Holders Italy survived an early scare as they came back to defeat Albania at the Westfalenstadion and start a title defence at EURO2024.
Italy
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 6
He didn’t have much to do but, when called upon, Donnarumma kept his focus between the sticks.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 8
Di Lorenzo’s quietly superb performance was a key reason behind Albania offering next to nothing going forward.
Alessandro Bastoni – 10
Levelled the scoring for the Azzurri with a powerful header at the back stick, and demonstrated why he is truly one of the world’s best defenders. Strong, assertive, and dominant; a flawless performance from the Inter man.
Riccardo Calafiori – 7
A solid display alongside Bastoni, Calafiori provided the on-the-ball prowess to Italy’s brilliant centre-back partnership.
Federico Dimarco – 5
Gifted Albania the ball for the opener from a misjudged throw-in, and perhaps allowed the mistake to hold back his level throughout the match.
Jorginho – 7
In typical Jorginho fashion, the Arsenal man looked calm and assured in the middle of the park. Il Professore.
Nicolò Barella – 8
Fired an exquisite first-time volley past Strakosha to score what was ultimately the difference between the two sides. A brilliant midfield performance.
Davide Frattesi – 6
Fratessi was unlucky not to score a cheeky chip that would’ve boosted his overall underwhelming performance score.
Lorenzo Pellegrini – 7
Worked extremely hard to make things happen for Luciano Spalletti’s side, and ended the evening with an assist to show for it.
Federico Chiesa – 8
Had some moments of brilliance down Italy’s right-hand side and deserved a goal contribution to prove his impact.
Gianluca Scamacca – 6
The former West Ham striker was the low point of an otherwise very promising Italian attack as he failed to contribute to the match.
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Andrea Cambiaso – 5
Came on to help the Azzurri maintain a steady attacking performance, and did just that – nothing special, but nothing detrimental.
Bryan Cristante – 5.5
Found himself slightly more involved in the game than Cambiaso, but made no real impact on the closing stages.
Mateo Retegui – 3
Touched the ball once in 13 minutes and lost 3/3 attempted duels. Not much else to say really.
Matteo Darmian – 4
Didn’t find himself with a whole lot to do during his stint.
Michael Folorunsho – N/A
Albania
Thomas Strakosha – 7
Made a couple of crucial saves to keep his side in the match. The Brentford man put in a performance to be proud of on the big stage.
Elseid Hysaj – 6
Hysaj’s two blocks spurred on the wonderful Albanian support, though his performance was otherwise rather quiet.
Berat Djimsiti – 7.5
Albania’s best player against Italy, Djimsiti didn’t look out of place against their attack. His six clearances and two blocks helped keep his side competitive in the match.
Arlind Ajeti – 6
Was unfortunately rather overshadowed by his centre-back partner in Djimsiti.
Mario Mitaj – 6.5
Struggled at times against a tricky opponent in Chiesa, but held his own for large parts of the match.
Kristjan Asllani – 7
The Inter Milan midfielder was Albania’s go-to in the centre of the park, playing the ball about well and trying to create something special for his nation.
Ylber Ramadani – 6
Ramadani struggled to gain any level of control on the match, again being outshone by his partner.
Nedim Bajrami – 7
Jumped on Dimarco’s early mistake and fired the ball into the top corner to score the fastest-ever EURO goal.
Jasir Asani – 3
A rather poor display from Asani, who was a greatly ineffective outlet for Albania’s limited opportunities.
Armando Broja – 5
Had an opening game as quiet as his season. Really struggled to offer anything as the focal point of the Red and Blacks’ attack.
Taulant Seferi – 5
Similarly to Asani, Seferi found it difficult to involve himself in the match, rounding out a mediocre front three for Albania.
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Arber Hoxha – 4
Got himself carded in 22 minutes of football, which doesn’t sound too bad until you learn he had just six touches of the football and made two accurate passes. Ouch.
Qazim Laci – 5
Replaced Seferi, and ultimately failed to improve on what was a difficult night down the left-hand side for Albania.
Rey Manaj – 6
Came agonisingly close to an equaliser with just minutes to go – what a moment that would’ve been.
Ernest Muçi – N/A