They know it can be done, but it won't be easy.

A new-look Italy side under Luciano Spalletti begins its quest to retain its Euro title as the Azzurri meet Albania in Group B action from Dortmund.

You can catch Italy vs. Albania LIVE on Saturday with coverage getting underway at 2:30pm et/11:30am pt on TSN1/4, CTV, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.

Italy is well aware that a defending Euro champion has won consecutive titles. In fact, they were there when history was made in 2012. In the final of Euro 2012 in Kyiv, the Azzurri were crushed 4-0 by Spain as La Roja made it two straight Euros with a World Cup triumph in between.

The task facing Italy is a tall one. Not only have they been placed in the same group as perennial contenders Spain and Croatia, much of the team that captured Euro 2020 in London in the summer of 2021 isn't in Germany. In fact, only 10 players return for the Azzurri from the last Euro. Gone are the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne.

Still, Spalletti believes Italy's greatest challenge comes from within.

"Coming to the tournament as defending champions 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 demonstrate it. 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."

With heavyweight encounters on the horizon against Spain and Croatia, the Azzurri know that they absolutely cannot slip up against Albania, but manager Sylvinho relishes the chance to play spoiler. Led by Fulham's Armando Broja, this Albania side possesses veteran quality, including a number of players who ply their trade in Serie A such as captain Berit Gjimshiti of Europa League champions Atalanta, Ardian Ismajli of Empoli and Inter's Kristjan Asllani.

"Our preparation has been thorough and the team's spirits are high," Sylvinho said. "We respect our opponents, but fear no one. Armando Broja's form gives us an edge in attack, and our defensive unit has shown great resilience. Our focus will be on maintaining our structure and making the best of counterattacks. The players are ready to give their all on the European stage and make Albania proud."

The match will mark the first time these two nations have met at a major international tournament. Albania and Italy have faced off four times since 2014 with the Azzurri winning all four matches by a cumulative score of 7-1.

POTENTIAL ITALY XI (3-4-2-1): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matteo Darmian, Alessandro Buongiorno, Alessandro Bastoni; Raoul Bellanova, Jorginho, Bryan Cristante, Federico Dimarco; Federico Chiesa, Lorenzo Pellegrini; Gianluca Scamacca

POTENTIAL ALBANIA XI (4-2-3-1): Etrit Berisha; Elseid Hysaj, Ardian Ismajli, Berat Gjimshiti, Mario Mitaj; Kristjan Asllani, Ylber Ramadani; Jasir Asani, Nedim Bajrami, Taulant Seferi; Armando Broja