Albania suffered defeat in their opening game of Euro 2016 on Saturday, falling to a 1-0 loss to Switzerland in Lens.
Gianni De Biasi’s men didn’t have a great start to the game, but as they settled, they had their chances to take something from it.
Shkelzen Gashi was guilty of missing this glorious late opportunity to grab an equaliser for his side, and it remains to be seen whether or not it comes back to haunt them.
Massive chance for Gashi of Albania, but ends with a great save by Sommer of Switzerland #EURO2016 #SUIALB pic.twitter.com/ZSMD6xiL2H
— EURO 2016 (@UEFAEuros_2016) June 11, 2016
Albania, featuring in their first major tournament, will take plenty of positives from the performance, but they must now translate that into points.
De Biasi’s men had been reduced to 10 men in the first half after Lorik Cana picked up his second yellow card of the game for this desperate handball to deny the Swiss another goalscoring opportunity.
Probably the best defensive clearance ever… #Cana #AlbaniaSvizzera #Euro2016 #ALBSUI pic.twitter.com/pUYPQxDbis
— Michele Tossani (@MicheleTossani) June 11, 2016
It was a disappointing start to the tournament for the Nantes man, and he will now sit out the next game. In turn, it remains to be seen how De Biasi’s side cope in his absence as they will be under pressure to get a result next time out.
In the end, it was Fabian Schar who emerged as the match-winner for Switzerland, as his towering header after just five minutes was all that separated the two sides.
Here is the opening goal from Schar! #ALBSUI pic.twitter.com/SuB0bYrNYx
— SwissFootball (@FootballSwiss) June 11, 2016
Etrit Berisha came under fire for his decision to come and collect, and it proved costly. He made up for it with a string of top saves later in the game, and Albania perhaps should have taken something from it.
Instead, after the matchday 1 fixtures, France and Switzerland sit level at the top of Group A, with Romania and Albania left pointless.