EURO friendly report card: Albania

Results
Saturday: Austria 2-1 Albania (Janko 6, Harnik 13; Lenjani 47)
Berisha; Hysaj, Mavraj, Cana, Agolli; Lila (Roshi 46), Lenjani (Sadiku 78), Kaçe, Abrashi (Basha 86), T Xhaka (Kukeli 86); Balaj (Çikalleshi 46)

Marc Janko converted at the second attempt in the sixth minute and then Martin Harnik was on the spot after a long punt from Austrian keeper Robert Almer, giving Etrit Berisha no chance. Two minutes after the break Ermir Lenjani offered Albania hope, finishing from close range under the bar, but Austria held on for a narrow victory. Albania ended with ten men, Ergis Kaçe seeing red on 78 minutes.

Tuesday: Luxembourg 0-2 Albania (Sadiku 63, Çikalleshi 75)
Berisha (Shehi 61); Ajeti (Roshi 67), Aliji (Lenjani 60), Xhimshiti, Veseli; Kukeli (Kaçe 46), Basha, Memushaj (Rashica 61), Gashi, Shala (Sadiku 61); Çikalleshi

Albania secured their first victory since qualifying for UEFA EURO 2016 with two second-half goals. Roared on by 3,000 Albanians in Luxembourg, the visitors were further boosted when home keeper Jonathan Joubert was sent off late in the first half for a professional foul on Sokol Çikalleshi. Not long after being introduced, Armando Sadiku nodded in a cross from fellow substitute Ergys Kaçe to open the scoring; Çikalleshi showed his ability to double the lead.

What we learned
1) Albania continue to struggle in the final third, taking 63 minutes to break the deadlock against Luxembourg.

2) It is far from certain who the ten outfield starters will be, as indicated by the vastly different XIs named for these matches. Yet there is no doubt Lazio keeper Etrit Berisha will be between the posts come June.

3) In both games Albania improved in the second half, hence an 'aggregate' loss of 2-0 in those first periods and an overall 3-0 win from the two second 45-minute spells.

Questions remain
• Milot Rashica will not turn 20 until 28 June, by which stage Albania hope to be in the quarter-finals. After the Vitesse playmaker made his senior debut from the bench on Tuesday, is he the prospect around which the team can be built? If not this summer, then surely in the future.

• Sokol Çikalleshi seems the most likely choice as lone striker having played the second half against Austria and a full 90 minutes in Luxembourg – drawing a foul for the home red card before scoring himself. But is a man without a competitive international goal equipped to lead the line in France?

• Can the central defensive players avoid the mistakes that allowed Austria their first-half goals on Saturday? Switzerland, France and Romania are likely to punish such errors in Group A.

Room for improvement
Albania look vulnerable when the opposition apply high pressure. Ball control and possession has been a problem for a side that averaged only 45% in qualifying. Their total number of completed passes was just 1,886, fewer than any other finalist and more than only Malta, Gibraltar, San Marino and Andorra, even allowing for the fact Albania were in the five-team group.

EURO certainties (if fit)
Goalkeepers: Etrit Berisha (Lazio), Orges Shehi (Skënderbeu)

Defenders: Ansi Agolli (Qarabağ), Arlind Ajeti (Frosinone), Berat Xhimshiti (Atalanta), Frederik Veseli (Lugano), Elseid Hysaj (NapolI), Lorik Cana (Nantes), Mërgim Mavraj (Köln), Naser Aliji (Basel)

Midfielders: Andi Lila (Giannina), Amir Abrashi (Freiburg), Burim Kukeli (Zürich), Ergys Kaçe (PAOK), Ermir Lenjani (Nanes) Ledian Memushaj (Pescara), Migjen Basha (Como), Odise Roshi (Rijeka), Taulant Xhaka (Basel)

Forwards: Armando Sadiku (Vaduz), Bekim Balaj (Rijeka), Sokol Çikalleshi (İstanbul Başakşehir), Shkëlzen Gashi (Colorado Rapids)

Media view
Ledio Pano, former international and television analyst
"We scored two goals, but we still struggle to score. We couldn't take our chances in the first half [against Luxembourg] when it was 11 against 11, although we showed we could do it when we had a one-man advantage in the second half. The team still need a lot of improvement before the EURO, because we all know that against the big-name teams we can't win if we don't score."