Italy vs. Albania: Score and Twitter Reaction from International Friendly

It was perhaps a fitting result that Italy's 1-0 victory over Albania in their international friendly would be the result of what appeared to be an Albanian own goal.     

In an evening full of missed chances from the Italians, Stefano Okaka scored off a corner in the 82nd minute in his first ever cap. Upon further review, however, the ball appeared to take a deflection off Hamdi Salihi before heading into the net.

You can decide for yourself whether Okaka should be rewarded the goal, as Forza Italian Football passed along a Vine of the moment in question:

For an Italian team that consistently threatened the Albanian goal for most of the match but couldn't quite seem to break through, any little bit of help was welcomed. Of course, were it not for the excellent goalkeeping of Albania's Etrit Berisha in the opening half, Italy might have wrapped this one up early.

Alessio Cerci looked as though he was going to notch the opener in the 13th minute, as he slipped past the Albanian defense after a lovely Alberto Aquilani pass put him through on goal. But Berisha rushed the ball and made himself big, pushing the ball wide and giving the Italians a corner they couldn't capitalize upon.

Cerci again tested the Albanians in the 21st minute, as this time he got free on the right and smashed a low cross toward the oncoming Sebastian Giovinco. But again, Berisha was having none of it, diving to scoop up the ball before Giovinco could connect with the pass.   

Cerci was one of Italy's better players and grew into his unique role as the match wore on, per Adam Digby of FourFourTwo.com:

Again in the 25th minute, the Albanian keeper came up big, this time thwarting Marco Parolo. The Lazio man had a go after Giovinco weaved his way through the midfield and was taken down in a tackle attempt, but Parolo's shot was met by a diving save from Berisha.

Mattia Destro nearly rendered Berisha's excellent first half moot in the 33rd minute, finishing a driving run forward with a powerful shot from outside the box that sizzled just wide. Italy were inches away from taking the lead but again came up just a bit short.

It wasn't Destro's best performance, as Digby noted:

But Italy kept on pressing. In the 37th minute, Giovinco's perfect cross was met by the head of Leonardo Bonucci, who smashed a header toward goal. But Berisha was having none of that, either, making a brilliant save to keep things level.

In the 40th minute, Berisha added to his legend. Andrea Bertolacci let fly with a shot that seemed destined to find the net but somehow, improbably, the Albanian keeper tipped the ball over the net. 

The Albanians weren't without their chances, of course. Sokol Cikalleshi had two brilliant chances for the country late in the first half. However, he struck the bar with his first attempt and couldn't beat keeper Salvatore Sirigu with his second from about 25 yards out.

The Italian onslaught continued in the second half, and appeared as though it would finally culminate in a goal in the 62nd minute. Cerci sent through a perfect cross to Destro, who was alone in the box and had time to craft his shot. But he took it first-time instead, curling his effort past the keeper but also wide of the bar.

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

It appeared as though the match might finish in a scoreless draw despite a few nervy saves from Sirigu down the stretch. Mercifully, though, for Italy, Okaka struck in the 82nd minute. 

The striker got on the end of a corner and pushed the lightest of touches toward goal, which took a deflection off Salihi before careening into the net. For an Albanian side that had been hanging on by a thread, to lose on such a goal was surely painful. 

While Italy will savor the win, the match was also memorable for a wonderful moment in the 81st minute, as Francesco Acerbi was brought on as a substitution. James Horncastle of BT Sport has more on the meaning of that moment:

A win in a friendly can never top a moment like that. Certainly, everyone is thrilled to see Acerbi out on the pitch.

Still, there have been some concerns over the tactics of former Juventus man and current Italian manager Antonio Conte since he's taken over the gig. After the match he lashed out at his critics, per Football Italia:

"

We won five of our six games and drew one. Some might sneer, but my lads want to play and to get into the Nazionale. We just have to keep working. I very much liked the effort of the lads, as in a day and a half we prepared against an Albania side that played its first choice team. We proved that if we want to, we can achieve anything. Nobody is going to help us, so we have to get it done ourselves.

"

The Italians will have plenty of time to work out the kinks before their European qualifying continues, as their next match isn't until March 28 against Bulgaria, a match they'll be expected to win and will have their A-team playing (today's lineup was, at best, a B-team). 

Albania is back in action March 29 against Armenia.