Ukraine vs Albania

Prague’s epet ARENA forms the backdrop for Ukraine’s opening 2024/25 UEFA Nations League fixture against Albania.

Despite suffering a morale-wracking group-stage exit at Euro 2024, even though they only lost once (W1, D1, L1), Ukraine should still take the field in high spirits. Forced to play on foreign turf due to a raging war in their country, Serhiy Rebrov’s men seek a positive Nations League start against an Albanian side they’ve never lost to across six previous H2Hs (W5, D1). The Ukrainians are no strangers to proceedings in League B, with this being their third campaign at this level, where they boast an eye-catching 80% unbeaten ratio (W6, D2, L2). On top of that, they’ve been dominant as a designated home side (W5, D2, L1), with the only blemish on this near-faultless run being a loss to three-time European champions Germany.

On the other hand, Albania earned high acclaim from football fans around the continent for their spirited performances in Euro 2024’s group of death despite picking up just one point against Croatia, Italy, and Spain (D1, L2). One-goal margin defeats against the latter two underscored Sylvinho’s sterling job in the dugout, inspiring confidence among the Albanian supporters ahead of their second consecutive League B journey. Worryingly for the visitors, they failed to win any of their four outings in the previous Nations League edition (D2, L2). Moreover, they have only ever won one away match in this competition across seven previous attempts (D3, L3), besting Eastern European minnows Belarus four years ago.