Italy 2-1 Albania - Euro 2024 RECAP: Live score and updates as reigning champions hold on after conceding fastest EVER Euros goal

Thanks for your company tonight. We will leave it there.

Poland vs The Netherlands is next, 2pm tomorrow. Then Slovenia vs Poland, before the big one, with England taking on Serbia.

You best believe we will be covering all three live on the Mail Sport website, so see you tomorrow!

Thanks again. See ya!

Aadam Patel has also been in Dortmund and has delivered his player ratings from the ground.

We have a few sevens, and eight, a four, and a few fives in there for good measure.

Read the full piece below.

Riath has filed his report from the ground and it's well worth a read.

Start slow, come back. The material of champions? Maybe.

The group of death is up and running. Read Riath's full report below.

What was all the worry about?

When all is said and done, we will note that Italy's Euros defence got off to the perfect start.

Marker, put down. No slip ups from the favourites so far.

There aren't too many Italians in the ground, but those that are inside are making their voices heard as the players go over.

Alan Shearer, BBC:

I was really impressed with their attitude but I did expect them to kick on. That didn't really happen. There was a moment where it was edgy.

Cesc Fabregas, BBC:

We saw a good reaction and what they were trying to do in terms of opening the game up but second half we expected more. They didn't do it. You have to be brave, in the last minute they could have conceded but they needed to be more brave going forward.

The worst game of the Euros so far? Maybe. I guess that's what you get with a low block team. Beware, England fans.

Anyway, Italy get the job done.

A final change for Italy now. Barella makes way, Folorunsho comes on.

We have a little over a minute remaining of four minutes of stoppage time.

A bit of possession for Albania. The game could change in a second.

It is also, however, now or never.

A long ball is brought down by Manaj and it rolls across goal! I think Donnarumma got a hand to it? So close!

A reminder of how tender this lead truly is. Big moment. Sylvinho has his hands on his head.

Oh, we have a pitch invader. Cool.

I wonder if he likes what he sees.

A long ball is chased but Bastoni mops up.

Dimarco and Scamacca make way, Darmian and Retegui come on.

It's still all Italy, hunting for that illustrious third goal. Albania's opener feels a long way away now.

Five minutes plus stoppages for Albania to find something.

Muci comes on for Bajrmi.

Another Albania change. Manaj is on for Broja, who disappointed.

Italy too. Chiesa and Pellegrini make way, Cristante and Cambiaso come on.

Chiesa was holding his back but I think it was impact.

I wonder if Italy will want more goals themselves hjere, to put a marker down if anything.

They have been by far the better team, impressive, but a 2-1 win is a bit meh.

Hoxha is booked.

A first change for Albania. Two, actually - Seferi and Asani make way for Laci and Hoxha.

Perhpas an attacking move. We're getting closer to where they will have to go for it and, with only one goal in it, it is still possible.

They earn a set piece and the stadium comes alive again, but it's cleared.

Chiesa wins a corner. It's sjort again, and Dimarco is denied a certain goal by the head of Hysaj, not that he knew much about it.

The corner is stuck in this time. But it's poor, and cleared.

We will go again.

It's almost like Albania are scared to commit players forward. I get it, but I also think it's quite strange.

Boos ring around the stadium as Frattesi lifts Italy's latest effort over the bar.

Ooooh, I thought it was in.

Chiesa has had a lot of fun today and he's just had a mighty fine effort from the edge of the box. He wraps his foot around the shot but it's not quite got enough on it.

Decent possession for Albania after that flurry of yellows.

I think I wrote earlier that they looked threatening going forwards. It is now the complete opposite. Possession has no direction.

We used up all our excitement in the first 20 minutes, I think.

More of the same to kick off the half with Chiesa enjoying himself coming in from the right.

Good from Strakosha again to gather before Albania come forward. Italy get back well, though. Not a sniff.

Calafiori, Italy's second-youngest-ever Euros player, is booked for an off-the-ball altercation. Broja is booked too.

Asllani is going to shoot... straight into the wall.

We are back and underway for the second half.

No changes at the break.

Right then, the players are just coming out for the second half.

I wonder what Slyvinho and Zabaleta have said to their players. They need to chnage it because I don't think they're going ot get back into the game playing like this.

45 to go.

Cesc Fabregas, BBC:

Technically I think it is the best moment of the match. Italy opted for the three plus two, they have great mobility. When you play against a deep block, you need to penetrate. But what a strike. We all know how difficult it is. If Italy want to do well, Barella will be a key player.

There's the whistle, moments after Pellegrini misses a great chance following a cross from Scamacca.

Well, it started in pretty crazy fashion. Against the odds, Bajrami and Albania scored the fastest Euros goal of all time and took the roof off the building, but it didn't last long.

Bastoni equalised and Barella put his side ahead. Since then, it's been one-way traffic.

A chance for Albania to put the ball in the box. Pablo Zabaleta has spoken of his side's practice at these.

It's relatively well-worked and it falls to Asani, who shoots from distance but skies it. A low xG on that one, I'd imagine.

Three minutes added on.

Scamacca has the chance to make it three from the right but Strakosha saves well. He's keeping his side in it at the moment.

Albania finally get a taste of the ball but can't get up the pitch. When they do, Donarumma gathers an attempted through ball.

We haven't yet seen a game where a team has been so dominant in terms of possession.

Germany were all over Scotland but at least had something going the other way. As this game has gone on, Albania have shown zero.

Dimarco's low cross comes in but is cleared by Djimsiti.

5-2-3 for Albania, 11 men behind the ball.

I suppose they are all about handing in there at this point.

Jermaine Jenas on BBC commentary is calling for more pressure on the ball and he's right. It's just chance after chance.

Frattesi hits the post with the latest as Italy win the ball high up. It's actually a fantastic save.

Albania truly are camped on the edge of the box. I know they are in it and shocked their opponents early, but it does feel like a matter of how many at this point.

There's not much to report other than it being straightforward stuff for Italy so far, like a training game.

The first yellow card of the game goes to Pellegrini as he stops a counter attack following the latet Italy corner.

Albania do look fine on the ball, but defensively they just look so vulnerable. And I'm not going to lie, I got Georgia in the work sweepstake and I think this is my biggest opponent for worst team, so fix up.

Every decision against Albania is being booed.

A cross goes into the box and Albania clear but there is justy so much pressure. Albania are so deep and they cannot withstand the pressure right now.

The ball comes out to Barella, who is arriving on the edge of the box and he rifles his effort first time into the back of the net, Strakosha helpless.

Italy deservedly ahead.

This is really good from Italy.

They are continuing to push and it's a matter of when now.

And it's now!

Short corners were really beneficial for Spain in their win earlier and it's been the same for Italy here.

A truly fantastic cross from Pellegrini and Bastoni - I was mentioning Italy's defence earlier - gets ahead of his man and powers a header in.

We are level.

Italy have settled now but every single time Albania even get on the ball the Westfalenstadion comes alive.

They win a corner which comes to nothing. Italy are getting better but are yet to carve a clear chance.

A corner here... there we go!

Italy should be level almost instantly. Someone give me a chance to breathe.

It's good from Scamacca Pellegrini is free in the box but he leans back and drags it wide.

It was the chance to put it right.

THIS GAME HAS STARTED.

Someone tell Federico Dimarco. He gives the ball away helplessly and Bajrami doesn't need a second invitation.

It's some finish. He's taking no prisoners and fires it high past Donnarumma. The man who plays in Italy!

The fastest-ever goal at a Euros finals. What an opening!

NO WAY! NO WAY!

24 seconds? Something like that! I'm gobsmacked.

Here we go.

The most popular team in Dortmund get us underway.

The teams are on their ways out. The officials are wearing a nice gold.

Time for the anthems. I've got a really funny story about winding my sister up pretending I knew the words to every national anthem once, but that's a story for another time. Although my colleague has just told me that Italy have the best national anthem in the world?

Now they're done, we're ready to go. Albania fans are making it deafening.

Riath Al-Samarrai, Mail Sport, in Dortmund:

The Westfalenstadion has been taken over by Albanians. That would go for the entire city of Dortmund. It was true of the central train station at 9am this morning and more so inside the stadium an hour before kick-off. There are red shirts everywhere and of course the qeleshe hats (white without a peak) of traditional dress.

What blue there is on sight is consumed by red in all parts of the ground. It does make you wonder what effect the atmosphere might have on a game for which the defending champions are favourites.

There a few connections to English football in this Albania set-up. Sylvinho and Pablo Zabaleta are familiar faces in their technical area and on the pitch the Chelsea striker Armando Broja leads the line. Less recognisable is their keeper – Brentford’s back-up stopper Thomas Strakosha.

The players have been getting warm in the stadium and the time for talking is once again done.

The teams will be on their ways out soon.

All signs point to an Italy win, but anything can happen in these sort of tournaments.

Like with Croatia and Spain earlier, Albania fans are set to massively outnumber their Italian counterparts inside the ground.

The fans are set and ready. It promises to be another electric atmosphere.

I hope we can keep up with the amount of goals we've had so far too. If my maths is right, we're averaging over four a game so far.

They may have snapped their spaghetti, but it's all fun and games really in Dortmund.

Supporters of both Albania and Italy have been dancing outside the ground.

Italy shocked a fair few when they won Euro 2021. We all remember it, come on.

They didn't qualify for the tournament before or the tournament after. A lot has changed since, too, with just nine survivours from that squad in Germany.

The men that made up their resolute defence has gone and they crept through qualification in England's group.

We will see what they have to offer again tonight. Read more on their transition below.

The mockery has already begun...

Albanian fans have been spotted breaking spaghetti in-half right in front of Italian blood.

We've built a team that plays with heart and intelligence. Each player understands their role and the collective goal we are striving for.

Facing teams like Italy, Croatia and Spain is a huge challenge, but it's also an incredible opportunity to show our progress and make our nation proud.

Broja's speed and technical ability will be crucial for us. His ability to exploit spaces could be a game-changer.

Coming to the tournament as defending champions is an advantage. But we need to understand straight away that we need to behave like defending champions.

We need to convince ourselves, not only the fans. In a way, we are facing ourselves, not the outside world. We need to show what we are made of, to show what we have inside.

This is a tricky match. Sylvinho has done a very good job with a host of quality players, many of whom we know from Serie A.

The Italian fans have arrived at Borussia Dortmund's infamous stadium.

Although they may be outnumbered by the Albanian fans, they have arrived in voice and dressed head to toe in patriotism.

Just less than an hour to go and the atmosphere is building.

Despite facing stiff competition tonight, Albania fans have arrived in good spirits and in the thousands.

with an estimated 50,000 Albanians expected to fill Signal Iduna Park.

Atalanta centre-back Berat Gjimshiti will lead out Albania as they hope to cause a huge upset over the defending champions.

Whilst Chelsea striker Aramando Broja who is currently on loan at Fulham will lead the charge for Slyvinho’s side up front.

Scamacca starts up front for Spalletti's men as the three-time Serie A coach of the year names a strong starting XI to get their title defence underway.

PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma captains the Azzurri from goal whilst a new generation pairing at centre-back between Bastoni and Calafiori showcases the change this Italian tream has underwent since their winning campaign at Euro 2020.

When they lifted the trophy with veterans Chiellini and Bonucci three years ago.

Although Slyvinho’s men are in the fable ‘Group of Death’ they are not heading to Germany just to merely show up.

Despite being the lowest ranked side at the tournament besides Georgia, Albania are a tough team to break down with their foundations being built on a strong defensive base.

Although Spain, Italy and Croatia is a daunting task, the Albians will not be fazed and will be looking to cause a huge upset against one of the three tournament heavyweights.

Defending champions Italy head into Euro 2024 as one of the dark horses once again and they will be relishing under the title.

The Azzurri have the opportunity to join only Germany and Spain on three wins which would make them the most successful country in the tournament alongside the other two.

If Italy are to claim back-to-back titles they have the right man to lead them. Arguably the best coach in the competition Spalletti has an array of achievements to his name.

Most notably leading Napoli to a Serie A title during the 2022-23 season and winning back-to-back Coppa Italia’s with Roma in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

As I mentioned, today will only mark Albania’s second appearance in a major tournament.

The only previous tournament the Eastern European country has appeared in was the 2016 Euros.

They were drawn in Group A alongside hosts France, Switzerland and Romania. They lost their opening two games - knocking them out the competition.

However they did record their first win in a major tournament in their final group game when they defeated Romania 1-0 thanks to a 43’ minute goal by Armando Sadiku.

Premier League fans may recognise the man who will be taking charge of Albania when they face Italy tonight.

The former Manchester City and Arsenal defender will be leading out the Albos in only their second major tournament appearance.

The two-time Champions League winner was appointed as Albania’’s head coach in January 2023, after spells with Lyon and Corinthians, neither of which were that successful.

Pablo Zabaleta is his assistant, too.

History does not favour Luciano Spalletti’s men as the go in hunt of becoming back-to-back champions.

Nobody expected the Italians to claim the title three years ago and their odds of winning once again are even slimmer - especially since history does not side with them.

The only country to have completed back-to-back titles in the European Championships is Spain. The Spanish completed the impressive achievement back in 2008 and 2012, also winning the World Cup around the same time in 2010.

Good evening!

Wow, what a day of football we have already had.

Hungary vs Switzerland set the tempo for today early on with a four goal thriller as Breel Embolo registered the Swiss’ third goal of the game in the dying moments to see off any comeback planned by the Margyars.

Next up was Spain vs Croatia… and wow did that not disappoint. Three-time champions have stunned Modric and Co to take a 3-0 lead with a half hour of football still left to play

Today’s action has been jam packed but I hope you have left a bit of energy left for Italy vs Albania as the Azzuri’s get set to begin their title defence.

Ahead of Kick-off, we’ll have all the updates, team news and quotes from the managers and players, before jumping right into the live action when the game kick-offs at 8pm to provide you with minute-by-minute action.