Italy vs Albania match preview and Euro 2024 tickets

2020 European Championship holders Italy will begin the defence of their title this Saturday when they face Albania at Borussia Dortmund’s iconic Signal Iduna Park stadium.

Both sides have been put in one of Euro 2024’s ‘Group of Death’ alongside Spain and Croatia, so winning this first group game is a no-brainer for either side, as three points here could almost guarantee passage to the next round.

However, the signs point to a win for Italy, who head into this tie in good form. 

Stats and form

Italy has been unbeaten in its last six games (W4, D2).

Luciano Spalletti’s side have kept four clean sheets in their last five games.

The Azzurri have conceded just once across their last six group-stage Euro matches (W5, L1).

They haven’t conceded more than one goal in a match across the last two Euros. 

Italy have conceded just six goals in their last 12 matches in the competition.

They have lost just once in their opening match at the European Championships (W4, D4).

This is Italy’s 11th appearance in the UEFA European Championship – only Spain and Germany have won the tournament on more occasions than the Italy (two, in 1968 and 2020).

Albania conceded just four goals in total during their qualification campaign.

They have conceded more than once in just two of their last 15 matches overall.

Albania have won just one of their last eleven games outside their home country (D4, L6).

They failed to score in three of their last five matches.

Albania boss Sylvinho will become the first Brazilian to manage a side at a European Championship since Luiz Felipe Scolari with Portugal in 2008

Head-to-head 

Given their difference in quality and class, it won’t come as a huge surprise to learn that Italy’s record against Albania is overwhelmingly positive.

The Azzurri have won all four of their matches against Kuqezinjtë, with Albania only scoring once against Italy in their last meeting in 2022. But this will be the first meeting between both sides at a major tournament.

Match preview

Exactly two years, eleven months and three days after Bukayo Saka missed a crucial penalty to give them their second Euro title in history, Italy will begin another journey towards winning a third European Championship and becoming just the second nation after Spain to win back-to-back Euro titles.

The Azzurri, under Roberto Mancini, conquered Europe in 2021, ending their 53-year wait for glory in the European Championships. 

But things have not been rosy for them since their Wembley heroics, as they missed out on the 2022 World Cup, which led to Mancini's shocking resignation. 

They also narrowly escaped being absent from their European Championship defence, narrowly finishing second in their qualifiers group courtesy of a goalless draw with Ukraine, which gave them passage to Germany on a better head-to-head record.

Now, in their eighth consecutive appearance at the Euros, Italy will be desperate to win here and give themselves a big chance of progressing from Group B. 

Although they are not the favourites in their group, Spalletti's side travel to Germany in good form, having not lost any of their last six games (W4, D2). Even more impressive is the fact that four of those games were accompanied by clean sheets. 

That clean sheet record and the fact that they’ve won ‘to-nil’ in their last two opening matches at the European Championships (Turkey 3-0, Belgium 2-0) should give them the belief that a similar prospect cannot be written off here.

However, Albania will be desperate to prove that they are no pushovers. The Red and Blacks are ranked 23rd among the 24 nations in Euro 2024, but they proved that their low ranking means little by qualifying from their group in style. 

After losing their first Euro 2024 qualifier against Poland, Albania went unbeaten in their next seven (W4 D3) and, for the first time in their history, finished top of their qualifying group for a major international tournament, ahead of Czech Republic and Poland. They only conceded four goals in qualifying, all of which came away from home. 

With former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Sylvinho at the helm, Albania has become more exciting to watch, and the 50-year-old will become the first Brazilian to manage a side at a European Championship since Luiz Felipe Scolari with Portugal in 2008 when he leads his side out against Italy, and his side could be one of those teams that those who purchase Euro 2024 tickets will most enjoy.

Winning will be all that matters at this level and Albania will fancy their chances after winning their last two warm-up games ahead of this fixture.

Key men

There’s no denying that there’s plenty of talent available to Luciano Spalletti.

Defensively, Gli Azzurri has an unspectacular but reliable backline, and the skills of Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, in between the sticks, could be pivotal to their success in Germany. 

Italy has abundant midfield stability, with the likes of Nicolo Barella and Jorginho. 

But there are question marks over whether they possess the players to unlock opposition defences. Offensively, there are concerns that they lack a genuine top-level goalscorer. 

However, in Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Scamacca, the reigning champions have two players who can trouble any defence on their day.

Meanwhile, although Albania's squad may not have many household names, they shouldn’t be ignored, especially after an impressive qualifying campaign.

Nevertheless, Chelsea’s Armando Broja is the name that most English football fans are familiar with. The striker has appeared for Southampton and Fulham over the past three years, and his experience at the highest level could be invaluable for Albania. 

Also, the duo of Nedim Bajrami and Jasir Asani scored three times in their qualifying campaign, and they could be among the goals in Germany this summer. 

However, without the aforementioned trio, goals can come from anywhere for Albania, with seven players finding the net in their eight qualifying games. 

Having pulled together their resources in the qualifiers, their chances of qualifying from this group will depend on collective effort.

Injury news

Italy will be sweating on the fitness of midfielder Nicolò Barella, who ended his successful season with Inter with a muscle injury. 

He recorded more assists than any other Azzurri player during Euro 2024 qualifying (3) and created seven more chances than any of his teammates (15). 

He may be absent from the first game, while Nicolo Fagioli and Davide Frattesi have all been dealing with thigh issues. 

However, the latter still appears likely to start since he has been training normally with the rest of the squad.

Before the tournament, Spalletti also lost two important defenders–Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini.

Kuqezinjtë has no major injury concerns at this time.

How the teams could line up

With Barella out of contention for this game, Luciano Spalletti may have to use a midfield four of Jorginho, Cristante, Dimarco, and Di Lorenzo. 

Albania's main dilemmas on matchday one are selecting which goalkeeper will start, with Brentford goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha also a contender, choosing the centreback to pair with Berat Djimsiti in the heart of the defence, and deciding on the left forward position. 

Italy (predicted lineup): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matteo Darmian, Alessandro Buongiorno, Alessandro Bastoni; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Jorginho, Bryan Cristante, Federico Dimarco; Davide Frattesi, Federico Chiesa; Gianluca Scamacca

Albania (predicted lineup): Etrit Berisha; Elseid Hysaj, Berat Djimsiti, Arlind Ajeti, Mario Mitaj; Krsitjan Asllani, Ylber Ramadani, Nedim Bajrami; Taulant Seferi, Jasir Asani, Armando Broja. 

Getting a ticket

Tickets for the Italy vs Albania game is available from different resellers on Seatsnet from €358. Now is the best time to get your hands on one.