Having initially been selected for Albania’s U21s, Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Simon Simoni has now received an invitation from the senior national team. The call-up means that Simoni will take part in UEFA EURO 2024 this summer. The Lezhë-born keeper has represented his country 34 times from U15 to U21 level, and was also in the senior squad for the Red and Blacks’ 0-0 friendly draw against Estonia in June 2022.
Simoni joined Eintracht from Dinamo City in January 2023. The 1.92-metre-tall custodian has been a permanent member of the first-team squad since then and was included in a matchday squad for the first and so far only time against VfL Bochum on Matchday 21.
The 19-year-old has otherwise been gaining match experience with the U21 side. In eight appearances in the Hessenliga and 14 outings in the Regionalliga Southwest, Simoni has kept nine clean sheets overall and helped Eintracht’s highest development team finish sixth as a promoted side last term.
That was enough for national team coach Sylvinho to take Simoni to the EURO. After warm-up games against Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein, Albania face holders Italy, record champions Spain and Croatia in Group B.
All fixtures at a glance
| Player / Country | Opponent | Competition | Kick-off | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Simoni (Albania) | Liechtenstein | Friendly | Monday 3 June, 20:00 CEST | Szombathelyi Haladás Stadion, Szombathely |
| Aserbaidschan | Testspiel | Friday 7 June, 19:00 CEST | Szombathelyi Haladás Stadion, Szombathely | |
| Italy | Matchday 1, EURO 2024 | Saturday 15 June, 21:00 CEST | Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund | |
| Croatia | Matchday 2, EURO 2024 | Wednesday 19 June, 15:00 CEST | Volksparkstadion, Hamburg | |
| Spain | Matchday 3, EURO 2024 | Monday 24 June, 21:00 CEST | Merkur Spiel-Arena, Dusseldorf |
