Italy vs Albania l Euro 2024 Preview l 15.06.2024
Italy are set to kick off their EURO 2024 journey in Dortmund on June 15, facing Albania in their opening match, followed by a clash against Spain in Gelsenkirchen and concluding the group stage against Croatia in Leipzig on June 24.
The reigning Champions of Europe find themselves in a challenging group for EURO 2024, which was drawn in Hamburg.
The Azzurri, who secured the EURO 2020 trophy, were placed in Pot 4 due to a lackluster qualifying campaign, narrowly securing the second spot behind England with a superior head-to-head record against Ukraine.
This draws them into a formidable group alongside Spain, Croatia, and Albania, setting the stage for intense competition in the upcoming tournament.
Albania, on the other hand, have successfully clinched their spot in the UEFA European Football Championship 2024, becoming the 11th team to join the prestigious tournament.
In a surprising turn of events earlier this year, the Albanian Football Federation appointed Sylvinho as the head coach of the national team, taking over from the experienced Italian Edoardo Reja.
Despite a challenging start with a debut defeat against Poland in Warsaw, the Brazilian has orchestrated an impressive turnaround, leading Albania to four victories and a draw in the qualifying rounds, by accumulating 14 points in seven rounds, guaranteeing at least a second-place finish in their group.
As a result, the team has secured a coveted spot in the most prestigious European tournament.
This achievement sets the stage for the country’s second-ever appearance in the European Championship, following their debut in Euro 2016, where they faced formidable opponents but fell short of advancing beyond the group stage.
Italy vs Albania l Euro 2024 Top Betting Tips l 15.06.2024
Italy vs Albania Head-To-Head
Total number of games: 4
- Italy wins: 4
- Draws: 0
- Albania wins: 0
Italy vs Albania last three matches:
- Albania 1 – 3 Italy
- Albania 0 – 1 Italy
- Italy 2 – 0 Albania
Italy Latest Team News
There’s no denying that there’s plenty of talent available to Luciano Spalletti but a poor qualifying campaign, coupled with failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, has left question marks over whether they still have the ability to perform on the biggest stage. Four years is a long time in international football and it’s felt like an even bigger period of time since Italy were celebrating at Wembley in 2020.
Defensively Italy have a reasonable, if unspectacular, back line and the skills of Gianluigi Donnarumma, in between the sticks, could be pivotal to their success. Midfield stability is in abundance for Gli Azzurri with the likes of Nicolo Barella and Jorginho but there are question marks over whether they possess the player to unlock opposition defences. The lack of a genuine top level goalscorer is also a concern for the reigning European Champions and the like of Federico Chiesa and Riccardo Orsolini will have to step up to address that problem.
Italy’s success at Euro 2024 could well come down to how well they perform in this opening match. A comfortable win could provide the base, and momentum, they need to gain results against Spain and Croatia but anything else could derail their campaign before it really gets going.
Albania Latest Team News
There aren’t many household names in the Albania squad but they shouldn’t be ignored, especially after a very impressive qualifying campaign.
Both Nedim Bajrami and Jasir Asani scored three times in their qualifying campaign but it was a true team effort that got them to their second ever European Championships, with seven different players finding the net in their eight games. Armando Broja might be the name fans of English football are most familiar with the striker appearing for Southampton, Chelsea and Fulham over the past three years and his experience at the highest level could be invaluable.
Perhaps most impressively, Albania only conceded four goals in their eight qualifying campaigns and that sturdy defence, led by Lazio defender Elseid Hysaj, might be a major cause of frustration for the other sides in Group B.