An Australian supporter in Albania.
Një përkrahës australian në Shqipëri.

So 63 countries in 63 years brought me back to par but now it was time to jump ahead of the game with a long anticipated visit to Albania's capital, Tirana.

As a boy, I spent a lot of time in Kirkby library pouring over my favourite reference books. It was on these shelves that I first saw the Rothman's Football Yearbook. A seed planted that would ultimately drive me to collect every one of them.

The other classic book I'd scan was the Times Atlas of the World. Its massive pages opened a world of detail that remained unsurpassed until it was finally eclipsed by Google Maps in 2004 or do.

I used to love looking at maps of Europe, especially The Netherlands and, presumably because it came early in the alphabet, Albania. 

And of course I soon combined the two, noting a series of exotic sounding clubs like Vllaznia (yes, with two "l"s) Shkodër, Flamurtari, Skënderbeu Korçë and the Tirana teams Dinamo and Partizani.

As I got older and got interested in Eastern Europe and Communism, another fascination was added to this place, the dark practices of their dictator Enver Hoxha.

So, you can see why I was keen to visit Albania for my 64th country. I would not be disappointed.

Previously: In Skopje, Macedonia

From Skopje to Tirana (Friday, 25th November)

It was another early start for me as needed to get back to the station to catch my bus to Albania's capital Tirana for the next leg of my journey.

The hotel ordered my a taxi, just to be safe, and I got to the bus stop ridiculously early. Maybe I should have walked.

It was a little nerve-wracking as I'd obviously  never caught this bus before and I had to trust the guidance of a pretty dodgy-looking bouncer-type who wanted money for the information.

Also two or three buses came and went from the bus stop I was told to wait at, but then again, I was early. When a pretty small mini-van arrived and a dodgy-driver got out, I realised pretty quickly this was my bus and soon enough we were on our way, leaving the streets of Skopje past their London-style double decker red buses. 

Skopje's red double-decker buses

It was a really long journey, through some windy roads, up mountains and down valleys, with a few stops on the way. The journey was scenic and picturesque and took me through the heart of the Balkans. The road wound along the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid, passed through charming towns and villages before crossing the Albanian border.

There were some spectacular, snow-covered mountains in the distance. The Balkans are quite spectacular.

Balkans

As we approached the Albanian border we came over the brow of mountain range and down towards a beautiful lake, Lake Ohrid, where we stopped for a bit to eat. It was about noon and so, connecting to the garage's WiFi I was able to find out that the Wales v Iran match had started and was still 0-0. This was the first match I missed. 

Come on, Wales!!

Lake Ohrid, the very opposite of 'orrid.

Soon, we were at the tiny border post and the small band of travelers got out and queued to show our passports before getting back in to continue into Albania.

At the border crossing

The mountainous terrain stayed the same, of course. Geography does not respect politics.

Albania

We stopped again quite soon, at a service station at a small town of Hotolisht, where I learnt that Wales had got beaten 2-0. 

Game #17: Wales 0 Iran 2 (1pm)

Of course I had no idea of the circumstances at the time but I later found out that Iran had hit the woodwork twice before Wayne Hennessey, the Forest and Wales goalkeeper got sent off for a reckless challenge on an Iranian forward.

Wayne Hennessey, Nottingham Forest and Wales

With Wales down to ten men, Iran scored two late goals to keep their World Cup alive and mean that Wales had to try to beat England by a cricket score to stay in.

Games 17, Goals 43, Goals/Game 2.53

Albanian roads were really poor at times.

From the high Balkans near the border we gradually descending towards the capital city of Tirana.

Beautiful mountainous scenery

Light at the end of the tunnel as we approached Tirana

Finally, in the capital

As the bus trundled through traffic into the capital, strangely doing a loop from the south and then heading in to the center from the north west, any ideas of getting to a bar to watch the next match gradually disappeared, not that I was particularly bothered. 

Game #18: Qatar 1 Senegal 3

I was hoping for a big Senegal win against the hosts but I wasn't particularly worried if I missed it. My thinking was that it might be another blow to the egos of Qatar's petrochemical oligarchs but now I had another reason for backing Senegal too. Once again, there was a Forest connection. We now have a couple of players in our that are Senegal internationals: Cheikhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate.

Kouyate and Niakhate. Nottingham Forest and Senegal.

Niakate made two appearances for Forest very early in the season after signing from Bundesliga club, Mainz. but has been ruled out ever since because of a bad hamstring problem, which ruled him out of the Senegal squad. Kouyate, on the other hand, has played for us twelve times and even scored for us against Bournemouth. He definitely was in the African nation's squad for the World Cup. Cheikhou Kouyate played 73 minutes against Netherlands before being taken off with an injury (Forest are cursed this season) and that would be the end of his World Cup too.

As I missed this one I had to catch up with the action later.

Boulaye Dia put Senegal 1-0 up just before half time after some shocking defending by the hosts. Three minutes after the restart they doubled their lead with a lovely glanced header by Famara Diedhiou.

Qatar deservedly pulled one back after some good pressure, with a unmarked header by Mohammed Muntan, but Senegal sealed the win with a goal from Bamba Dieng on 84 minutes.

Senegal fans are a very characterful too...

This defeat made the hosts Qatar the first to be eliminated.

Games 18, Goals 47, Goals/Game 2.61

From the bus station it was just a twenty minute walk to my hotel. Tirana seemed more "up" for the World Cup than Thessaloniki or Skopje with international flags all over the place.

The hotel was a nice little find, being tucked away off a busy main road in a little courtyard. It was the elegant and appropriately named "Art Hotel" as every room and every floor is decorated by work from local artists.

Art Hotel - Very Nice

I had a bit of a scare when I got got there as they didn't have my booking (thanks again, Booking.com!) but I soon fixed it by making another booking from the hotel reception using their WiFi. Good job there still were rooms free, or I'd have been very upset.

Having arrived and unpacked, it was time to do a little exploring in Tirana. I was starving, and ready to try some Albanian cuisine before the two games later in the evening, including the very mouth watering tie between England and the United States of America, whose fans will tell you they believe they can win.

Google informed me of a very promising restaurant, "Tymi", which was was less than four minutes walk away. It looked enchanting from the outside and, even better, on the inside had several screen that were about to show Netherlands v Ecuador.

Time for a beer, at last!

Just in time for my first match of the day. I was ready, after missing the last two.

Netherlands v Ecuador, about to start

It might have been because I was hungry but, no, I really think this was one of the tastiest meals I've ever head. 

The stuffed pepper with cheese was a great starter.

Pepper stuffed with Ricotta Cheese - Yum!

But the main course was divine: Tave Dheu (baked meat with cheese) with a lovely unleavened bread to dip into the deliciously spicy sauce. Imagine meat balls in a spicy thick cheesy soup!

Oh! My! God!

Albanian Cuisine - perhaps *the* discovery of the whole trip

Game #19: Netherlands 1 Ecuador 1 (7pm)

No Forest players this time, but it's always fascinating to see which Dutch team has turned up to the current tournament this time, the dazzling world beaters, or the huge disappointments. The Netherlands has a history of under-achieving and never quite getting the glory their excellent players deserve. Who will ever forget the 1974 World Cup in Germany when they were everyone's favourites, and probably the best team of the tournament, but still ended up losing to the hosts in the final?

It looked like it was going to be that kind of sparkling Dutch team that had turned up to this competition when Cody Gakpo scored a screecher from the edge of the box to put the Oranje ahead inside 6 minutes.

Gagkop 1-0!

But the expectation that this would signal a dominant Dutch display soon disappeared as Ecuador came fighting back. A great save by Noppert, the Dutch goalie, and then a pretty obvious VAR off side decision, stopped two attempts at equalising before half time.

Noppert saves

No 15 is off side

But Ecuador were encouraged and it didn't take them long before Valencia got the equaliser Ecuador's play deserved.

The game had turned completely and it was the South Americans who were dominating. Just on the hour, Plata, the Ecuador midfielder, rifled a shot off the bar.

In the end, the best the Dutch could do was to hang on for a draw. 

Games 19, Goals 49, Goals/Game 2.58

After my delicious meal, which I paid for with the only cash I had to avoid Commonwealth Bank's excessive credit card fees, I left to watch the second half elsewhere. A potential worry emerged on my way to the next venue as my card was rejected at a couple of ATMs until I found one that accepted it. I drew a few thousand Lek, which I judged would be enough to last for a couple of days.

1,000 Lek - worth about $14 Australian Dollars

On the way, I passed an impressive Orthodox Christian church, which I must say surprised me. Albania is mainly a Muslim country, with about 60% practicing Sunni Islam. There are also many Christians, with the Albanian Orthodox Church being the largest Christian denomination, comprising approximately 20% of the population. This was, of course, on my way to following my own peculiar religion - beer and football.

Resurrection of Christ - Orthodox Cathedral

I watched the second half in another bar around the corner.

And so to the match I'd been waiting for for days. 

En - ger - land!

En - ger - land!

En - ger - land!

versus the U - S - A.

I found a relatively quiet bar to watch this one and ended up making friends with an Albania guy called Artem who spoke perfect English. It was great that he was also backing England, even though (or perhaps because) he'd spent some time in the 'States.

Game #20: England 0 USA 0 (4pm)

With just Artem and I watching it, he got the his friend, who actually runs the bar, to turn the music off so we could listen to the commentary (albeit in Albanian).

I was on the Korcas... from the town of a similar same name near the Greek border.

It quickly became apparent that my pre-match anticipation of another sparkling England performance had been very naïve indeed. What a surprise! It's the World Cup, after all. After a promising Kane chance was blocked early on, it was the USA who dominated most of the first half and were guilty of missing a good chance before Pulisic rattled the bar after half an hour. England did create a couple of chances towards the end of the half but they seemed to lack any real desire to attack here. What had Gareth Southgate said to the before the game?

The second half descended into a very dull affair where both sides seemed to have decided that 0-0 would do. In the only clear cut chance of the half, deep into injury time, Harry Kane uncharacteristically missed an open goal that made me wonder if the game had been fixed. 

I spent most of that dull second half discussing with Artem and the bar owner any possible reasons for this stitch up. After England 6-2 win against Iran, a draw against the USA would be enough for them to qualify, but hold on, the USA still had to beat Iran in the last game to qualify. It just didn't make sense.

Artem spoke perfect English and was a mine of great information about Albania

Anyway, I got really quite angry about it all by the end and trundled back to the Art hotel to get some sleep after a very long day.

Games 20, Goals 49, Goals/Game 2.45

A good day, overall 9-1.

My One Full Day in Albania (Saturday, 26th November)

One of my few regrets for this trip was only spending two nights, and therefore only one full day, in Albania. There is so much to see my time was ridiculously rushed in order to scratch the surface of a very interesting place. Add the extra requirement to watch FOUR World Cup matches, and you can imagine just how ridiculous my timescale was.

Still I do like this sort of challenge and I tried to fir as much in as possible.

The hotel puts on a very nice breakfast, which I enjoyed very much.

A good selection...

I set off for Skanderbeg Square, at the heart of Tirana, passing the restaurant I'd been in the night before, where I was able to go in and give them the tip I hadn't been able to do last night as I gave them my last Lek before getting more from the cash point.

I'd chosen my hotel well and it was just a few more minutes before I reached the huge, lively square. 

My first dark tourist stop was the "Bunk'Art-1" a museum right in the city center dedicated to the terrible repression that Albanians endured under their own tyrannical communist leader, Enver Hoxha.

The structure was originally built by Hoxha's government in 1978 as an anti-nuclear bunker for him and his elite. It was a five floor underground palace with 106 rooms and an assembly hall, but has been converted into a museum of the terrible regime he led.

I whizzed around taking as many photos and videos as I could...

Enver Hoxha didn't look like a monster

After my first "high-brow" immersion into Albania's dark recent history, it was time for something a bit more "bogan" - time to watch the "socceroos" 2nd game at the World Cup. After a dream start against France Australia got hammered (for me, in Thessaloniki) but here was an opportunity to turn it around and get their World Cup "off the ground", as they say, against Tunisia.

So, after Bunk'Art, it was back to Skanderbeg Square and the very impressive FIFA Fan Zone. Far better than anything I saw in Thessaloniki or Skopje.

Skenderbeg on his "bobbo"

FIFA Fan Zone Tirana

The fan zone was pretty empty when I entered. So I could choose pretty much whatever vantage point I liked to watch Australia play Tunisia in the Group D second round match.

Game #21 Australia 1 Tunisia 0 (1pm)

Australia started brightly and Mitch Duke deftly flicked a neat header past the Tunisian goalkeeper, Dahmen, half way through the first half to put the aussies in the lead. Tunisia created a couple of good chances before half time. 

Ongoing maintenance to the screens

Duke, 1-0.

I must admit it did feel strange watching the match in a predominantly Muslim country whilst listening to "Adhan", the Islamic call to prayer, especially as I was supporting Australia against Tunisia. I definitely got the feeling I was on my own.

At half time I popped out of the fan park to take in a bit of the Skanderbeg Square atmosphere. 

Back to watch the second half, Graham Arnold's men never really looked like letting their lead go.

And, indeed they didn't.

Games 21, Goals 50, Goals/Game 2.38

Albanian National History Museum

After the football, it was time for me to squeeze in some more culture/history with a visit to the National History Museum just next to the fan park in Skandenbeg Square. It was undergoing a major facelift when I was there but it was still open.

Skandenbeg Square - Open Air Concert Venue

The Museum

It's a pretty impressive museum
You'd need a few hours to see it properly. I had 45 minutes.

It's pretty obvious that Skanderbeg is an important figure in Albanian history. Obviously, that's why they have a square named after him. There are lots of similarities for me with Lithuania's hero from the middle-ages, Mindaugas. Skanderbeg was a 15th-century Albanian military commander who fought against the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Europe. He rebelled against the Ottomans in 1443 and declared himself ruler of an independent Albanian state. 

Skendenbeg reminded me of Mindaugas

The museum had some wonderful religious artefacts too.

St George is a hero in Albania too

Albanian ethnographic history is covered too...

Another name that rang a bell with me was the unforgettable King Zog. He was the ruler of Albania from 1925 until 1939 and implemented a series of reforms aimed at modernizing Albania's economy and society. He was subject to a lot of political instability and assassination attempts and in 1939, he was forced to flee the country when Italy invaded Albania, and he spent much of the rest of his life in exile, starting with Greece and then France. When France fell to the Nazis he escaped to England and for a time stayed in Parmoor House, near Frieth, a lovely village in Hambledon Valley near where we used to live in High Wycombe.

King Zog

And, of course, lots about their more recent political history, including the Italian occupation in the Second World War and the Communist take over after it...

I could have stayed in there for hours but... didn't I have a World Cup I was supposed to be watching? Luckily, I could actually see the Fan Zone from the museum, so as the next match was about to start I was able to quickly leave and take my seat near the front again.

Game #22: Poland 2 Saudi Arabia 0 (4pm)

I returned to the fan park to my seat with a great view.

It was pretty uneventful stuff before Piotr Zielinski buried a nice pass from Robert Lewandowski to put Polska 1-0 up on 39 minutes.

So Poland were cruising to half time before a controversial VAR call gave the Saudis a penalty just before half time and a chance to equalise. 

It wasn't a bad penalty from Al Dawsari but Szcsesny, the Polish goalkeeper, made a brilliant save to keep the score at 1-0 at the break.

It was great to see ex-Forest boy, Matty Cash, playing in the World Cup for Poland. Although Matty was born in as English-as-you-can-get Slough, both his grandparents on his mother's side are Polish and so he opted to represent them at international level when he got the chance.

Matty Cash, ex-Nottingham Forest player, playing for Poland

At half time, I left the fan park to do a little more Tiranian tourism.

First, a quick reminder of the fixtures

My next stop was the former home of Enver Hoxha, converted into a tourist site at the opposite end of the opulence scale compared to Ceacescu's palace in Bucharest, but interesting, none the less.

When you walk through Tirana's pleasant streets you can't help but notice the distinctive red and black Albanian flag everywhere. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was designed by that man again - Skanderbeg - back in the 13th century. In black is a double-headed eagle which is meant to be a powerful symbol of strength, freedom, and independence, and a symbol of the Albanian people's bravery, as it was believed it eagle could see in two directions at once. The red background represents the blood of warriors who fought for their independence..

They love their flags in Albania

These days, it's dominated by a cafe right next door, which even has part of the dictator's former residence as part of the building.

So where better to watch the second half?

I had a nice chat with the waiter who, like me, was backing Poland for similar reasons.

The game was already heading for win for Poland when the Saudi defence conspired to make sure by gifting Lewandowski an easy goal with less than ten minutes on the clock.

Games 22, Goals 52, Goals/Game 2.36

"Villa 31" is quite a nice café and I had a couple of very nice hot chocolates before it was time for my next destination - another Albanian restaurant for some more local cuisine.

Superb Dinner at Piceri Era "Blloku"

The restaurant was highly recommended by Professor Google, even if it didn't look too great on the outside and it's name translates, so I'm told, to something like "Block Pizza Era".

Pizza Era - So much more than a pizzeria

The menu looked great but I asked a waiter for his recommendation.

The starter was divine. A cheesy, garlic-laden filo pastry kind of thing. Yum!!

For the main course I had the meat balls in yoghurt with pistachio, roast potatoes and lovely bread to dip into it. Just too much!

Whilst eating, I couldn't help notice a family across from me having a meal out and engaging in a heated conversation. It's amazing how language ceases to be a barrier after a while and from the body language and tone of the voices (and perhaps a few words that perhaps crossed over) I found myself following along and deducing (or perhaps "inventing") what was being said. It seemed to me that a young girl was being told about how things had to be from her father. She seemed unsatisfied and then went quiet, consoled by her mother.  

After this deliciousness, my next task was to find a bar to watch the next match, France versus Denmark. This I did, just a few hundred metres away, just in the nick of time.

Game #23: France 2 Denmark 1

It was a quiet little bar but they served Korca and had a few TV screens where the game was being shown.  I am easy to please.

France dominated the first half without scoring but eventually got the goal they deserved when Kylian Mbappe somehow squeezed the ball between two Danish defenders, obscuring Schmeichel's view, to them 1-0 up just after the hour mark.

Denmark were supposed to curl up and die at this point but they came straight back just a seven minutes later with an equaliser from Andreas Christensen. This inspired Denmark and a couple of times they really should have scored again before that man, Mbappe stole in at the far post to meet a superb cross from Antoine Griezmann to clinch the win.

Games 23, Goals 55, Goals/Game 2.39

For the next match, I had to visit a small bar dedicated to football, well specifically to one football club, again just around the corner south of the small Lana river that bisects the city.

Game #24: Argentina 2 Mexico 0

The owner, Edvin Doko, is a true Liverpool fan and has visited Anfield a few times. His bar is dedicated to his passion. He refused to take money from me for my beer, even though I told him I was a Forest fan and had enjoyed those years when my team had the better of his.

It was a small but cozy bar, dominated by two big TVs at the end. There were just three of four in to watch the game and one guy was being a bit argumentative. I couldn't understand what he was saying but he and Edvin seemed to be disagreeing on the relative merits of Argentina.

You can't miss his bar from the outside

Edvin - A very generous Liverpool fan in Tirana

I feel so sorry for Mexico. They are great under achievers at the World Cup, making England look greedy compared to them. Remember, it's a football-obsessed country of 130 million who have never even reached the World Cup semi final. Although they've won the CONCACAF (North and Central American region) competition 11 times, the competition in that region is not great, let's be honest.

The game was pretty dull in the first half with Mexico coming closest with a decent direct free kick.

But Argentina took the lead in the 64th minute with a brilliant strike by that man, Leonel Messi.

Enzo Fernandes put the game beyond doubt in the 87th minute and so Argentina had recovered from their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia and Mexico were facing another early exit.

Games 24, Goals 57, Goals/Game 2.38

After the match, I popped next door to the bar I'd met Artem in the night before to have one more beer and say goodbye.

Mirupafshim!

My day in Tirana

So, another jam-packed day, full of football, great food and tourism. My "mood score" at the end was 19-0!

Next Stop: Bari, Italia