Ralf Rangnick says self-belief will be vital as his Austria side hunt a major scalp in their Euro 2024 opener against France on Monday.

France are viewed among the favourites to win the tournament, having won the 2018 World Cup and finished as runners-up at Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup under Didier Deschamps.

However, Les Bleus have been tasked with a tough draw, with Austria tipped as potential dark horses and the Netherlands beating Poland 2-1 in Group D's first match on Sunday.

Austria finished just one point behind Belgium in their first qualification campaign under former Manchester United boss Rangnick, who has needed little time to implement his preferred high-pressing style.

Austria allowed their opponents fewer passes per defensive action (8.3 PPDA) than any other team during qualifying, also attacking with the fastest direct speed, moving the ball upfield at a speed of 2.03 metres per second.

Rangnick plans to take the game to France in Dusseldorf, telling his players there can be no inferiority complex if they are to earn a result. 

"That is crucial, that we will be courageous, that we are convinced of our own strength," Rangnick said at his pre-match press conference.

"What's really vital is the way that we perform, not the way that France plays, or whether they are a little bit better or a little bit worse, it's only about us.

"We prepared for over two years for this day. It's finally starting for us. We're really excited. There's joy above everything else."

One of Austria's most pressing tasks will be to shut out Kylian Mbappe, who has scored 12 goals in his last three international tournaments (four at the 2018 World Cup, none at Euro 2020, eight at the 2022 World Cup).

Harry Kane is the only European player to match that figure, and the England man was also the only player from Europe's top five leagues to equal Mbappe's 44 goals in 2023-24. 

However, Rangnick says Austria cannot afford to focus entirely on any one player, such is the strength of the France squad.

"With our style of playing we have to counter him and the whole French team, we have to make sure that he doesn't receive as many balls as he likes," he said.

"We know from our own strengths that we can win this match."

Marcus Rashford's poor form for Manchester United meant he could have no complaints about being left out of England's Euro 2024 squad, believes his club boss Erik ten Hag.

Along with Manchester City's Jack Grealish, Rashford was a surprise omission from Gareth Southgate's party for the tournament in Germany.

Anthony Gordon, Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen were among the wide players preferred to Rashford, who had been a mainstay in the Three Lions' squad since making his first tournament appearance at Euro 2016.

Rashford scored just seven goals in 33 Premier League appearances in 2023-24 as the Red Devils limped to an eighth-place finish – their lowest in the competition's history.

Only in 2015-16, 2016-17 (both five) and 2021-22 (four) has Rashford scored fewer goals in a top-flight campaign. 

Speaking in his role as a pundit for NOS on Sunday, Rashford's club manager said the forward had not done enough to be considered for his country.

"Grealish and Rashford were both lacking this season. And when you are lacking, you risk not getting picked for your country," Ten Hag said.

Ten Hag's job was thought to be under threat as United enter their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, but it was confirmed last week he will stay at the helm.

He was asked on Sunday whether he had any desire to manage the Netherlands in the future, but he maintains he is content at Old Trafford.

"I've never been chasing anything," Ten Hag said. "I'm very happy with where I am now. And I want to make the most of it."

Harry Kane offers more to England than simply goals, says Kieran Trippier, who is not concerned about the striker's lack of touches in Sunday's 1-0 win over Serbia.

Jude Bellingham's goal was the difference as England recorded a hard-fought victory to open their Group C campaign, meaning they have started all four of their major tournaments under Gareth Southgate with a win. 

However, their performance attracted criticism from some quarters as England managed just five shots to Serbia's six, accumulating a total of 0.52 expected goals (xG).

Kane was a victim of the cagey nature of the contest, recording fewer touches (24) and successful passes (nine) than any other England starter. 

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at least doubled both of those tallies, having 48 touches and completing 25 passes.

Kane did go close to giving England a two-goal cushion in the second half as he saw a header tipped onto the crossbar by Predrag Rajkovic, but Trippier says he should not be judged purely on goals.

"Obviously it was difficult because they played five at the back, but what people don't realise is what Harry does off the ball," Trippier told reporters in the mixed zone.

"Of course, he scores goals but what he did for the team today was incredible, holding the ball up and bringing other players into play. 

"People just focus on goals with Harry but internally, as team-mates, we appreciate what he does off the ball."

England have, however, kept five successive clean sheets in group-stage matches at the Euros, the longest such run in the competition's history.

"I would say it's about managing the game," Trippier continued. "There will always be moments in games where the opposition will have a spell of 10 or 15 minutes of possession. 

"It's about being nice and compact and not conceding. We have got experienced players in the group like [Kyle] Walker, Harry, myself, players that can help the younger players manage the games. I thought we did that tonight."

Fans were hoping to see a free-flowing England display after watching Germany and Spain kick off with resounding wins, but their figure of 0.52 xG is the fourth-lowest of any team to have played at Euro 2024 thus far, after Scotland (0.02), Serbia (0.18) and Albania (0.51).

However, Jarrod Bowen – who teed up Kane's big second-half chance – is not worried about the performances of other nations.

"We are so focused on ourselves and what we can do, other teams are irrelevant. They are their countries and we are England," he said.

"We focus on ourselves and our focus was to win the game not because other teams won, but because it was a statement for us to win the first game going into Thursday.

"That was our mindset coming into this game and that will be it, full focus on us."

Serbia wing-back Filip Kostic is feared to have suffered ligament damage during his team's 1-0 defeat to England at Euro 2024, coach Dragan Stojkovic has revealed.

England made a winning start to their Group C campaign on Sunday as Jude Bellingham's early header was enough to decide a cagey game in Gelsenkirchen.

It was a challenge involving Bellingham that led to the end of Kostic's game, the Juventus man requiring treatment after falling awkwardly and being substituted after 43 minutes.

Serbia now face Slovenia and Denmark in their remaining group-stage games, but Kostic is a major doubt to continue at the tournament and could be set for a long spell on the sidelines.

"Kostic felt a strong pain in the outside part of his left knee and we fear that he could have ligament damage," Stojkovic said at his post-match press conference. "He will undergo medical tests on Monday, let's hope it's not as bad as it looks."

Though England held Serbia to just six shots (one on target) amounting to 0.18 expected goals (xG), Stojkovic felt his team deserved to take something from the match.

"We managed to corner the English team and I think we didn't deserve to lose," Stojkovic said. 

"I told my players I was proud of their performance and about everything but the result. Now all we can do is to rest and get ready for what is probably the most important match of the group stage against Slovenia."

Day three at Euro 2024 brought plenty of action.

Jude Bellingham was the main man for England as the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0.

Earlier in the day, Denmark drew 1-1 with Slovenia, and the Netherlands came from behind to beat Poland.

But there was also plenty of action on social media, and not just on the pitch. Here, we round up the best posts from Euro 2024.

Wolfpack

Bellingham celebrated his goal for England with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the pair debuted a new "wolf" celebration.

They embraced before they each got down on one knee and placed a hand over their face.

Explaining the celebration, Bellingham told BBC Sport: "When we play Wolf, one of the staff loves that face when he doesn't have a clue what's going on! So that was kind of, a little group celebration for the wolf crew!"

Man on a mission

Bellingham may have grabbed the headlines, but Declan Rice was vital for England in midfield.

Indeed, only Bellingham (92) had more touches than Rice (90), while the Arsenal man led the team for passes (81), accurate passes (78) and interceptions (two, along with Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker).

And the official England account made sure to give Rice some love. 

Harry Haaland?

At half-time in the England match, pundit and former Three Lions defender Jamie Carragher posted on X that Harry Kane was "playing the Haaland role".

By that point, Kane had only touched the ball twice, and the captain would go on to finish with 24 touches, exactly half the amount of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who ranked 10th in that metric of the 11 England players to start the game.

Carragher suggested that, like Erling Haaland at Manchester City, Kane was being instructed to stay high and wait for the ball to come to him, though does not feel that role suited him.

Kane, who was making his record-breaking 23rd appearance for England at a major tournament, nearly scored in the second half, but saw a header saved onto the crossbar.

How to save a life

A genius idea in the fan zones in Germany, is that there are CPR training units set up, so that supporters can learn the basics if they need to act quickly.

UEFA broadcast this on their official account.

Eriksen's emotional Euros return

The need for CPR training is only hit home when thinking about Christian Eriksen.

June 12 marked the third anniversary of Eriksen collapsing on the pitch in Copenhagen, during Denmark's opening game of Euro 2020.

Thankfully, and due to the swift actions of the medical staff that day, Eriksen survived the cardiac arrest he suffered, and on Sunday, matters came full circle as the 32-year-old scored his nation's opening goal against Slovenia.

Dress sense

Some managers go for a tracksuit. Others go for a smart casual look. Plenty wear a suit.

Poland boss Michal Probierz falls into the latter category, but he made sure to stand out with his bold choice in Sunday's clash with the Dutch.

Probierz went for an eye-catching tweed waistcoat and a brown blazer, drawing the attention of the Men In Blazer's X account, and in turn, their post was picked up by Poland's official team account too. 

What do you think of the look?

Memphis' new look

Speaking of making a statement, Memphis Depay is not exactly shy when it comes to what he wears.

And for Euro 2024, it would appear the Netherlands' forward has a new look, with the 30-year-old donning a headband.

It's usually a look reserved for basketball, not football, but Depay will do what Depay wants to do. Not that it greatly helped his performance levels. The former Manchester United attacker had four shots, but didn't get any of them on target.

Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.

Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.

The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.

And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.

When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.

"I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.

"What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."

Erik ten Hag revealed his Manchester United future was settled whilst on holiday in Ibiza, though he is yet to agree a contract extension at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman's future with the Red Devils was in doubt following a disappointing 2023-24 season, in which they recorded their lowest Premier League finish of eighth.

Although Ten Hag, who has a year remaining on his existing contract, did lead United to FA Cup glory following a 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City in the final at Wembley.

The club's new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe reportedly spoke to several candidates to potentially replace the Dutchman, including former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel.

Ten Hag confirmed this, before United officials visited him to confirm he would remain in charge, and they would extend his stay at Old Trafford.

"The club management came to me while I was on holiday in Ibiza," he told Dutch TV channel NOS. "They suddenly showed up on my doorstep and told me they wanted to continue with me."

"Ineos took their time. They are new to football; it's normal to reflect on the season. It's no secret that they talked with multiple candidates.

"In the Netherlands, that is not done. You are not even allowed to talk to another club if there is a current manager there. But in England, the rules and laws are different.

"Manchester United have told me that they spoke with Tuchel, but they eventually came to the conclusion that they already have the best manager.

"We had a good discussion and various topics were discussed. One of the conclusions is that we will extend the contract, but we still have to reach an agreement."

Dorival Junior has stuck with the same 26-man squad he provisionally selected for Brazil's 2024 Copa America campaign.

Juventus' Bremer, Atalanta midfielder Ederson and Porto forward Pepe were all called up when CONMEBOL announced the squads were being expanded from 23 players to 26.

The Brazilian had already had to make changes after Manchester City's Ederson was ruled out due to an injury sustained at the end of the Premier League season, with Rafael brought in to replace him.

Lucas Paqueta also keeps his place after the Brazilian Football Association (CBF) confirmed he would be allowed to stay with the squad despite being charged by the England Football Association (FA) for allegedly breaching betting rules.

Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus and Thiago Silva had already been left out of the provisional squad announced in May, while Richarlison and Neymar are both missing due to injury.

Brazil are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will begin their campaign against Costa Rica on June 24 before also facing Paraguay and Colombia in Group D.

Final Brazil squad: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Atletico PR), Rafael (Sao Paolo), Beraldo (PSG), Bremer (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Gabriel (Arsenal), Marquinhos (PSG), Danilo (Juventus), Yan Couto (Girona), Guilherme Arana (Atletico MG), Wendell (Porto), Andreas Pereira (Fulham), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Ederson (Atalanta), Joao Gomes (Wolves), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham), Endrick (Palmeiras), Evanilson (Porto), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Pepe (Porto), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Savinho (Girona), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).

Raphinha has responded to Kylian Mbappe's claims that the Euros are harder than the World Cup by reminding the Frenchman who beat them in the 2022 final.

In an interview, Mbappe noted that France had not won the European Championships in 24 years, which is something he will be looking to change this year.

That observation then led to him saying, "The Euros is a difficult competition, more than a World Cup. All the teams know each other, and the style of soccer is similar. Group stages are difficult."

However, Brazil's Raphinha was not happy with the 25-year-old's comparison, pointing out that Argentina prevented them from winning the World Cup in 2022.

"Unfortunately for him and fortunately for us, he lost a World Cup against a South American team," Raphinha said in a press conference ahead of the Copa America.

The Barcelona winger also referenced other comments made by Mbappe from a couple of years ago. The new Real Madrid star implied World Cup qualification was easier in South America than in Europe, and suggested the football "wasn't as advanced".

Raphinha added, "I would like to see the European teams playing in the South American qualifiers on the fields where we play. That's when I'd see if it's easy or hard."

Brazil begin their Copa America campaign against Costa Rica on June 24, while France will face Austria in their Euro 2024 opener on Monday.

Aleksandar Pavlovic has signed a contract extension which will keep him at Bayern Munich until 2029.

Pavlovic's current contract was due to run out in 2027, but the club have chosen to trigger a two-year extension.

The 20-year-old enjoyed an impressive breakout campaign in 2023-24, in which he made 22 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and providing two assists.

Pavlovic joined Bayern as a seven-year-old and was handed his debut for the first team in November last year when he came off the bench to assist Harry Kane in a 4-0 victory.

His club form earned him a call-up to Germany's squad for Euro 2024, but he was forced to withdraw after coming down with tonsillitis days before the opener against Scotland.

"Unfortunately, this tonsillitis has denied me my dream of playing in the European Championship on home turf, which is very disappointing – but I'm thrilled that my contract with FC Bayern has been extended until 2029," Pavlovic said.

"It shows the club has trust in me, which I'm eager to repay. FC Bayern is my home. I'm proud, happy and grateful, want to win trophies with the team and continue my personal development."

Pavlovic made 19 appearances in the Bundesliga this season, winning 15 of those, with the team scoring 54 goals in the process.

In the 15 games that the midfielder missed in the league, Bayern won just eight times, conceding 14 more goals.  

Ronaldinho has declared he will never "abandon" Brazil, rowing back on his previous claim that he will not support the Selecao at the upcoming Copa America.

Brazil are gearing up for a tilt at a 10th South American title, with Colombia, Paraguay and Costa Rica awaiting Dorival Junior's team in Group D.

Just 10 days prior to their opening game against Costa Rica in Los Angeles, Selecao great Ronaldinho said he has "had enough" with the team and would not watch any of their matches at the tournament.

The 2002 World Cup winner said the current Brazil squad displayed a "lack of love for the shirt and lack of grit", adding: "I've never seen a situation as bad as this."

However, Ronaldinho has now suggested those comments were simply reflecting the stance of many fans and were not his own feelings.

In a video posted to his Instagram account, he said: "I would never abandon Brazilian football, ever. I'd never say those things you see… 

"Actually, these words came from real Brazilian fans, they are real comments that I saw on the internet. 

"Imagine listening to these messages before you play? Motivation goes down... fan support makes a huge difference to the players. I know what I'm talking about. 

"What our boys need is support at this time. The more confidence we show, the more confidence they will have on the field."

Leo Afonso scored an incredible 94th-minute winner as Inter Miami fought back to beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 in MLS on Saturday despite being reduced to nine men.

Miami's grasp on top spot in the Eastern Conference looked like being weakened when Gerardo Martino's team – who were without both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as Argentina and Uruguay continue their Copa America preparations – fell behind after three minutes.

Mikael Uhre's one-on-one finish put the Union ahead, but Miami levelled just after half-time as Julian Gressel fired into the top-right corner from the centre of the box.

The Herons, though, found themselves up against it when both David Ruiz and Tomas Aviles were sent off, the former for a horror challenge on Leon Flach and the latter earning a soft second booking for kicking the ball away.

With the Union throwing men forward in search of a winner, they were struck with a sucker punch.

Afonso raced away on the counterattack, ignoring Benjamin Cremaschi to his right before slotting his finish past Oliver Semmle to hand Miami an eighth win in their last 11 games (two draws, one defeat).

Data Debrief: No Messi, no problem

Ahead of Saturday's game, Miami had only won three of their 14 matches without Messi since the Barcelona great arrived in MLS (five draws, six defeats).

However, even without Messi, Suarez or a full complement, Miami showed they are the team to beat in MLS this year.

Martino's team ended the game having enjoyed more possession (57.4 per cent), shots on target (four to three) and touches in the box (17 to 16) than Philadelphia, despite playing almost 40 minutes at least one player down. 

Day two of Euro 2024 picked up the excitement where it left off, with a historic round of games on Saturday.

Switzerland joined Germany level on points at the top of Group A with an impressive 3-1 win over Hungary before Spain cruised to a 3-0 victory over Croatia in their Group B opener with three first-half goals.

Italy's European Championships title defence got off to a perfect start as they bounced back from conceding the earliest goal in the tournament's history (23 seconds) by beating Albania 2-1.

While the football continued to entertain, there was also plenty of action on social media. Here's a pick of some of the best posts.

What might have been for Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon's official X account drew plenty of attention as the admin latched onto the hype over Jamal Musiala, following the Germany international's magical display against Scotland.

Musiala grew up in England, and represented AFC Wimbledon, via the Corpus Christi Primary School, in the EFL Utilita Kids Cup.

It's clear from the highlights of that match, in which Musiala scored a hat-trick and left defenders mesmerised - a bit like he did on Friday - that he was a special talent.

Embolo back on the scene

Breel Embolo endured an injury-hit campaign for Monaco, but he is back to fitness in time to feature for Switzerland, for whom he remains a crucial player.

And after coming on as a second-half substitute, Embolo sealed the three points as the Swiss beat Hungary 3-1 in the first game of the day. 

As the official Euro 2042 X account pointed out, Embolo has now netted in successive Euros tournaments for his nation.

Birthday boy

Pascal Gross is a newcomer to Germany's squad, and came on for his major tournament debut during Friday's 5-1 thrashing of Scotland.

The Brighton midfielder then celebrated his 33rd birthday on Saturday, with Germany's official X account sharing the celebrations.

That big win over Scotland, and his Euros bow, was surely a great way to welcome in his 34th year.

UEFA turns 70

Gross was not the only one celebrating a birthday on Saturday.

Indeed, UEFA marked the 70th anniversary of its founding, which came on June 15, 1954.

"It's a story of devotion, dedication and dreams..." shared the governing bodies' official X account.

Barcelona show pride of record-breaking youngster

Spain got off to the perfect start in the so-called 'group of death' with a rampant 3-0 win over Croatia on Saturday.

But, when the team sheets came out before the game, all the headlines quickly turned to Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest-ever player to appear at the Euros at 16 years and 338 days.

After an impressive performance by the youngster, Barcelona were quick to remind fans where he came from with a post on X: "He's very good... and he's ours."

Van Dijk, Simons and De Ligt put to the test

The Netherlands are yet to open their campaign in Euro 2024, but put aside their preparation to take some time to answer questions from young fans.

Xavi Simons was quizzed on which defender scares him the most - fellow Dutchman Virgil van Dijk - while the captain and Matthijs de Ligt rated their chances of winning the tournament.

Final preparations

England open their campaign when they take on Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, and on Saturday, Gareth Southgate's team ran through their MD-1 training session.

All 26 players were involved in the session, with England allowing their fans to watch on live via a post on X.

Only part of the session was broadcast, however, so any Serbia spies could not garner too much information about Southgate's tactics ahead of the Group C clash.

After Germany's 5-1 win over Scotland in the Euro 2024 opener, the goals continued to fly in on a busy day of action on Saturday.

Records were broken as Spain beat Croatia 3-0 and reigning champions Italy came from behind to beat Albania 2-1.

Switzerland also dispatched Hungary 3-1 in the other Group A meeting to ensure things are finely poised going into the second round of matches.

The 16 goals scored through the opening four matches of Euro 2024 so far are the most netted at this point of a European Championships or World Cup since Euro '76 (19).

Using Opta data, we take a look at some of the other standout statistics from Saturday's action in Germany.

Hungary 1-3 Switzerland: Swiss start in style

Switzerland have only lost one of their last 15 games across all competitions (W7 D7), a 1-0 defeat to Romania in November 2023, after opening their Group A campaign with a 3-1 victory over Hungary.

It was a tale of two emphatic maiden performances for the Swiss as Kwadwo Duah and Michel Aebischer became only the third and fourth players to score on their European Championship debut for Switzerland.

That first-half dominance saw both players score their first-ever senior international goal, too, in what was Duah's second appearance and Aebischer's 21st for Switzerland.

Aebischer also teed up Duah's well-taken opener in Cologne as the full-back became the first Switzerland player ever to both score and assist a goal in the same match at the Euros.

Barnabas Varga – who became the fifth Hungarian to score on his European Championship debut – pulled one back with his seventh goal in his last 10 international appearances, with assisted help from Hungary's ever-reliant Dominik Szoboszlai.

Since the start of 2023, Liverpool midfielder Szoboszlai has had a hand in 10 goals across 15 international appearances (six goals, four assists), though the Hungary captain could not stop a familiar European fate for Marco Rossi's men.

Breel Embolo's cool, late lob sealed victory to leave Hungary with just two wins from their 12 matches at the European Championships (D4 L6), a win rate of 17 per cent. Among nations with five-plus games at the finals, only Romania (six per cent) and Poland (14 per cent) have a lower success ratio.

This win also marked a special moment for Ricardo Rodriguez, who appeared for a 22nd game at a major international tournament (Euros/World Cup) – the outright most of any player for the nation.

Spain 3-0 Croatia: Young guns steal spotlight

Spain got a statement win against Croatia in their Euro 2024 opener, beginning a European Championship tournament with a victory by 3+ goals for just the second time, after their 4-1 win against Russia on MD1 of Euro 2008.

The spotlight was shining on Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest-ever player to feature at the Euros, capping his historic appearance for La Roja with an assist for Dani Carvajal, who became Spain's oldest-ever goalscorer in the competition at 32 years and 156 days, on the stroke of half-time.

In Yamal (16y 338d) and Pedri (21y 203d), Spain are the first side to have at least two players aged 21 or under create at least three chances for a side in a game at the Euros since Germany against Czechia in June 2004 (Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski).

Fifteen years Yamal's senior, Morata became Spain's outright second-highest goalscorer at major international tournaments with 10, and needs only three more to equal David Villa's record of 13.

It was not the dominant performance people have come to expect from Spain though, as they had less possession than their opponents (47 per cent) for the first time in a competitive match since the Euro 2008 final, which they won against Germany (46 per cent), ending a run of 136 such matches where they had the majority of the ball.

On the opposite side of the field, Luka Modric became the oldest player since Lothar Matthaus to appear in the European Championships at 38y 280d, but his experience could not prevent Croatia from suffering their joint-heaviest ever defeat at a major international tournament following 3-0 defeats to Portugal at Euro 1996 and Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.

The Croatia captain also became just the third European player to appear in as many as nine separate editions of major international tournaments, after Matthaus (nine) and Cristiano Ronaldo (10, before Euro 2024).

Italy 2-1 Albania: Azzurri nightmare soon turns into dream start

As the reigning champions, Italy would have been fearing the worst after conceding the fastest goal in Euros history – Nedim Bajrami scored after just 23 seconds when Federico Dimarco gifted him a throw-in.

However, Alessandro Bastoni's 11th-minute equaliser soon settled the nerves, with this the third-earliest time a game at the European Championships has seen both teams score, after Iceland v England in 2016 (sixth minute) and Russia v Spain in 1964 (eighth minute).

The turnaround was complete with Nicolo Barella's 10th strike for the national side, and his goal-scoring touch proved golden once more – Italy have won all 10 games in which he has found the back of the net.

Despite not getting on the scoresheet for the Azzurri, Federico Chiesa also impressed as he became the first player at the Euros to record at least three shots, three successful dribbles (four) and win possession in the final third at least three times since Denmark's Mikkel Damsgaard against Belgium in June 2021.

Albania's goal came from their only shot on target in the match, though it means they have now scored in back-to-back games in the competition for the first time. Now, they need to find just their second-ever win at this tournament against Croatia on Wednesday.

The Eagles will be glad to see the back of Italy having lost all five of their previous meetings with them in all competitions. However, only three teams have ever beaten them more times, with Spain, who they face in their final group game, topping that list (eight).

Luciano Spalletti warned Italy must show more intent to attack despite their 2-1 comeback victory over Albania in Saturday's Euro 2024 victory.

Italy won their opening match at the European Championships for a third straight time (also in 2016 and 2020 editions), after doing so only twice in their first eight such appearances (D5 L1).

The Azzurri needed a fightback performance, however, after falling behind Nedim Bajrami's thumping strike after 23 seconds for Albania against Italy, the fastest goal ever scored in Euros history.

Alessandro Bastoni headed level soon after, though, before Nicolo Barella's 10th international goal proved the difference to send Italy level on points with Spain at the top of Group B.

Yet Spalletti was far from impressed with parts of Italy's game despite the Azzurri becoming just the third side to score in 10 successive Euros outings, after England in 2012 (11) and Portugal in 2004 (10).

"We saw many good things, but they need to actually take us somewhere, otherwise they are pointless," the Italy head coach told RAI Sport.

"There was the possibility to hurt them several times and we didn't go for it.

"We prepared the move well, then passed it backwards. We changed our minds too quickly."

Barella was a doubt after missing both warm-up friendlies but returned with vengeance to guide his side to victory.

Spalletti grew frustrated when asked if Italy are reliant on midfield maestro Barella, however.

"A national team must be able to do without anyone, because there are 26 strong players," Spalletti responded to questioning over the Inter star's influence.

"I don't like this idea that the team depends on an individual."

Barella, meanwhile, was delighted with Italy's response to Albania's record-breaking opener.

"It was a bit of a strange start, an opening goal after 23 seconds could really hurt the players psychologically," Barella told Sky Sport Italia.

"However, we wanted this victory, we should've scored more goals and fell away a bit at the end, but we started on the right foot with this win."