Czech Republic vs Albania prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-06 18:45.
Czech Republic may not be quite as heralded now as they were when the likes of Pavel Nedvěd, Jan Koller and Milan Baroš were on the scene, but the current crop are well on course to qualify for Euro 2024, which would be the eighth successive time that the Czechs have made it to the competition proper.
Since taking charge of the national team in 2018, manager Jaroslav Šilhavý has won all five of his UEC qualifiers on home soil, largely due to fast starts, as his charges have netted inside 20 minutes on four occasions. The Czechs will have fond memories of facing Thursday’s opponents Albania too, having beaten them 3-1 in a friendly two years ago in what is their only international meeting to date. That said, two of the three goalscorers from that victory in Prague – Patrik Schick and Ondřej Čelůstka – are absent from the latest squad.
Albania have only previously qualified for one European Championship finals, but they have a real chance of making that two as they sit second in Group E, one point behind the table-topping Czechs after three matches. The Balkan nation have a distinctly South American flavour to them in the dugout, with former Brazil left-back Sylvinho taking the helm in January and bringing in compatriot Doriva and Manchester City legend Pablo Zabaleta to assist him.
It may be a daunting task to head to the Fortuna Arena, but Albania have shown that they have what it takes to triumph in the face of adversity, defeating both Portugal (1-0) and Serbia (3-0) on the road en route to qualifying for Euro 2016. Under Sylvinho, the Eagles have also shown themselves to be strong in the second half, scoring four of their five goals during his tenure after the break and conceding none.
Players to watch: Jan Kuchta has made 17 goal contributions in his last 28 competitive matches for club and country (G14, A3), most recently setting up the opener on Sunday for Sparta Prague at Slovan Liberec. Meanwhile, Nedim Bajrami was in red-hot form for Albania in June, scoring his first two international goals in the team’s two international games that month.
Hot stat: Albania are on the brink of winning three straight Euro qualifiers for the first time in their history.