Key events
64 min: Chiesa lifts the ball and Frattesi, forever chasing, loops it on to the roof of the net.
62 min: Albania try to keep the ball but can’t get up the pitch. Strakosha is forced to hack clear and the ball is going straight back at the Albanians.
60 min: Chiesa starts and almost finishes a move, robbing Mitaj, and then Scamacca lays him up for a lashing effort. Italy looking to kill this one off.
58 min: Spalletti appears on the sidelines, barking instructions. Italian coaches have had a fine year – Ancelotti, Gasperini- especially the veterans.
56 min: Another big save from Strakosha as he denies Frattesi as Italy step up the pace. It was offside but Brentford have a good keeper there, for those not totally convinced by Mark Flekken.
53 min: Jonathan Menezes: “Frank Lampard was a stalwart at left back for West Ham for many years but his son Frank Lampard Jnr clearly surpassed his father’s achievements. Hard to argue with the Maldinis though.”
Thinking of players the same level: maybe Mark Chamberlain and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Josh and Dean Windass?
52 min: A long delay after that officiating and Asani can only hit Bastoni in the face, and the defender looks shaky on his feet. He will play on.
49 min: Frattesi has also been lively; the Italians are swarming on the ball in the Albanian half. Still, Broja wins a free-kick and Calafiori is booked for a swinging kick. Broja is booked for retaliation when VAR had looked at a red card.
48 min: Scamacca fancies a goal, and when the ball drops to him, he has a good lash but finds it slapping away off a defender. Dimarco soon after almost seizes on a loose ball. He’s such a livewire.
46 min: Back underway in Dortmund, and 23 seconds tick by without an Albania goal. Instead, the underdogs decide to retain possession for as long as they can.
Joe Pearson gets in touch: “I like the idea of a bowler, but if I have to wear something other than a bog standard baseball cap, I’ll to go with a narrow brim fedora. Also terribly out of style.”
Kári Tulinius gets in touch: “The canonical example of a great player having a son who’s possibly greater is Cesare and Paolo Maldini, though Anderlecht legend, back when Belgian teams challenged in Europe, Arnór Guðjohnsen’s son Eiður is also a good shout.”
Half-time: Italy 2-1 Albania
The quickest ever concession of a goal but a fine half from Italy, Bastoni and Barella’s goals were well taken, and Italy were crisp and so inventive. Wasn’t this supposed to be a weak Azzurri? Dimarco’s throw-in granted Albania their goal but he was excellent thereafter, like many of his colleagues.
45+2 min: Chiesa, so dangerous, whips in the ball when cutting in from the wing. If Scamacca misses it, then Pellegrini will surely nod it in…but no.
45 mins: Three minutes are added on.
44 min: Albania have a free-kick, launched to the back post, and it falls to Asani for a roofing finish that flies way over the roof. It was Djimsiti – sounds like Sin City – who performed the Harry Maguire role on the back post.
42 min: Asani is having to drop deep for Albania just to get a touch of the ball but it’s slim pickings. Albania may have to hope Italy revert to type and then try and sit on their lead in the fashion that so used to irritate Barry Davies. “And they only have themselves to blame,” as he said during that amazing South Korea game in 2002.
40 min: Pellegrini lays up Scamacca and again Strakosha, the Brentford man, is equal to the task. Italy would be 4-1 up without two excellent saves from him.
38 min: Albania are chasing shadows here, Italy in control and looking as impressive as the Germans did last night. DiMarco has been superb since his early error.
36 min: Chiesa is back on, and that’s good news. A rare player better than his dad? Or actually about the same level? Both excellent but it’s so rare there’s little difference in father and son.
34 min: Frattesi is sent away by Scamacca, and hits the post, via a good save from Strakosha, the ball breaks and Chiesa spins and falls heavily. Fouled? Not so, say referees and VAR. He’s back up eventually.
33 min: Albania’s is a rearguard effort here, and they will have to weather some pressure and hope to spring another surprise.
31 min: Chiesa got involved in a melee, sending defenders the wrong way and his cross invites Pellegrini to launch into an overhead kick that he just fails to connect with.
29 min: Charles Antaki gets in touch: “The TV director is keen on picking out the Albanian player with the neck art, where the tattooist has managed to pack in a woman’s face amongst everything else. Oddly, it looks like nothing so much as illustration from one of those romantic comics the 1970s, unless it’s meant as an homage to Roy Lichtenstein. Anyway, credit to the lad for bravery, if nothing else. Also his faith in relationships, if the portrait is of somebody he’s fond of.”
Gianluca Scamacca has a decent line in “ink”, too.
27 min: Wolfgang gets in touch: “enjoying your MBM as usual, but pork knuckles and sauerkraut are as up-to-date German cuisine as bowler hats are up-to-date British fashion.”
As it happens, I am doing this MBM in a bowler hat. But point taken. I like that kind of stuff, if it matters, and am a fan of the “green sauce”, too.
25 min: Jorginho’s in his rhythm too, and Albania are having to sit back in numbers to survive the onslaught.
23 min: Italy less hurried, now settling into their passing patterns with Barella at the centre of it all, and looking classy with it. He’s some player.
21 min: Pellegrini booked for pulling back a galloping Broja.
20 min: DiMarco’s tonsorial arrangement is odd. He’s had a bleach-blonde dye job that in HD, rather than UHD, makes him look like he’s sporting the hairstyle of Attilio Lombardo. He’s also clearly the man for the set pieces, and on the opposite side from the first goal, makes himself available for a short corner.
19 min: The ball is launched to Broja, but Bastoni steps in, and even wins a foul.
17 min: Flag on the play….but VAR is swift, as it has been all tourney and the goal stands. Phew. Barella celebrates again.
Goal! Italy 2-1 Albania (Barella, 16)
Italy’s response to being a goal down has been excellent. Barella’s shot is a beauty and it flies in.
15 min: DiMarco, seemingly a better attacking full-back than defender, escapes down the wing, and it takes a desperate clearance to stop Chiesa scoring.
14 min: An overhit ball from Bastoni, and there’s a lull in this match. Before that, it’s been relentless.
13 min: Bar some whistles and boos, it’s gone rather quiet in Dortmund. As a friend points out on that goal: “keeper standing behind his line not ideal.”
12 min: Let’s put that down to Spalletti’s genius as a coach. The short corner is often seen as a waste, but the angle was created and some rather slack Albanian marking let Bastoni in.
Goal! Italy 1-1 Albania (Bastoni, 11)
Italy have a corner, taken fashionably short. DiMarco’s ball comes in and Bastoni rises high and nods in, and that’s a fine reply.
8 min: Broja forces a corner, Italy looked well ragged at the back. Di Lorenzo harried into a mistake from Asani. The first corner goes behind for another. Di Lorenzo heads away the next. And then Asani almost pulls the ball from behind the line, only for Djimsiti to swing and miss.
7 min: Italy are pushing on, Frattesi down the channel causes problems, but the danger is cleared.
5 min: DiMarco tries to make up for his dithering, it led to a goal after 23 seconds, the quickest ever goal in Euros history. Albania’s second ever goal.
4 min: So, no goalless games so far. This is not like the tournaments of yore. Italy, well, they do say they start tournaments slowly but that was as slow as you get.
2 min: So how did that happen? DiMarco looks over to Donnarumma after a long ball from the left-hand side and Bajrami steps in and slots. What a noise! Almost immediately, Pellegrini almost scores for Italy, Scamacca sending him down the challenge.
Goal! Italy 0-1 Albania (Bajrami, 1)
What a goal! What a start!
And away we go in Dortmund
The countdown is complete, the champions are back on the Euros stage.
The anthems, via wiki:
Himni i Flamurit” is the national anthem of Albania, adopted in 1912. Its music is derived from the Romanian patriotic song “Pe-al nostru steag e scris Unire”, composed by Ciprian Porumbescu. The lyrics, which are close to the original Romanian lyrics, were written by Albanian poet Asdreni.
“Il Canto degli Italiani“ (Italian: [il ˈkanto deʎʎ(i) itaˈljaːni];[1] transl. “The Song of Italians”) is a patriotic song written by Goffredo Mameli and set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847,[2] currently serving as the national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the “Inno di Mameli“ (Italian: [ˈinno di maˈmɛːli]; transl. “Mameli’s Hymn”), after the author of the lyrics, or “Fratelli d’Italia“ (Italian: [fraˈtɛlli diˈtaːlja]; transl. “Brothers of Italy”), from its opening line. The piece, in 4/4 time signature and B-flat major key, has six strophes, and a refrain sung after each. The sixth group of verses, almost never performed, recalls the first strophe’s text.
So there. Italy’s seemed louder but it’s a song that lends itself to bellowing out. It’s booed as it finished by the Albanians. It’s loud out there.
The teams are out in Dortmund and the Albanian fans are making themselves heard. There’s also a significant Italian population in Germany. Pro tip: Italian food in Germany tends to be top notch if you have had your fill of pork knuckle and sauerkraut.
The BBC are running a piece on Albania, hosted by Pablo Zabaleta, the very popular former Manchester City defender, who is now assistant to Sylvinho, former teammates at Eastlands. It’s pretty in-depth stuff on the history of Albania, and their time in the communist bloc.
And, just in, Sid Lowe in Berlin as Spain put Croatia away with ease.
From earlier today, from Jonathan Wilson.
The predicted formations are 4-2-3-1 for Italy, and Albania in a tight 4-3-3.
The teams are here
Italy: Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Calafiori, Bastoni, Dimarco, Barella, Jorginho, Frattesi, Pellegrini, Chiesa, Scamacca. Subs: Buongiorno, Gatti, Raspadori, Vicario, Darmian, Bellanova, Cristante, Mancini, Retegui, Zaccagni, Fagioli, El Shaarawy,
Cambiaso, Folorunsho, Meret.
Albania: Strakosha, Hysaj, Ajeti, Djimsiti, Mitaj, Asllani, Ramadani, Bajrami, Asani, Broja, Seferi. Subs: Etrit Berisha, Balliu, Manaj, Gjasula, Kastrati, Mihaj, Laci, Medon Berisha, Muci, Ismajli, Daku, Abrashi, Kumbulla, Aliji, Hoxha.
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)
From last week, from a man who has travelled far and wide in Eastern Europe, a piece that reflects Albania’s rise.
And another excellent team guide to Albania from Ermal Kuka.
Superb interview by Nick Ames with Sylvinho, the Albania manager.
Luca Bianchin on the new Italy.
The striker problem in particular seems to be endemic within the genetics of Italian football, having also concerned the youth teams. Mancini won Euro 2020 with only two goals from Ciro Immobile, his starting striker, and Spalletti’s quest for a centre-forward lasted months. Can Gianluca Scamacca or Mateo Retegui be the heir of Paolo Rossi, Totò Schillaci, Christian Vieri and the strikers that wrote history in a maglia azzurrra?
Nicky Bandini had a look at the Spalletti effect. Just don’t mention Call of Duty or Gears of War.
Preamble
The defending champions make their bow, having missed out on Qatar. Expectations? Relatively high, since in a tournament where coaches can have a big say, they have one of the very best and most innovative in Luciano Spalletti. He might even have been the pioneer of the bald look that is so popular with coaches these days. It’s only three years since Wembley and that penalties win over England though much has changed, not just the coach, with Roberto Mancini departing to take Saudi Arabian petrodollars. Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are gone, as is Leonardo Spinazzola. And of the new breed, Destiny Udogie leads a spate of injuries in defence, the area where Italy are supposed to be strongest. No Marco Verrati, either. Sandro Tonali? Suspended. This is nothing like the same squad, but that’s where Spalletti comes in and the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, so ourstanding for Atalanta comes in. There’s also Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jorginnho, Nicola Barella and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Albania are the outsiders’ outsiders, though will be well supported by a whole host of fans set to try and fill Dortmund’s Yellow Wall. If Armando Broja is the most familiar face, if not to Fulham fans, then it’s a hard-working team that Sylvinho – yes, that Sylvinho, has put together. Star man is Elseid Hysaj, who Italy will know all about after his many years of service for Lazio and Napoli before that, someone who will be familiar with Spalletti’s wiles, too.
Kick-off is 8pm UK time, 9pm Dortmund time. Join me.
