National Team Friendly

National stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Nicolás Anelka started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. In the 3rd minute Mehmet Arif İlksen shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Drino Lila saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Turkey's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Vural Tolga in the 4th minute. Nicolás Anelka received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 10th minute. Drino Lila tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nicolás Anelka in the 15th minute of play forced Albania's goalkeeper Drino Lila to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Turkey were awarded a corner in the 17th minute after Albania's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Vural Tolga took the corner. It was a well-played corner which Aydın Aydın managed to volley towards the net. Unfortunately, he didn't get a great hit on the ball and it went out into the grandstand. Igor Akinfeev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Berishaj Debatik in the 19th minute of play. Isallari Mërgims short, quick shot in the 21stth minute got Igor Akinfeev to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Nicolás Anelka scored 0-1 in the 28th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Drino Lila, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Turkey's Igor Akinfeev played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Berishaj Debatik in the 33rd minute of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Mehmet Arif İlksen in the 36th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Drino Lila prevented the ball from getting in the gole. When Mehmet Arif İlksen fell near the penalty area in the 39th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Turkey's protests and gave Mehmet Arif İlksen a yellow card for diving instead. Mehmet Arif İlksen hit a great freekick 39 minutes into the match. Ermal Edison made in the 40th minute of the game a fairly good throw-in which was taken care of by Rodolf Leka. After 45 played minutes Turkey got a freekick which was hit by Abidin Selahaddin. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Albania made a substitution. Kajo Sinani replaced Sejfullah Shahini. Albania made a substitution. Korani Hajredin replaced Zhabir Gjyle. Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Rodolf Leka to make the kick off. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Isallari Mërgim in the 53rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Igor Akinfeev prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Drino Lila made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Yiğitcan Yücesan in the 55th minute of play. After 56 played minutes Albania got a freekick which was hit by Ermal Edison. Ermal Edison got his second yellow card in the match during the 58th minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. A collision led to Albania getting a freekick after 59 minutes play. Ermal Edison hit a great ball. Turkey's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Vural Tolga in the 61st minute. Drino Lila took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Yiğitcan Yücesan, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Nicolás Anelka could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 67th minute of the match, but Drino Lila made a huge save. Berishaj Debatik sent away a hard shot on goal in the 69th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Turkey made a substitution. Tarkan Aktar replaced Ali Hamza Torum. Turkey's Alperen Vedat was substituted for Cemil Şenbay. An unexpectedly hard shot by Isallari Mërgim in the 72nd minute of play forced Turkey's goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Rodolf Leka might have been able to make a better finish in the 74th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Igor Akinfeev. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Rodolf Leka ran back to his position shaking his head. 75 minutes into the match, Albania's goal looked a bit too open when Yiğitcan Yücesan came free, but Drino Lila reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Igor Akinfeev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Isallari Mërgim, who was totally free with the ball in the 80th minute. If Yiğitcan Yücesan had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 84th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. In the 84th minute Yiğitcan Yücesan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Drino Lila saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Nicolás Anelka could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 90th minute of the match, but Drino Lila made a huge save. Drino Lila showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Yiğitcan Yücesan, who was totally free with the ball in the 92nd minute. The Turkey supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Turkey would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.