New Delhi: Croatia and Italy faced off in what was a must-win game for both sides as the winner would guarantee themselves a spot in the knockout stages and the loser would have to depend on other results to secure their qualification as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Their performance on the pitch matched the importance of this game as both sides were at their best, trying to create chances to go in front. While the first half remained goalless, both the keepers were put into action quite often as both Italy and Croatia were looking to be the first to take the lead.
While the first half produced all the action without the goals, the second half produced the action with the goals. Davide Frattesi gave away a needless penalty less than ten minutes after coming on as his hand was too far away from his body while trying to block a cross. It was captain vs captain as Luka Modric stepped up to take the penalty against Donnaruma and it was the Italian goalkeeper who came out on top as he palmed Modric’s spot kick away.
However, Modric didn’t have to dwell on his penalty miss for too long as minutes after his miss he showed great presence of mind to smash the ball into the net on a rebound after a brilliant save by Donnaruma from Budimir’s poke towards the goal. Modric gave his side a well-deserved lead and redeemed himself after the penalty miss.
Croatia seemed to be heading towards a win with Modric’s goal seemingly sealing the three points for Croatia only to be denied victory with literally the last kick of the game. Riccardo Calafiori broke into the final third from his own half before playing a pass to Matti Zaccagni, who curled past Livakovic with an exquisite first-time finish to break Croatian hearts. Italy’s late equalizer meant they finished as runners-up in Group B and Croatia now need England to smash Slovenia by three goals or more to stand a chance of qualifying.
1) Croatia’s contrasting fortunes at International tournaments
Croatia face another early exit in Europe’s premier International competition (Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Even though their chances of qualifying for the knockouts remain a mathematical possibility, realistically speaking their tournament is all but over. Zaccagni scored with what proved to be the last kick of the match and that meant that Croatia ended their group stage campaign with zero wins from their three games. Having only accumulated two points, they’re now level on points with Slovenia who are yet to play their final group stage game.
Croatia have a goal difference of -3 whereas Slovenia are at a 0 and will be playing England who have only scored 2 goals till now. It looks certain that Croatia won’t qualify meaning their campaign ends at the group stages. This is the same Croatia side that have been a part of the last four in back-to-back World Cups, being the finalists in 2018 and semi-finalists in 2022.
Their fortunes at the UEFA European Championships are not that great however in the same time frame as they only made it to the round of 16 in both the 2016 and 2021 editions of the Euros, and look set on crashing out at the group stages of this year’s tournament. Even if they manage to sneak through as the fourth-best third-placed team, their performances weren’t such that suggests they might make it beyond the last 16.
2) Zaccagni’s goal papers the cracks over Italy’s misfiring attack
Mattia Zaccagni scored a tremendous goal to send his side through (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images for FIGC)
Mattia Zaccagni etched his name in Italy’s record books with a literal last-minute goal against Croatia, scoring his first goal for his country with a beautiful first-time strike. His goal was enough to guarantee Italy the second place in the group as he stepped up at a moment when none of Italy’s attackers did. While his goal provided the side with enormous joy, it certainly papered over the cracks in Italy’s attack that were visible in their 1-0 loss to Spain as well.
All of Italy’s strikers were on the field today as Giacomo Raspadori and Mateo Retegui started for the Azzuri whereas Gianluca Scammaca replaced Raspadori with 15 minutes left. However, none of the strikers ever looked like scoring and that would be a major concern for them.
None of these three have scored in the tournament yet and Scamacca just has a single goal for his national team in all his appearances. Between them, they have scored a measly 11 goals in 59 games and that will be a big area of concern for Spalletti heading into the knockouts.
Italy scored only three goals in the group stages compared to seven in the previous edition on their way to winning the trophy. They will need to address their striking woes if they are to retain their title.
3) Luka Modric adds his name to UEFA Euro history books
Luka Modric’s goal tonight made him a UEFA Euro record holder (Photo by Tullio Puglia – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
While his team had a disappointing campaign, Croatia captain Luka Modric carved his name into the history books of the UEFA European Championships as the Croatian became the oldest player to ever score in the championships. The Real Madrid midfielder scored the opening goal of the match to give Croatia the lead and in the process broke Ivica Vastic’s 16-year-old record.
The Poland International set the record in UEFA Euro 2008 when he scored against Austria when he was 38 years, 257 days old. Modric overtook Vastic as he scored his goal against Italy aged 38 years, 289 days, overtaking Vastic by 32 days.
While Modric is the current holder of this title, it could soon change as a certain Portuguese number 7 is yet to score in the tournament. As soon as Modric’s ex-Real Madrid teammate finds the net in this year’s tournament, he’ll become the oldest scorer in this tournament’s history.
The final group stage game for both these sides ended in a 1-1 draw as Mattia Zaccagni’s late goal spares Italy’s blushes at the death sending them into the knockouts while Croatia’s chances hang on by a thread. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
