Football

Albania's Nedim Bajrami etched his name into the annals of European Championship history by scoring the fastest goal ever in the tournament's history. Just 23 seconds into Albania's opening match against Italy on Saturday, Bajrami pounced on a poor throw-in from Italy's Federico Dimarco and unleashed a thunderous shot into the net from inside the box.Bajrami's lightning-fast strike shattered the previous Euros record for the quickest goal, which had stood for 18 years. In 2004, Russia's Dmitri Kirichenko had found the back of the net after 67 seconds against Greece.The goal was a testament to Bajrami's quick thinking and clinical finishing. The Sassuolo forward was alert to the opportunity and wasted no time in capitalizing on Italy's defensive lapse.However, Italy responded swiftly to Bajrami's early strike. Alessandro Bastoni equalized for the reigning champions in the 11th minute, and Nicolo Barella put Italy ahead just five minutes later.Despite the setback, Albania continued to push forward and create chances. They came close to equalizing on several occasions, but Italy's defense held firm.The match ultimately ended in a 2-1 victory for Italy, but Bajrami's historic goal will be remembered for years to come. It was a moment of brilliance that showcased his talent and the growing strength of Albanian football.

Florian Wirtz, the 20-year-old German prodigy, etched his name into international football history with a stunning goal that propelled Germany to a 2-0 victory over France in an international friendly on Saturday.Just seven seconds after the opening whistle, Wirtz received the ball from Toni Kroos and unleashed a fierce drive that left French goalkeeper Brice Samba rooted to the spot. The ball flew under the crossbar, setting a new record for the fastest goal in German international history."I don't think anyone understood or realized what was happening," Wirtz said after the match. "We were all quite surprised, but there was obviously a lot of joy. You can't start a match any better."Wirtz's goal came close to equaling the record for the fastest international goal ever, which was set by Lukas Podolski in 2013. However, Christoph Baumgartner's strike for Austria against Andorra earlier on Saturday had already set a new mark of six seconds.Kai Havertz doubled Germany's lead just four minutes into the second half, tapping in a pass from Jamal Musiala. France, despite fielding star striker Kylian Mbappe, struggled to create clear-cut chances and were unable to find a way back into the game.Julian Nagelsmann's Germany side looked the more dangerous throughout the match, with Maximilian Mittelstaedt and Thomas Mueller both denied by fine saves from Samba. France nearly pulled one back in the 88th minute when Mittelstaedt mistimed a clearance, but Antonio Rudiger cleared the ball off the line and VAR ruled the handball to be unintentional."We can obviously be very satisfied," said Kroos. "We've taken some good steps forward, some important steps forward. These are the last few chances for us to get a bit of a feel for Euro 2024. We'll take that with us today."Both teams will continue their preparations for this summer's European Championship, with France facing Chile and Germany hosting the Netherlands on Tuesday.