Capradossi, Kastrati earn minutes in World Cup Qualifiers

Cittadella may have not played in Serie B this week, but two Granata players featured in the most recent edition of the international break.

Elio Capradossi (Uganda) and Elhan Kastrati (Albania) traveled with their respective national teams for World Cup Qualifying. The defender captained his side to one victory in Africa, while the goalkeeper made his senior competitive debut in front of 80,000 fans.

Here were the story lines for both players.

Capradossi captains Uganda

After initially not appearing in Uganda’s previsional squad, Elio Capradossi joined the team for World Cup Qualifying fixtures against Mozambique and Guinea.

The Cranes entered the international window trailing second-placed Mozambique by three points in Group G. The two sides met in Cairo on March 20, where Uganda played down a man for 52 minutes after Denis Omedi received a red card. Mozambique ultimately won the match 3-1.

Capradossi, who did not feature in Cittadella’s last three games, played the full 90 minutes in Egypt before captaining the team five days later in Kampala against Guinea. A first half goal by Allan Okello gave the Cranes an important three points to keep their World Cup dreams alive.

The winners of each group of African qualifying go directly to the World Cup, while the four best runners-up advance to a further round. Algeria leads Group G with 15 points, following by Mozambique with 12 points. Uganda’s win puts them back within reaching distance of a playoff spot with four games remaining.

Kastrati debuts at Wembley

Elhan Kastrati played his first competitive game for the Albanian national team on Friday, coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute during the team’s 2-0 loss to England.

Kastrati, who was part of Albania’s EURO 2024 squad, did not play a competitive fixture for the Balkan country since receiving his first senior call-up in 2018. The goalkeeper played one friendly against Estonia in 2022, but never took the field for an official match.

That changed on Friday, when Albania opened its World Cup Qualifying campaign against England at Wembley. After the 82nd minute, Thomas Strakosha went down with an injury, making way for Kastrati’s substitution appearance.

Kastrati played the remained of the game, which ended in an England victory. Albania traveled back to Tirana to face Andorra on Monday, where Strakosha returned to action in a 3-0 victory.

Albania returns to qualifying in June with a home game against Serbia and an away trip to Latvia.

Up next

Kastrati and Capradossi will return to Cittadella as the Granata prepare to resume league play on Saturday against Cremonese.

Eight games remain in Serie B with Cittadella sitting in 14th place and one point above the relegation play-out zone.

TOP PHOTO: Uganda Cranes / Facebook