Albania v Spain: Euro 2024 – live

GOAL FOR CROATIA AGAINST ITALY!

55 min: Merino is probably the worst performer out there for Spain, and gives the ball away cheaply, before crashing into Ramadani in an attempt to get the ball back. Not sure the former Newcastle midfielder will be troubling Pedri, Rodri and Fabian for a starting berth in the knockout stage.

53 min: Better from Albania, breaking forward in numbers, although Asllani is guilty of overplaying when he had good options outside.

51 min: Bajrami is penalised for a foul, and Sylvinho is incensed on the sidelines. The Albania manager gets a yellow card, I think for dissent.

49 min: Asllani shoots on goal – blocked – but Spain pick up the pieces and break quickly. Olmo shakes off a marker, gets his head up, and shoots from his own half! But the RB Leipzig gets it all wrong and his shot dribbles wide.

47 min: So nearly one of the goals of the tournament! Grimaldo, who is doing a fantastic job of convincing De la Fuente to start him in the knockout stage, whips another dangerous cross to the edge of the six-yard box. Joselu, like a seam bowler in a phonebox, barely has any room to operate but contorts his body and somehow sticks out a leg, volleying the cross – Zlatan-style – just wide of Albania’s near post.

Peeeeeeep! And we’re underway again in Düsseldorf.

The teams are back out but the restart is delayed while we wait for Croatia v Italy to also be ready. The games must kick-off at exactly the same time.

This is how Group B stands at the half-way stage, assuming the games finish as they are. Not great reading for Albania or Croatia, but the latter only need one goal to leapfrog Italy into second place.

Half-time reading/viewing: this excellent photo-essay from Tom Jenkins, our resident sport photographer in Germany.

A dominant half from Spain. Olmo and Navas have particularly caught the eye.

Half-time: Albania 0-1 Spain

45 min: Asllani lets fly from range for Albania! Raya dives to his left and palms the ball away but that was travelling! The first time Albania have tested the former Blackburn goalkeeper.

44 min: Grimaldo finds more space out wide and drills a low cross to Merino just inside the Albania box but the former Newcastle midfielder curls his shot high and wide. Should have done better.

43 min: Albania are really struggling to deal with Spain’s full backs. Spain’s wingers, Oyarzabal and Torres, tend to tuck inside which leaves room for Grimaldo and Navas on the outside. They are two of the best crossers in the world.

40 min: Grimaldo whips a trademark cross to the back post, but Torres heads over when he might have done better.

37 min: Raya is rather lucky to see his clearance smash straight into the back of Laporte and fall kindly back into the goalkeeper’s arms. The Arsenal loanee has had a good season with the Gunners but definitely has a clanger in him. Remember this from the NLD back in April?

34 min: Navas wins the ball on Albania’s byline! The Sevilla man crosses fierce and low to Olmo on the penalty spot, but a crunching tackle from Djimsiti prevents Spain from getting another shot on goal.

32 min: Laporte, the only Spain player to retain his place from the match against Italy and another European player based in Saudi who is impressing at this tournament, has been imperious so far but rather lucky to avoid being penalised for coming through the back of Manaj. Spain pounce on the loose ball, with Olmo playing another sumptuous pass to Torres, who drives to the byline, but can only cross to Balliu at the back post.

28 min: Vivian and Manaj get into a tussle on the edge of Spain’s box. Albania claim for a penalty but it was just strong defending from Vivian, who got his body across well.

25 min: The camera pans to Spain’s bench: Williams, Yamal, Pedri. Ridiculous. And if you are wondering where Rodri is (he’s not on the bench tonight), it’s because he is suspended, booked against both Croatia and Italy.

23 min: Marginally better from Albania. Asllani, undoubtedly this team’s talisman, has started to make some inroads in midfield. But the Internazionale man is yet to create a real chance of note.

21 min: Bajrami makes a good break down the left flank for Albania, and tries to nutmeg Vivian on the byline but the Athletic Bilbao defender, making just his third appearance tonight, makes an expert tackle.

19 min: After their initial flurry of crosses, Spain settle into a more familiar possession-based game. It’s up to Albania to come and get the ball now. The difference is under De la Fuente’s style, Spain’s players are not afraid to let fly with a cross or a shot from range. It’s a long way from tiki-taka, and arguably a lot more exciting. And tonight, with Joselu in the middle and with Grimaldo and Navas providing extra width, this style suits them.

17 min: De la Fuente was fairly audacious in announcing that he was manager of the best team at this year’s Euros, but he might be right you know. Not sure you can call Spain a dark horse, but I don’t think many had them as favourites above England, Germany or France coming into the tournament.

Albania don’t get close to Olmo in a pocket of space in front of their defence and the RB Leipzig man lays on a wonderfully-weighted pass inside the full back for Ferran Torres. Such is the quality of the ball that Torres simply runs onto it and sweeps it first time past Strakosha with his weaker left foot, in in off the post! A quality finish, but an even better assist from Olmo.

GOAL! Albania 0-1 Spain (Ferran Torres 14)

12 min: Twice in a minute Spain so nearly take the lead from deadly crosses. Navas whips one towards Merino at the back post but Strakosha makes a brilliant save and Ajeti hacks away the rebound. Next, Laporte crosses from deep for Joselu, but the Real Madrid man heads just over!

9 min: For those of you surprised to see Manaj preferred to Broja up front for Albania, Manaj scored 18 goals in the Turkish league for Sivasspor.

7 min: After a frantic first seven minutes, Spain have started to get their feet on the ball. Navas has started pinging crosses towards Joselu, but Ajeti and Djimsiti hold firm in defence.

5 min: Quite the start from Albania, who press and counterpress to within an inch of their lives, and look confident and enterprising with the ball. A corner is won but cleared by Spain at the near post.

3 min: Albania pour forward again and get a dangerous cross into the box, Grimaldo makes a fine defensive header to get things clear at the back post for Spain. Have been impressed with Cucurella at this tournament, but surprised that Grimaldo appears to be the second choice to the Chelsea man. Grimaldo had a sensational season at Bayer Leverkusen and was crucial to their Bundesliga title. But De la Fuente evidently prefers Cucurella.

1 min: Albania striker Manaj, preferred up front to Chelsea’s Armando Broja, leaves one late on Navas. That’s a sore one for the veteran right back.

Peeeeeeeeep! And we’re off in Düsseldorf.

Jesús Navas, a World Cup winner in 2010, is Spain’s captain tonight at the age of 38.

The teams are out. Albania in their scarlet red, Spain in a changed yellow kit. It should be said that the crowd feels more Albanian than Spain tonight. The anthems are raucous, and even Albania’s Brazilian manager Sylvinho looks like he might either combust or burst into tears.

Just over five minutes until kick-off. We are also covering Croatia v Italy of course, which you can follow with Scott Murray.

This surely isn’t the first international match to feature two starting goalkeepers who play for the same club, but this is almost certainly the first international to feature two Brentford goalkeepers at either end. Perhaps a question The Knowledge can answer.

Albania’s Thomas Strakosha has featured just four times for the Bees this season, but the former Lazio man remains an experienced pair of hands, while Spain’s David Raya has shone on loan at Arsenal from the west London club.

Thought this was a very interesting read on the history of football in Albania.

And here’s our team guide on the squad for Euro 2024, led of course by the former Arsenal defender Sylvinho.

“German regulations, that’s what will get England through,” emails Charles Antaki. “It’s true that’s apart from Spain no other team has under- 17s in their squad, but there must be other regulations which will knock out a few obstacles along the way – Slovenia must surely have somebody who hasn’t filled in their TV licence application correctly, France is probably full of players who’ve filed their tax returns late, and Germany … well, the strategy probably falls down at that point, but at least England should find out in the final”

Nico Williams, another Spain star on the bench tonight, has been one of the most exciting players so far.

Here’s Sid Lowe on the Athletic star after his performance against Italy.

Unsurprisingly, Williams is on this list.

It is perhaps not surprising that 16-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal is on the bench tonight, as Spain could be subject for a fine for playing him. German regulations prohibit those under 18 from working past 8pm local time, but athletes can play until 11pm, including time for showering and media duties. Seeing as this game is due to finish just before 11pm, it’s unlikely that Lamine will be out of the stadium by the required time.

It should be noted that most of the knockout games are at 9pm CET, so this is going to be a recurring problem for Spain. Lamine doesn’t turn 17 until the day after the final. German authorities have yet to confirm if Spain will receive special dispensation regarding Lamine.

You might notice that Albania striker Mirlind Daku is not in the squad tonight after receiving a two-match ban for using a megaphone to join ­supporters in nationalist chants after Albania’s draw with Croatia.

That’s a fascinating Spain XI, based upon Luis de la Fuente’s press conference yesterday, in which his comments suggested that there would not be sweeping changes.

There’s a lot at stake tomorrow – there’s prestige, recognition and we want to keep improving. We’ll approach this game as we have all the others, as if it’s the last. Of course, we have a game plan for the players we feel are apt for this game. We’re only focusing on winning because we want to win every game.

The last thing we want is injuries. We’re only focused on sending out the best players for our game plan. Of course, you might say this player is rested or that one is rested, but this is a tournament with seven games. We can’t worry about injuries or suspensions.

Just look at that Spain team! A whopping 10 changes from the XI that started in the last match against Italy! Ten!

The teams!

If Albania fail to beat Spain, it should be said, England qualify for the last 16, at least as a third-placed team.

Preamble