Albania have not competed in the World Cup finals, though have attempted to qualify many times. They took part in qualifying in 1966, 1974, and all tournaments since 1982. Their closest attempt came in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, where they reached the UEFA play-offs for the first time in their history before being eliminated.

2026 World Cup Qualifying

Albania were drawn into UEFA Group K alongside England, Serbia, Latvia, and Andorra. They finished as runners-up behind an unbeaten England side, taking 14 points from 8 matches (4 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses), one point ahead of third-placed Serbia, to secure a place in the European play-offs for the first time in the nation's history.

In the play-off semi-final, played in Warsaw on 26 March 2026, Albania took a first-half lead through Arbër Hoxha before Poland fought back to win 2-1 with second-half goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński, ending Albania's qualification campaign.

Trivia

  • After playing with Spain in a qualifying match in 1993, the Albanian coach asked his players not to swap shirts, as they had no money to make new shirts. The financially beleaguered Albanian team had to go to the stadium at their own expense, and they even did not have a full complement of shirts before the match. Therefore the Albanian coach Bekjush Birce wanted to save the shirts for the next match.
  • Albania's runner-up finish in UEFA Group K qualifying for the 2026 World Cup was their best-ever World Cup qualifying campaign, marking the first time they had reached the European play-off stage.