Romania vs Albania: EURO 2016 Group A Preview & Prediction

Romania will hope to keep their chances of qualifying for the knockout phase at Euro 2016 alive on Sunday in Lyon as they take on an Albania side that has yet to pick up a point.

They suffered heartbreak in the opener against France, conceding late on to lose 2-1 at the Stade de France, but they did pick up a point against a resolute Switzerland side in the second round of matches.

Albania can count themselves unlucky in their first ever major tournament, losing both matches despite encouraging performances in their two games.

Their opener was a narrow 1-0 defeat to Switzerland, despite playing a large part of the clash with ten men, before they conceded twice late on against France, denting their hopes of qualifying for the latter stages.

The performance against the hosts will give them a lot of heart as they limited the hosts to few chances and even hit the post through Ledian Memushaj before Antoine Griezmann found a breakthrough in the 89th minute.

The French’s 2-0 win was hard on Albania, who go into the final game knowing a win will put them third, although it is unlikely they will go through as one of the best third-placed sides as things stand.

Romania head into the final game with second place still firmly in their sights, with the top two in Group A, France and Switzerland, facing each other at the same time in Lille.

A Romania win, coupled with a France win, could be enough to see them into second place, but they would still fancy their chances of making it through as one of the best third-placed teams if Switzerland were to get a result against Didier Deschamps’ men.

Striker Bogdan Stancu will hope to continue his good run of form having scored in their opening two matches, both from the penalty spot, making him the tournament’s joint top scorer.

The last two competitive meetings between the nations ended in 1-1 draws, but a repeat of that would see both teams leaving the competition early.

Albania go close in their 2-0 defeat to the EURO 2016 hosts, France. Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Team News:

Albania will be able to welcome back their skipper Lorik Cana for their final group game as he has completed his suspension for his dismissal in their opening match.

Meanwhile, midfielder Taulant Xhaka may also come back into the starting line-up. whilst Sokol Cikalleshi could be given his first start of the tournament.

Romania may opt for a more attacking approach as they look to get a crucial victory to keep their Euro 2016 journey alive, but midfielder Mihai Pintilii and defender Razvan Rat are both doubts because of injury.

FIFA World Rankings: Romania – 22nd; Albania – 42nd
Best European Championship Finish: Romania – Quarter-Finals (2000); Albania – First Appearance
Previous Meeting: Albania o-1 Romania (May 31, 2014 – International Friendly)
Form: Romania – DDLWLD; Albania – DLLWLL
Key Men: Romania – Bogdan Stancu; Albania – Taulant Xhaka
Shoot Says: Romania 2-0 Albania