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| The girls' U-19 football team after the win against Cyprus |
After securing a 2-1 victory against Lithuania, Albania's U-19 girls' team has achieved another triumph, this time against Cyprus. The match took place at the "Wil" stadium in Switzerland, and the young Albanian women came out victorious with a final score of 2-1, earning three more valuable points in Group B1 of the UEFA Women's U-19 European Championship 2024 qualifiers.
Klesta Ago and Klaudia Borci were the goal scorers in the game that Albania played this afternoon against Cyprus, an important fixture for their age group's qualification for the 2024 European Championship, The Albanian Football Federation reports.
The national U-19 team's coach, Kreshnik Krepi, fielded the following starting lineup: Amelia Mone (GK), Rigersa Tori, Rexhina Maxhalaku, Rosela Vasa, Xhesika Ndoj, Arlinda Kodra (c), Alesja Çinaj, Era Methoxha, Klesta Ago, Jehona Coka, and Klaudia Borci.
The first half of the match was largely dominated by the Albanian girls. Albania quickly took the lead with a goal scored by Klesta Ago in the 6th minute of the game. The red and black striker perfectly struck the ball from outside the box, leaving no chance for the Cypriot goalkeeper to save it, bringing the score to 1-0 for the Albanian girls. A few minutes later, Xhesika Ndoj attempted an assist to Borci, but the opposing goalkeeper blocked it, denying Albania its second goal.
The Albanian girls continued to create several other chances in the first half, with Kodra, Ago, Coka, but they were unable to convert them into goals. Era Methoxha also tried her luck in the 41st minute, but the ball ended up in the opposing goalkeeper's hands.
The first half ended with Albania leading 1-0. The red and black girls aimed to double their lead in the second half, and striker Klaudia Borci scored another beautiful goal from outside the box in the 60th minute. With the scoreboard reading 2-0 in favor of Albania, Jehona Coka had an opportunity to score the third goal for her team, shooting a ball towards the second post, but once again, the goalkeeper came to Cyprus's rescue, preventing the score from widening.
In the 78th minute, Coach Krepi decided to replace Era Methoxha with Anversa Muça. A few minutes later, Cyprus narrowed the gap to 2-1. The coach made another substitution in the team, sending in Tori for Angela Nika.