De Biasi – Albania confidence growing

Albania coach Gianni De Biasi believes his side are growing in confidence following their 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday and he is convinced they can cause any team problems if they remain in the tournament.

The Red and Blacks kept their hopes of progressing through to the knockout stages alive after Armando Sadiku header secured the team their first victory at a major tournament.

De Biasi’s men now face an anxious wait to see if they will qualify for the last 16 as one of the four best third-place teams, with their fate potentially not being decided until Wednesday.

The 60-year-old coach insists his side must continue to prepare as if they are still in the tournament, as they will potentially be back in action by the end of the week.

He told reporters: “We will have to prepare as if we have to play the Friday or Saturday. In the meantime we will be watching the other games.”

The Italian-born manager believes his side are growing in confidence as the tournament progresses and he is convinced they can give any of their rivals a game if they reach the knockout stages.

He added: “If we stay in this tournament, we will give trouble to other teams, even important teams. We had more confidence tonight. We needed the first games to settle into the tournament.”

Albania are available at 251.00 to claim overall glory in France, in what is their first-ever major tournament.