It was a historic night in Lyon for Albania as they secured their first win at a major tournament after defeating Romania 1-0.
Albania withstood some early pressure before they took an unlikely lead before half time through a headed goal from Armando Sadiku.
In the second half it was Romania who had the bulk of possession and created all the chances, only for their execution in the final third let them down as Albania celebrated wildly.
The loss sees Romania bow out of the tournament with just one point, while Albania are likely to secure a spot in the knockout stages as one of the four best third placed teams.
Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of how every player on the pitch rated:
Romania
Ciprian Tatarusanu – 4: Made a mistake at a crucial time getting caught in two minds which led to Sadiku’s goal.
Alexandru Matel – 4: Struggled against the threat of Lila for much of the game and gave up possession too easily at times.
Vlad Chiriches – 5: Lost his man Sadiku in the lead up to the match winning goal.
Dragos Grigore – 5: Relatively comfortable match but offered little as a passing outlet from the back.
Cristan Sapunaru – 5: Struggled to keep Lenjani tied down when Albania were dominating in the first half.
Ovidiu Hoban – 5: Was solid in the centre of midfield but his passing was a bit disappointing.
Andrei Prepelita – 4: After a quiet first half he was replaced at halftime
Bogdan Stancu – 5: Some poor passing saw that saw some promising attacks break down.
Adrian Popa – 4.5: Another player whose passing was not to the standard that was needed in the game before he was replaced by Andone
Nicolae Stanciu – 4: Had some chances towards the end of the game all of which came from outside the box all did not test Berisha.
Denis Alibec – 5: Had a couple of decent chances before he went down injured.
Substitutes
Lucian Sanmatean – 6: Had a positive influence on the game after coming on at half time, helping to maintain possession and was the side’s most creative source.
Gabriel Torje – 5: Plenty of energy and linked up well with the attack, but again it was the final ball which let himself and team down.
Florin Andone – 4: Had a chance late on that cannoned of the post.
Albania
Etrit Berisha – 5: Was largely untroubled in the match.
Elseid Hysaj – 5: Solid game despite a few sloppy passes that allowed the Romania attack to threaten.
Arlind Ajeti – 6.5: Again showed his strength by not allowing Romania any easy opportunities with some key tackles.
Mergrim Mavraj – 6: Another who was solid in defence and almost scored twice from corners.
Ansi Agolli – 5.5: Relatively quiet, however he did make some crucial interventions.
Andi Lila – 7: Was one of the side’s best players, carving out some real opportunities from the left side of the field.
Amir Abrashi – 6.5: Played a strong holding role in the second half making crucial tackles and keeping his side compact and disciplined.
Migjen Basha – 5: Had a couple of opportunities that he wasted from a long range before he was replaced.
Ledian Memushaj – 8: Best player on the pitch. Always a threat with his passing range and from set-pieces and was responsible for the cross that Sadiku finished for the winning goal.
Ermir Lenjani – 5: An underwhelming evening for a player that got himself into good positions but the final ball left a lot to be desired.
Armando Sadiku – 7: Scored the historic first goal for Albania from the Memushaj cross and will be a part of folklore.
Substitutes
Bekim Balaj – 5: After coming on for Sadiku he had very few chances to influence the game.
Odise Roshi – 4: Instead of holding up the ball and killing the clock he decided to attack and carelessly gave the ball away.
Lorik Cana – N/A: Came on late to bolster the defence.
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