The Israel National Football Team will be back in action when they visit Albania this coming Wednesday night (21:00 Israel time) for a friendly between the two nations.

The blue-and-white under Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon will use this match as a warmup for their Nations League campaign that begins in September as they will feature in a group with Austria, Ireland and Kosovo. For Albania, this will be the debut contest foe their brand new Head Coach Rolando Maran as they will play in a Nations League group with Belarus, Finland and San Marino.

The previous encounter between the countries was back in 2022 Nations League play when Israel won both games by the score of 2-1.

This time around, both teams will be looking to see which players the bench bosses will rely come September and while Ben Shimon has a fairy good idea as to who his starting line-up will be, Maran will use this matchup as an opportunity to familiarize himself with the tools that he has at his disposal.

Ultimately, the Nations League will provide a secondary path to take part in the 2028 European Championships which is slated to be played in four countries, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The primary path will be the standard qualification which will take place after the Nations League and begin in March 2027 as the two tacticians will need as many matches as they can get in order to be prepared for the task at hand.

In order to get to know a little bit more about Albania ahead of this week’s friendly, The Sports Rabbi was in touch with Albanian Football Scout and Albanian Football on X to see what Israel can expect from their upcoming foe who is so to speak under new management.

Maran takes over the helm of “The Red and Blacks” from Brazilian Sylvinho who was in charge of the national team between 2023 through 2026 with the goal of qualifying for the 2024 Euros which is what he deftly accomplished by finishing at the top of their group going undefeated against the likes of Czech Republic, Poland, Faroe Islands and Moldova.

Sylvinho, who is also remembered as a star left back for Arsenal, Celta and Barcelona, then was able to guide Albania to the World Cup qualifying Playoff Round where they eventually fell to Poland.

It’s clear that Maran is stepping into some big shoes that he will need to fill after the success that his predecessor was able to achieve. The 62-year old will definitely have a tough job, but despite this being the first time that he will be in charge of a national team, Football Scout and Albanian Football have mixed feelings if he can continue the fine work that Sylvinho had started.

“The hiring doesn’t come across as forward-thinking,” Football Scout said. “Which is why this decision has been met with criticism in the Albanian media. People would have preferred a younger, more modern manager rather than a traditional manager from the Italian school.”

“I don’t think it’s a forward thinking approach,” Albanian Football agreed with Football Scout but added. “However, I don’t see it as a step back. Maran could easily be a success and at worst he will continue our current form. His and Sylvinho’s philosophies are somewhat similar as both are from the Italian school of coaching. Maran however is more pragmatic, has more experience and focuses a lot more on midfield control.”

Football Scout added, “It’s still hard to say [how Maran’s philosophy will differ from Sylvinho]; the only difference we can identify at this stage is that Sylvinho liked to play with wide players who cut inside, in a 4-3-3 formation. With Maran, many assume he will play without wingers. This is also evident from the fact that he hasn’t selected a proper right winger. Maran is expected to play with two strikers and a number 10. However, that might actually suit Albania’s squad even better, they have plenty of number 10’s but no strong wingers.”

As for the most important players on the Albanian squad, there are a number that stand out Albanian Football noted, “Armando Broja at Burnley, Kristjan Asllani who was loaned out from Inter, Lazio’s Elseid Hysaj, Mario Mitaj with Al Ittihad and Berat Gjimshiti who is playing with Atalanta are some of the key players to watch.”

While Albanian Scout added midfielder Luis Hasa is an up and coming player to watch, “Hasa was an Italian U21 international and won the U19 European Championship with Italy, where he was voted the tournament’s best player. He is likely to play in Italy’s Serie A this season, though I expect Napoli will send him out on loan.”

Welcome, Luis Hasa! 🇦🇱

Our new rising star is finally here! 🌟
I have to say, I think these new introduction videos from @FSHForg are pretty cool. pic.twitter.com/laAYtXr770

— Albanian Football Scout 🇦🇱 (@FootballAlbXI) May 31, 2026

One of the most interesting facts to note about Albanian football is it’s close relationship with Italy as many of their national team players and former head coaches feature in the country just across the way.

“This is mainly because Albania has such a large footballing diaspora in Italy,” Football Scout said. “The two countries are practically neighbors and many Albanian footballers speak Italian. Thanks to the good relations between the two football associations, Italy even allows Albanian players not to be counted as foreign players in Serie A which is why the Kosovar international Edon Zhegrova applied for an Albanian passport before moving to Juventus.”

Albanian Football added, “Albania and Italy in general has a very close connection, but especially in football we have almost always hired from Italy in all departments of our football system.”