Albania fans are ready (2024)

Italy: Vicario, Meret, Buongiorno, Raspadori, Darmian, Bellanova, Cristante, Mancini, Retegui, Zaccagni, fa*gioli, El Shaarawy, Cambiaso, Folorunsho

Albania: E. Berisha, Kastrati, Balliu, Manaj, Gjasula, Mihaj, Laci, M. Berisha, Muci, Ismajli, Daku, Abrashi, Kumbulla, Aliji, Hoxha

Spain have laid down a marker in Group B, opening with an impressive 3-0 win over Croatia. La Roja ran rampant in the first half, getting goals from Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal. Lamine Yamal also recorded a lovely assist on the day he became the youngest-ever player to appear in the Euros.

Croatia had chances to score either half, none better than Bruno Petkovic's penalty that was saved by Unai Simon, but they couldn't break through.

An early lead for Spain in Group B.

Italy and Albania are meeting at a major tournament for the first time.

Outside of those competitions, they have met four times, each of which was won by Italy.

Their most recent meeting was a friendly in Tirana in November 2022 that ended 3-1 to the visitors. Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Vincenzo Grifo (2) score for Italy, while Adrian Ismajli scored Albania's first-ever goal against the Azzurri.

Despite the experience of their defensive line, Albania’s front-footed defending in their own half could be vulnerable against three sides who excel on passing combinations and off-ball movement.

Albania’s impressive 0.78 non-penalty xG conceded per game in the Euro qualifiers will be tested against stronger opponents who have the collective and individual tools to break down defences and score from difficult situations.

Once Italy lose possession, they look vulnerable on defensive transitions. They leave large spaces between their defensive line and the rest of the team. Marcus Rashford’s goal in the 3-1 loss against England last October is a scene that Spalletti would preferably avoid in the upcoming tournament.

The back-three formation has provided more central cover when Italy are transitioning from attack to defence, but it’s still an area that opponents can exploit.

Ylber Ramadani and Jasir Asllani, Albania’s double pivot in midfield, are the complete package. The duo’s defensive positioning supports the defensive line and allows Sylvinho’s side to retrieve possession in the middle of the pitch. Their defensive awareness is complemented by their smart positioning when Albania are in possession of the ball — constantly adjusting their positions to provide passing options for their defensive line — and their ability to receive the ball with their back to the goal. Asllani, in particular, knows how to use his body to shield the ball, which makes him harder to dispossess.

Down the right wing, 29-year-old Asani, who was called up to the national team for the first time in March 2023, was one of Albania’s most impressive players in the Euro qualifiers. The winger’s dribbling ability gives him an advantage in one-versus-one situations to use his best asset, which is ball striking. Asani finds team-mates with inch-perfect passes, and his trademark finish is cutting inside before finding the far corner.

After an impressive season with Inter, Nicolo Barella is entering Euro 2024 as his country’s shining light. The midfielder’s ability to win back the ball in midfield and help the team defensively strengthens Luciano Spalletti’s side without the ball, but it’s his technical ability and the options he provides in possession that make him crucial to this side.

Barella constantly drops to help Italy build up the attacks, while also supporting the passing combinations out wide with his precise passing and off-ball movement. The latter is another feature of his game that allows him to be an offensive threat in the opposition penalty area with late runs from midfield.

Here we go.

Follow live reaction to the first game of today, Hungary vs Switzerland, in this live blog here.

And it's just kicked off between Spain and Croatia - check out live coverage of that match right here.

Cliches are easily overused, but they often have a kernel of truth to them. In the case of Italy playing low-scoring matches, it's more than a kernel.

Entering Euro 2024, Italy's matches in this tournament have produced an average of just 1.8 total goals (83 goals in 45 matches). That's the lowest scoring rate of any of the 25 teams to have played at least 10 matches in this competition.

Switzerland have beaten Hungary 3-1 in the first match of the day. Kwadwo Duah opened the scoring in the 12th minute before Michel Aebischer doubled the Swiss lead right before half-time.

Hungary pulled one back through Barnabas Varga midway through the second half, but couldn't find an equaliser. Breel Embolo's goal in the 93rd minute as his knee brace fell off clinched the victory.

Group A

1. Germany – PTS: 3, GD: 4
2. Switzerland – PTS: 3, GD: 2
3. Hungary – PTS: 0, GD: -2
4. Scotland – PTS: 0, GD: -4

Unlike the rest of Group B, Albania favour a more direct approach on the ball. Playing out of a 4-2-3-1 shape, Sylvinho’s team play to their centre-forward with long passes to flick on to one of the wingers and fight for second balls.

Their other option for moving the ball up the pitch are direct passes to their wide players, Jasir Asani and Taulant Seferi, which come in the form of quick deliveries from the full-backs, or diagonals from the centre-backs and midfielders.

Off the ball, Albania drop into a medium-low block in their own half, with the experience of Djimsiti and Hysaj essential to their defensive organisation. However, they are a proactive side in this situation — always on the front foot and looking to win the ball back as quickly as possible in their own half to start the counter.

Until last March, Luciano Spalletti looked set on playing with a back four. However, the Italy manager said that he wanted to do “something modern” before the friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador in March.

“There is an openness now to being footballers who know how to interpret multiple systems within the same match,” said Spalletti. “Before we had little time and we only focused on one system. Even when we lost, I said we would stay in that system, but now there is more time to do something different.”

The difference was moving to a back three instead of the back four Italy implemented in Spalletti’s games in the Euro qualifiers.

When Italy won the European Championship three years ago, Nicolo Barella was a crucial part of the best midfield in the tournament. In deeper zones, Italy could rely upon the brilliantly technical combination of Jorginho and Marco Verratti, who put Italy in charge and dominated possession in the engine room.

Barella’s work came higher up. As the most attacking midfielder of the trio, he was charged with making constant runs into inside-right positions, almost becoming a forward in the attacking phase. His goal in the 2-1 win over Belgium in the second round, where he slalomed past a defender and then crashed the ball home, was typical. His finishes tend to be extremely powerful and for a midfielder, he scores a lot of goals when going in behind the opposition defence.

That said, as a near-ever-present attacking midfielder in a title-winning Inter Milan side, it’s notable that Barella has struggled for goals this season, managing just two in Serie A. Still, he tends to come alive when playing for Italy and scored in the 2-0 victory over Ecuador in March.

His game at club level has changed a little: there’s more control and slightly less attacking dynamism. At 27, Barella has perhaps started the shift into a more wily veteran, having previously been an all-action runner.