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Euro 2020 champions Italy claim their first victory in the 2024 European competition against Albania.
The Italian side began their campaign to defend their title against Albania and got a close victory in their opening game.
Luciano Spalletti’s side claimed a 2-1 victory over a tough Albanian side that posed a big threat in the game.
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20:11 - 15.06.2024
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As it happened
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho started for Italy as Luciano Spalletti named his team for the first game of the Euros.
Midfielder Nicolo Barella, who has been out with muscle issues, has recovered in time and is in the starting XI.
Albania, on the other hand, started Chelsea forward Armando Broja in their starting line-up to lead the attack.
It was a quick start for Albania, as they scored the fastest goal in the Euro 2024 tournament with their first attack.
Italy had an early throw-in deep inside their half, but Federico Dimarco's throw-in to his goalkeeper was intercepted by Nedim Bajrami, who pounced on the loose ball and smashed it past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
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Italy struck back 10 minutes after Albania scored. Italy won a corner, and it was taken short before the ball was delivered into the box. Alessandro Bastoni is completely unmarked, allowing him to power home the equaliser.
The 2020 winners kept up with the pressure on the Albanians and then took the lead with a beautiful strike.
Albania struggled to get the ball out of their box, and when they did, it landed at the feet of Nicolo Barella, who lashed it the first time into the net. Italy continued their dominance and took their 2-1 lead to the halftime break.
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The second half started with the same intensity as the first half but not many chances were created by both teams.
Both teams kept it tight at the back and avoided silly errors till the end of the game, with Italy taking all three points in their opening game.
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