Albania manager De Biasi: We can score against France

Marseille - Albania coach Gianni De Biasi feels his underdog side could score against France in Marseille on Wednesday to get his team's Euro 2016 prospects back on track.

After defeat in the Group A opener against Switzerland, Albania needs to at least avoid defeat to keep its hopes alive of progressing to the knockout stages.

"We played well against the Swiss, got in on goal three times, we created chances," the 59-year-old Italian told media on Tuesday at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

"Statistics show that we will hit the back of the net, and that could happen in 24 hours' time," he said.

But Didier Deschamps' men, despite a possible rotation in team selection, are expected to move up a gear from their faltering win against Romania on the tournament's opening day thanks to Dimitri Payet's late winner.

De Biasi conceded there is a chance his team could face Les Bleus at full throttle, relieved of the weight of expectation that appeared to hold them back in Paris.

"In terms of quality they are one of the best in the world, and being the home nation everything is going their way, they are obviously odds-on favourite against us," he said.

Albania's tournament debut started ominously when captain Lorik Cana, called the "heart" of the team by De Biasi, was shown the first red card of the competition in the 1-0 loss to the Swiss in Lens on Saturday.

"For the best part of an hour, we held firm against a side with a much bigger FIFA ranking than us, but they really struggled against us," the Italian said.

Experienced defender Ansi Agolli, capped 64 times, has been handed the captain's armband as ex-Marseille player Cana misses this game through suspension.

"Every Albanian dreams of captaining his country, I couldn't sleep properly when I heard the coach's decision," said the 33-year-old who plays for Qarabag.