Ukraine’s group. Albania - Czech Republic. League of Nations match announcement and forecast for November 16, 2024
League of Nations 2024
Group B1
November 16, 2024 at 16:00 Kyiv time at the Air Albania Stadium in Tirana, the match of the fourth round of the League of Nations B1 between the national teams of Albania and the Czech Republic will take place. The match will be decisive for the Czechs, who, with 7 points, share first place in the quartet with Scotland, but they need to win to reach the League A.
The 2024 League of Nations is the third edition of the international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. Similar to the 2022–23 edition, the competition will feature promotion and relegation between the four divisions based on team performances.
The competition serves two purposes: to replace most international friendlies with competitive matches and create another avenue for teams to qualify for the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship.
The 55 UEFA member nations are divided into four divisions based on their UEFA national team coefficient rankings.
League B
League B consists of 16 teams, split into four groups of four. The group winners will be promoted to League A, while the bottom-placed teams in each group will be relegated to League C.
The teams in League B are:
- Austria
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Israel
- Kosovo
- Montenegro
- Norway
- Romania
- Serbia
- Scotland
- Slovakia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
Group B1
Group B1 consists of the following teams:
- Czech Republic
- Israel
- Romania
- Scotland
The current standings in Group B1 are as follows:
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 |
| Scotland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 |
| Romania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| Israel | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
The match between Albania and the Czech Republic is scheduled to be played on November 16, 2024 at 16:00 Kyiv time at the Air Albania Stadium in Tirana.
Albania
The Albanian national team is ranked 66th in the FIFA World Rankings. The team is managed by former player and manager Edi Reja. Albania's best ever FIFA ranking was 22nd in November 2015.
Albania has never qualified for a major tournament, but they have come close on several occasions. In 2016, they finished third in their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying group, just one point behind second-placed Denmark. In 2018, they finished fourth in their FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying group, two points behind second-placed Greece.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic national team is ranked 31st in the FIFA World Rankings. The team is managed by former player and manager Jaroslav Silhavy. The Czech Republic's best ever FIFA ranking was 2nd in November 2005.
The Czech Republic has qualified for nine major tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship. The team's best result at a major tournament was reaching the final of the UEFA European Championship in 1996.
Prediction
The match between Albania and the Czech Republic is likely to be a close contest. Both teams are evenly matched and have a chance of winning. However, the Czech Republic is the slight favorite to win the match, due to their higher FIFA ranking and their experience in major tournaments.
The winner of the match will likely finish top of Group B1 and earn promotion to League A.
