Albania needs to regain firepower against Romania

After a couple of solid defensive performances in defeats by Switzerland and France, Albania needs to discover some scoring form against Romania, its Italian coach Gianni de Biasi said ahead of Sunday’s vital Euro 2016 Group A fixture.

The Albanians held their own for long spells in the opening 1-0 loss to the Swiss and conceded late goals in a 2-0 reverse against hosts France, but they created precious little up front in either match.

Do-or-die game

The Romanians also need to win the do-or-die fixture to keep alive any hopes of progressing after a fortuitous 1-1 draw against the Swiss which followed a 2-1 defeat by France.

“I believe we can qualify,” de Biasi told reporters as his team, which is at its first major tournament, prepared for what Romania striker Florin Andone described as a matter of “life and death”.

“I think that if we are able to score the goals that we haven’t against Switzerland and France then we could get the three points that may get us into the knockout rounds,” said de Biasi.

Romania’s Razvan Rat, midfielder Bogdan Stancu, the nation’s first player to score twice in a European championship, and Mihai Pintilii are all expected to shake off minor knocks.

Florin Andone, dropped for the game against Switzerland after he was substituted against the French, could return to the starting line-up against the Albanians after his replacement Claudiu Keseru had a quiet game against Switzerland.