The dream of qualifying for the World Cup is over for Albania, who were defeated 2-1 by Poland in Warsaw. The Red and Blacks took the lead early and played a positive first half, but failed to maintain their lead in the second half.
The red and black celebration erupted in the 43rd minute, when Arbër Hoxha scored a beautiful goal after a well-constructed move. The ball was recovered by Mitaj, then Ismajli served with a long pass, while Hoxha avoided the home goalkeeper and sent the ball into the net, giving Albania the advantage. The first half ended with the score 0-1 in favor of the red and blacks.
Early in the second half, Albania had a golden opportunity to double their lead through Bajram, but his effort went wide of the target. This proved to be the decisive moment, as Poland responded by equalising in the 63rd minute. Robert Lewandowski took advantage of a lack of confidence in the Albanian defence and scored the equaliser.
The Reds tried to react and created another good chance with Pilos, but his shot was stopped by the Polish goalkeeper. Meanwhile, the home team turned everything around in the 73rd minute, when Piotr Zieliński finished off a quick move, giving Poland a 2-1 lead.
Despite efforts in the remaining minutes, Albania failed to get back into the game, thus ending their hopes for a place in the World Cup.
