In the first UEFA Nations League match, Belarus lost to Albania
Viktor Goncharenko's first official match as head coach of the Belarusian national team was unsuccessful. The Matchday 1 game in League C, held at the "Air Albania" stadium in Tirana, was confidently won 2:0 by the hosts.
The Albanians opened the scoring in the 34th minute. Midfielder Kristjan Asllani converted a penalty after a foul by Artyom Kontsevoy. And in stoppage time of the first half, in the 45+2nd minute, striker Ernest Muçi scored Albania's second goal.
This match was Viktor Goncharenko's first official game as head coach of the Belarusian national team. Prior to this, the team under his leadership played four friendly matches, winning three and drawing once.
Overall, this is Belarus's fourth consecutive defeat to Albania in official matches. The last time Belarusians defeated this opponent was in 2010 in the Euro 2012 qualifiers (2:0).
In the second round, which will take place on September 29, Albania will play against San Marino, and Belarus will meet Finland. Today, the Finns crushed the San Marino team on their home soil with a score of 0:7.