New Delhi: What an end to the match as Mattia Zaccagni becomes the Italian hero to send Italy into the round of 16 with a banger of a goal. He scored the equalizer right at the end after Luka Modric had given Croatia the lead. The veteran midfielder certainly thought that he won the game for his side but it was Zaccagni who broke the Croatian hearts at death.
Croatia started their campaign with a hugely disappointing 3-0 loss to Spain where they shone in patches but were never able to fully assert their dominance in the match and looked much inferior to the Spaniards. They took on Albania in matchday two and were expected to come away with three points but once again, they failed to perform well in the game consistently. However the match ended 2-2 and it was more of Croatia losing two points rather than both sharing one. These games certainly costed them a direct qualification tonight as their overall points tally was two out of possible nine.
Meanwhile, Italy began their title defence with a comfortable 2-1 win over Albania after they went behind to the quickest goal ever scored in UEFA Euro history, but came back with a commanding display to win that game comfortably despite the scoreline making it look much more even than it was. Their second game, however, was a stark contrast to the first game where they couldn’t get a hold of the game and struggled to create anything in attack. Their defence was on point though as they defended really well, only conceding to an unfortunate own goal. However, tonight’s draw confirms that they will be playing in the knockout stages and will be hoping to improve on their firepower up front.
Now that both set of fans can finally breathe, it is a moment of joy for one while a moment of heartbreak for the other. The Italian fans were on the edge of their seats until the very end of the game and looked overjoyed after the equalizer was scored. As for the Croatians, they do have a chance of qualifying from the third place but the chances look slim. However it was a great game to watch and the Italians will be preparing themselves for the next challenge.
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