Preview: Gibraltar vs Albania - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to halt their respective winless runs, Gibraltar and Albania clash for an international friendly at Europa Point Stadium on Thursday evening.

Team 54 have endured a troubling start to their World Cup qualification campaign, whereas Shqiponjat have given themselves a fighting chance of reaching the playoffs.

Match preview

Sitting a lowly 199th in the FIFA World Rankings, it is no surprise to discover that European minnows Gibraltar have suffered a poor start to their quest for a spot at the North American World Cup, with Thursday night's hosts blown away in Group L of UEFA's qualification section so far.

Both the March and June international windows earlier this year resulted in a pair of defeats for Team 54, who are currently sitting rock bottom of their section after a quartet of matches, already nine points behind the Czech Republic in top position.

Despite all the doom and gloom mentioned, it appeared as if Gibraltar were heading towards a rare competitive success last time out in the Faroe Islands when Manchester United youngster James Scanlon fired his nation ahead, but second-half strikes from Arni Frederiksberg and Patrik Johannesen snatched maximum points for the hosts.

Spanning across UEFA Nations League, international friendly and World Cup qualification, Team 54 are in the midst of a seven-game winless streak, with their most recent triumph arriving at Europa Point Stadium versus fellow whipping boys San Marino in October 2024.

Still awaiting his maiden victory as first-team coach, Scott Wiseman has spent the past two years working his way up from the Under-17s boss to the senior post, with the former Barnsley player losing all four of his matches in charge to date.

After finishing winless at the bottom of a highly-competitive Group B at Euro 2024, Albania are on a mission to qualify for back-to-back major tournaments, with Thursday's visitors to Europa Point hoping to become one of 48 teams competing in North America next year.

A daunting trip to the home of football was on the agenda at the very start of Shqiponjat's Group K campaign in March, when goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane won the evening for England, but since then Sylvinho's troops have enjoyed a change in fortunes.

Albania have managed to navigate their latest three matches of qualifying unscathed, smashing section minnows Andorra 3-0 on home soil before sharing the spoils with Serbia and Baltic nation Latvia during the June international window.

Due to their involvement in major tournaments, the Nations League and World Cup qualifying, Shqiponjat have not participated in a friendly match since June 2024, when Rangers man Nedim Bajrami was the star of the show as they defeated Azerbaijan 3-1 in Hungary.

Scoring 50% of his country's goals during World Cup qualification in 2025, Rey Manaj is a key player for Albania at the top end of the pitch, with the 28-year-old now plying his trade in the United Arab Emirates after previously spending time on the books of Barcelona.

Gibraltar International Friendlies form: W L L L D W

Gibraltar form (all competitions): D D L L L L

Albania International Friendlies form: W W L L W W

Albania form (all competitions): D L L W D D

Team News

Gibraltar have a number of players who are currently on the books of English clubs, including Chesterfield winger Liam Jessop.

Team 54 are also able to call upon the services of Carlos Richards, who made one appearance for Derby County in the Championship as a teenager.

The hosts possess an experienced core consisting of players from the Gibraltar league system, such as influential midfielder Tjay De Barr of Lincoln Red Imps.

Despite being a doubt to make the cut due to a lack of fitness, Burnley new man Armando Broja has been selected in the Albania squad this month.

Also returning from injury, Elhan Kastrati is expected to be a backup option in between the sticks, with AEK Athens shot-stopper Thomas Strakosha taking the number-one jersey.

Gibraltar possible starting lineup:

Banda; Ronan, Torrilla, Mauro, Jolley; Perera, Valarino, De Barr; Scanlon, Richards, Borge

Albania possible starting lineup:

Strakosha; Balliu, Ajeti, Kumbulla, Mitaj; Asllani, Shehu, Laci; Broja, Hoxha, Manaj

We say: Gibraltar 0-3 Albania

In the middle of a seven-game winless run, Gibraltar are low on confidence and could struggle when Albania arrive at Europa Point this Thursday evening.

Shqiponjat have only lost to England in 2025 so far, so the visitors should be extremely confident of putting a few goals past their hosts.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.