Public Enemy No.1 aims to shoot us down
Albania new boy, Ardian Ismajli, has vowed to shoot down Scotland on Saturday and ignore the scandal that’s made him public enemy No.1 in his Kosovo homeland.
His national manager, Christian Panucci, has already conceded Albania cannot qualify, and it would take a hugely unlikely set of results to put them back in the Nations League mix.
But he’s called up young Hadjuk Split defender Ismajli for the first time, causing outrage after he switched nationalities.
Not only was Ismajli captain of the Kosovo Under-21s, he was even capped for one of UEFA’S newest nations – against Albania earlier this year!
But because that summer encounter – which Kosovo won 3-0 – was only a friendly, he is allowed to swap nations. And despite being born and brought up in Kosovo, Ismajli has decided to pledge his international future to Albania.
He said: “Panucci called me last month, and I decided to play for Albania in the future.
“But I didn’t want to abandon my friends and team-mates at Kosovo Under-21s, so I decided to play the remaining qualifiers with them first.
“I was their captain and best player, and didn’t want to leave them to it. “For me, Albania and Kosovo are one big nation. I hope soon we will join together as one big country. But for now we have different teams.
“Albania are the better team, and they will give me more opportunity to have a chance of qualifying for Finals.
“I’ve done my bit for Kosovo by playing for the Under-21s and in a friendly. And I have the full support of my parents in this decision.
“I’ve been criticised in Kosovo, and I understand that. They say I won’t get picked for Albania, but the fact I have been selected in this squad proves that is not right.
“I am confident about my decision, and I hope I can mark my debut for Albania with a win against Scotland.
“Albania are a team packed with very good players and, of course, we have a very good manager in Christian Panucci. “He’s spoken to me and has been very friendly and supportive. So it would be nice to repay his faith with a victory against the Scots.”