Albania U21 vs Uzbekistan U23

Albania U21 produced a stunning first-half blitz to beat Uzbekistan U23 3-2 in an entertaining friendly in Antalya, Turkey. A quickfire brace from Etnik Brruti proved the difference as the young Albanians held on for a hard-fought victory. Ermir Rashica opened the scoring on 17 minutes before Ruziboy Fayzullaev levelled for Uzbekistan just five minutes later. The game swung decisively in Albania's favour as Brruti struck twice in three minutes — first on 31 and again on 33 — to send the hosts into the break with a commanding 3-1 lead. Nurlan Ibraimov halved the deficit on 70 minutes to set up a nervy final 20, but Albania U21 saw the game out comfortably. The win gives Albania a confidence boost ahead of their upcoming UEFA U21 qualifiers, while Uzbekistan U23 will look to regroup after a challenging European tour that also included a defeat to Russia U21 earlier in the week.