Italy vs. Albania Prediction on June 15, 2024

Match info

Italy and Albania will close Day 1 in Group B of the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship for men (UEFA Euro 2024) when they face on Saturday, June 15, at 9 p.m. local time at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany.

Meeting statistics

The current form of Italy

The “Group of Death” comprises Croatia and Spain in addition to reigning European champion Italy. It’s crucial that Italy begin their championship defense with a victory over Albania in Dortmund because of this fact.

Three years ago, the “Azzurri” won all three of their group matches by leaving their rivals at nil. They then went on to win significant silverware for the first time since the 2006 World Cup by defeating Austria, Belgium, and then Spain and England in penalty shootouts. Since then, head coach Luciano Spalletti has taken over for Roberto Mancini, and although they are the holders and have only lost one of 10 games while Spalletti is in charge, they are traveling to Germany under the radar.

Despite losing twice to England, Italy finished ahead of Ukraine in the Euro 2024 qualifying tournament thanks to a superior head-to-head record compared to the Eastern Europeans. Italy was ranked second behind “The Three Lions”. They escaped the playoff route after a goalless draw with the Ukrainians in Leverkusen during their final qualifier. Italy has since won three of their next four friendlies and drawn one, keeping three consecutive clean sheets. After losing to Spain 1-2 in the Nations League semifinal a year ago, the Azzurri have only lost one of their 11 international matches, and they are favorites to prevail in a close match against a resilient Albania if you ask Neteller betting sites.

Just 10 players who contributed to their triumph in Euro 2020 have been kept in the squad, as Spalletti took some chances in selecting the roster for EURO 2024. Three well-known absentees include Marco Verratti, Manuel Locatelli, and Ciro Immobile. Federico Chiesa of Juventus will be crucial up front, as none of the Italian team’s players have scored a double-figure number of goals for their nation out of those on Spalletti’s roster. This is their major weakness. It appears likely that in order to lead his squad to victories, Spalletti will need to rely on his defensive discipline and organizational skills. For this reason, Italy frequently finds itself involved in matches with low scoring. Just four of their previous 15 international games have gone above 3.5 goals, and none of their seven games at Euro 2020 have gone past the three-goal threshold.

Nicolò Fagioli is certain to miss this match, but Inter’s key midfield player Nicolò Barella is questionable due to a muscle issue that kept him out of his nation’s last friendlies. The match is anticipated to see Bryan Cristante and Jorginho pair in midfield, with Federico Dimarco starting at left-wing back as Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie is out.

The current form of Albania

Albania should be commended greatly for winning their qualifying group, although they only scored 12 goals in eight games against a weak group that included the Czech Republic, Poland, Moldova, and the Faroe Islands. Despite conceding just four goals, Sylvinho’s team has four clean sheets, which indicates a tenacity they’ll likely need to keep employing. Although Albanian players are becoming more and more talented, everyone will be focusing on Chelsea’s rising star on loan in Fulham Armando Broja, and former Watford player, currently in Sivasspor in Turkey, Rey Manaj for their inventiveness.

Italy will have to exercise patience and refrain from making snap decisions since “The Red and Blacks” are unlikely to take many chances at first and could annoy them for extended periods of time. Italy’s strength lies in defense and in the center of their midfield, and since neither team has much firepower, it might only take one or two goals to separate the two teams.

As Sokol Cikalleshi was unexpectedly left off the roster, Broja ought to be in the lead role.

Match analytics

Italy’s offensive is their weak point, therefore, they could have to settle for a close victory over Group B underdogs Albania, who have only let up four goals in eight EURO 2024 qualifying matches and know that frustrating the Azzurri is their greatest chance of winning.

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Results of the forecast

Forecast failed. Italy vs. Albania 2:1