile and Sweden have done nothing to raise expectations.
Albania group and ranking according to Goal:
Albania (23)
Spain (6)
Italy (7)
Croatia (11)