Balaj was part of the Albania U-19 squad for the qualifying stage of the 2009 European Championship, where he made his debut on 8 October 2008 against England at Ballymena Showgrounds, Northern Ireland by replacing Guido Tepshi at half time and where the match finished in the 3–0 loss for Albania. He scored his first and also Albania's only goal of the qualifying campaign, against Northern Ireland on 13 October 2008 at The Oval, Belfast in a 2–1 loss.