Italy vs Albania

The Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund will host Saturday’s final game as reigning European Champions Italy begins their title defence against Albania. There’s always an urge to pick a ‘Group of Death’ each tournament, and Group B very much fits that mould, with Spain and Croatia the other nations competing in it. This represents a good chance for the Italians to get off on the right foot, who will want to get points on the board before the much more difficult games to come. They have a nice mix of youth and experience and should have too much quality for their opponents.

Albania comes to the Euro 2024 for just the second time in their history, having finished third in the group stages at Euro 2016. They qualified, having topped Group E, which was a massive surprise with the Czech Republic and Poland behind them. They play a very compact game and don’t concede many goals, which might not be exciting but could be a tactic that sees them cause another shock. Manager Sylvinho doesn’t have a lot of quality at his disposal, bar Armando Broja, so this could end up being a highly tactical game.

Italy aren’t what you’d call free-scoring, and their opponents here are good at keeping things tight at the back. One goal could be enough to win this one, so Italy 1-0 could be the logical bet. Gianluca Scamacca comes with some element of risk, but there’s no doubt he’s a quality forward on his day. He could be worth backing to be one to get the first, and possibly only, goal of the game. Under 2.5 goals could be the safer option, should you want a little more leeway on the front of the goals.

See the table with our top picks below:

Also, do not skip to check our predictions for the rest of Saturday’s matches: Hungary vs Switzerland and Spain vs Croatia.