Euro 2024: Defending champ Italy demands to be recognized among favorites

Captain Gianluigi Donnarumma has refused to accept that defending champion Italy should be rated behind the likes of England, France and Spain in the Euro 2024 favorites list.

The Paris St. Germain stopper was outstanding during Italy's victory in the final three years ago, making two crucial saves in the penalty shootout against England as the Azzurri clinched the title for the second time.

Now Donnarumma believes his team has everything it needs to upset the odds once more and put together another serious charge toward the title.

"Some teams are undoubtedly very strong, like France and England, but we can have a say too," Donnarumma told the Euro 2024 media channel. "I think there are no favorites in a competition like this. There is everything to play for, so we will go there to have a say and get to the final.

"We will undoubtedly be ready for this big event, which is a unique competition and I (feel) lucky to win the last Euro. We are all here now to defend our title and try to do our best to get to the final."

[Euro 2024 championship favorites: England on top]

Since its emotional triumph at London's Wembley Stadium, Italy has dipped under the radar a little. It failed to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, incredibly coming unstuck 1-0 in a home playoff against massive underdog North Macedonia.

Its Euro 2024 qualifying campaign was underwhelming also, losing twice against England, managing only draws on the road to Ukraine and North Macedonia, and avoiding dropping into another playoff only on goal differential.

Head coach Luciano Spalletti does not have an array of superstars to choose from, though Nicolo Barella and Jorginho are midfielders with elite prowess, while Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Scamacca bring power up front.

Forget about old school ideas of Italian teams being dull and defensive, as Spalletti's lineup — and his mindset — brings far more creativity and whimsy than it is often given credit for.

"In my opinion, coming into the tournament as defending champion is an advantage," Spalletti said. "But we need to understand straight away that we need to behave like defending champions. Italy has chosen us to represent our nation, but we will only see whether or not we are up to the task during the matches.

"We need to show that. 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."

That mentality and mettle will be tested in what is widely believed to be the toughest group in the entire tournament. Italy kicks things off against Albania in Dortmund on Saturday (3 p.m. ET on FOX), before mouthwatering clashes against Spain on June 20 in Gelsenkirchen and World Cup bronze medalist Croatia on June 24 in Leipzig.

To increase the difficulty level, more than 50,000 Albania fans are expected to attend this weekend's game, even though Dortmund's Signal Iduna park will be operating at a reduced capacity of 62,000. The lopsided support is due to vast numbers of tickets being bought up by the large Albanian community in Germany, while thousands of others are making the short flight (or long road trip).

Last time around, Italy breezed past Turkey, Switzerland and Wales to easily win its group, survived an extra-time scare against Austria, before things finally hit top gear. Goals from Barella and Lorenzo Insigne sparked an impressive quarterfinal win against Belgium, before Spain was dispatched on penalties in the semifinal.

FOX analyst Giorgio Chiellini, who was part of the Italy squad in 2021 and was a stalwart on the national team for well over a decade, is quietly optimistic about his country's chances.

"There is ability and there should be some confidence," Chiellini said. "The group is hard, it is almost difficult to think how it could be harder. But maybe this is the right kind of challenge to make something happen again.

"It is not normal, usually, that the team that won last time has nobody talking about them (as favorites)."

For Donnarumma, Spalletti's message about passion has come through loud and clear. The coach has even evoked the language of Italy's national anthem in telling his players they need to be "ready to die" in key games, and the goalkeeper has left no doubt as to how deeply he craves another title.

"Sometimes I rewatch (2021) and I still get emotional," Donnarumma said. "Those kind of emotions can never be forgotten in our lives. We really made history."

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]