Euro 2024: Italy’s Back-to-Back Claim Starts With Albania

Italy vs Albania

With Euro 2024 just two days away, the entire football world is left on the edge of their seats in anticipation for the start of the biggest, grandest, and most illustrious sporting competition on the continent.

Host nation Germany will kick things off with their tournament-opening bout against Scotland, but a lot of other marquee matchups will swiftly follow.

The reigning champions of Europe will start their title defence against the tournament’s surprise package, Albania. These proud footballing nations, no matter what angle you look at it, got the short end of the stick, being drawn into the Group of Death along with football giants Spain and Croatia.

It won’t be a walk in the park for any outfit in the Group of Death, that’s for sure. Moreover, there won’t be any time for these competitors to gingerly dip their boots in the water, for every win in these group stage matches will be critical for their chances to advance to the knockouts.

So, with that being said, continue reading below for an in-depth preview of what will be Italy and Albania’s opening match.

Talking Points

Cikallesh out, Borja in

Albania, who are the second-lowest-ranked team in the tournament, surprised everyone with their stellar form in qualifying, reaching the top of a competitive cluster.

The Red and Blacks punched their tickets to Germany in style, reaching the prestigious competition for only the second time.

Under the stewardship of Sylvinho, Albania now have a compelling case to make a discerning impact in the tournament. But their campaign took an interesting turn even before the team even graced the pitch.

One of the biggest Euro 2024 news stories that came out of the Albanian camp is that head coach Sylvinho opted to leave their perennial striker, Sokol Cikalleshi, out of their lineup for Euro 2024.

Cikalleshi, 33, made his debut for the Red and Blacks back in 2014 and has been a pivotal cog of the squad ever since. In over a decade of service, Cikalleshi has 59 caps for Albania, with 13 goals to show for it.

It seems that the Konyaspor star didn’t take the news lightly, as he subsequently announced his retirement from the Albanian national football team.

“Like every beginning that has an end, my journey with the national team also came to an end. I feel happy for what I have done during this journey,” Cikalleshi posted on social media. “I pray to God that the friends who will continue their journey to ‘Euro 2024’ will succeed and make a dignified performance.”

This puts Chelsea’s Armando Broja under the microscope. The prolific striker will now be the spearhead of Albania’s offence, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Every time I think about it, it brings a smile to my face. I have been dreaming my whole life to be a part of something like this,” the 22-year-old exclaimed. “I just want to show the world — my country, my family, myself, people who have doubted me, people who have supported me — that I can achieve my expectations and become the player I know I can.”

Broja, the highly sought-after forward, is oozing with confidence, and that’s just what Albania need in order to make some noise in the European Championship.

Italy’s title defence begins

Despite winning it all during the last iteration of the European Championship, Italy aren’t one of the unanimous favourites coming into the 2024 tournament.

A lot has changed in Italy’s squad since their title run. A lot of the players from the 2020 championship team won’t be able to have a crack at defending their title, and instead, a new generation of Italian football will be showcased.

Another glaring difference between Italy’s Euro 2020 and 2024 rosters is the change in leadership. 18 months after their shortcomings during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Roberto Mancini decided it was time to step down as Italy’s boss and announced his resignation in August 2023.

A month after Mancini’s departure, Italy announced Luciano Spalletti as their new manager, and boy, the former Napoli head coach didn’t waste any time at all. The 65-year-old immediately delivered by leading Italy to qualify for Euro 2024.

Despite their new-found success, as my SBOTOP writing buddy Jordan stated, Italy are in for a tough title defence. With virtually an entirely different squad from top to bottom, not to mention that they are clustered in the Group of Death, Spalletti’s young core will have a herculean task to repeat their 2020 glory. But with their recent successes, Italy have a strong case for proving that this iteration of their squad is no chopped liver.

History

For over a decade, these proud outfits have faced each other four times. In those matches, Italy have bossed Albania by winning all four matchups.

In their most recent bout, Italy went on to demolish the Red and Blacks with a 3-1 score line. Even though it was just an international friendly, Gli Azzurri’s Vincenzo Grifo didn’t take the competition lightly and proceeded to score two goals and claim an assist for Giacomo Raspadori to cruise past Albania.

In terms of their current form, Albania took advantage of the most recent international break and thrashed Liechtenstein and Azerbaijan with a 3-0 and 3-1 score line, respectively. These wins serve as great confidence boosters for the thriving club as they aim to make history in Euro 2024.

As for Italy, they’ve only conceded one loss in their last 10 matches and have been unbeaten in 2024 to boot. Their not-so-new man at the helm, Luciano Spalletti, has been able to rally Gli Azzurri and secure a spot in the Euro 2024 after failing to qualify for the 2022 edition of the World Cup.

Betting Tip

Despite their major rebuild, Italy are still one of the most accomplished and formidable teams in Europe, which is clearly evident from how the Euro 2024 odds have priced them in their tournament opener.

Even though Albania have been playing some of their best football recently, they’re still the overwhelming underdogs at 8.00, while the budding Italians are the 1.40 favourites with a draw price of 4.27.

Backing Italy might be a sound move, but their price of 1.40 might not be enough for punters to be excited about. Instead, my betting tip is total goals 2-3 at 1.89. Expect these teams to play spirited football from the get-go, as both sides understand the importance of getting ahead in the Group of Death as early as possible.

 

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