Italy began their quest to defend the trophy they won at Wembley four years ago with a spirited comeback win over an energetic Albania side
The Azzurri made the worst possible start to its title defence though, conceding a goal after just 23 seconds, after Nedim Bajrami took advantage of a weak throw-in by Italy’s left-back, Federico Dimarco to lash the ball into the top corner.
It was the quickest goal in the tournament’s history.
However, the lead lasted for just ten minutes after Alessandro Bastoni headed the ball in the back of the net after some good work from Lorenzo Pellegrini. Six minutes later, Nicolo Barella struck home a swerving first-time shot from the edge of the area to give the defending champions the lead.
Italy then controlled the game from then on, dominating possession in front of a sea of Albanian supporters in the stadium. They were nearly made to pay for not adding a third Rey Manaj’s deft chip in added time deflected just wide off the back of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s post.
It remains a solitary loss in 12 matches under Luciano Spalletti, who was appointed in August – three months after leaving Napoli and tasked with restoring national pride after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a second straight time.