Italy 2-1 Albania – Player Ratings and Match Report

Italy survived an early scare to come from behind and win against Albania in their opening EURO 2024 match. The reigning champions sealed a 2-1 win at the Signal Iduna Park.

Albania stunned Italy by taking the lead after just 22 seconds. Nedim Bajrami made the most of a poor throw from Federico Dimarco to give the away side an early lead.

The defending champions were not behind for long, as a smart corner routine saw them get level just 10 minutes later. Alessandro Bastoni was unmarked at the far post, and he headed home Italy’s first goal of EURO 2024.

Nicolas Barella turned the tie around just five minutes later with a sensational strike from just outside the box. The Inter Milan star’s shot left Thomas Strakosha flat-footed, and it was 2-1 to Italy.

The scoreline remained the same for the rest of the match, with both sides coming close to getting another goal but failing to convert.

Italy vs Albania Player Ratings after EURO 2024 clash:

Italy Player Ratings	Albania Player Ratings
Gianluigi Donnarumma	Thomas Strakosha
Giovanni Di Lorenzo	Elseid Hysaj
Alessandro Bastoni	Arlind Ajeti
Riccardo Calafiori	Berat Djimsiti
Federico Dimarco	Mario Mitaj
Davide Frattesi	Ylber Ramadani 21
Jorginho	Kristjan Asllani
Nicolò Barella	Jasir Asani
Federico Chiesa	Nedim Bajrami
Gianluca Scamacca	Taulant Seferi
Lorenzo Pellegrini	Armando Broja
Andrea Cambiaso	Qazim Laci
Bryan Cristante	Arber Hoxha
Matteo Darmian	Rey Manaj
Mateo Retegui	Ernest Muçi
Michael Folorunsho