Holders Italy defeat Albania with the fastest goal ever scored.

Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolò Barella made sure the reigning champions got off to a winning start as Italy overcame the shock of giving up the fastest goal ever scored at a European Championship, defeating Albania 2-1 on Saturday.

After just 23 seconds, tens of thousands of boisterous, red-shirted Albanian supporters filled the Dortmund BVB Stadion with excitement as Nedim Bajrami scored from an angle, taking advantage of a careless throw-in by defender Federico Dimarco.

The goal broke the previous mark, which was held by Dmitri Kirichenko of Russia in 2004 when he scored against Greece after 67 seconds.

But despite the chaos, Italy maintained composure and equalised in the eleventh minute through Bastoni’s header after Lorenzo Pellegrini sent a short corner in to the far post.

Five minutes later, Barella, who had returned to the national team following an injury, gave the Azzurri the lead with a powerful shot from outside the area.

In the 34th minute, Davide Frattesi had a chance to double the Italians’ lead, but Albanian custodian Thomas Strakosha deflected his chipped shot onto the post.

Albania fielded a lineup full of Serie A players, but they were largely reduced to supporting roles as the youthful team coached by Italy coach Luciano Spalletti dominated the match with deft and quick passing, even though they didn’t create many opportunities.

In just his third international match, central defender Riccardo Calafiori made an impression by filling in for more seasoned teammates who were injured.

Spalletti, who won the Serie A championship with Napoli the previous year, took over the national squad in September after Roberto Mancini abruptly left to coach Saudi Arabia after leading Italy to the 2020 European Championship.

Italy’s aspirations to return to the World Cup are significantly boosted by the competition in Germany, as they were not able to qualify for the premier football event in the world in 2018 or 2022.

A more significant examination of their qualifications will occur on Thursday when they take on Spain, who defeated Croatia 3-0 in Berlin earlier on Saturday. On Wednesday, Albania takes on Croatia in Group B.