June 24 – A thrilling game that ran far deeper than its slender scoreline, Croatia’s sweetheart Luka Modric looked to have cemented his side’s place in the Round of 16 with a decisive goal versus Italy. Until the 8th minute of added time.
A superb, flowing Italian counterattack was capped by a wonder strike from Italy substitute Mattia Zaccagni (pictured) who wrapped his foot around the ball to curl it into the top corner to make the score 1-1.
Italy only needed a point to qualify second in the group thanks to Spain’s simultaneous victory over Albania in Düsseldorf. Croatia had to win to go through but now look to be out of the finals unless England beat Slovenia by three on Tuesday.
Caged inside the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig was an atmosphere so rambunctious that beer rained from the stands above into the unsuspecting press box before the game had even kicked off.
The FIFA ranked nine and ten came head-to-head in a clash that likely marks the final dance in 38-year-old Modric’s iconic Croatia career.
Four days ago, Luciano Spalletti’s Italy side were barely able to lay a glove on Spain, whose victory over the Azzurri was much more convincing than its 1-0 scoreline. The question was whether the Italians could bounce back from such a psychologically draining result.
For vast periods of this game it looked unlikely until the Italians answered the question in dramatic, jaw dropping style.
It was a lapse of concentration in the 95th minute that saw Croatia plummet to joint bottom of the group after their late draw versus Albania – a mistake that meant it was do or die in Leipzig.
And a mistake that was to repeat itself.
Eager to see some kind of change from his side, Spalletti opted for a different shape by converting the classic 4-4-3 to an aggressive 3-5-2, which saw Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi replaced by club mate Matteo Darmian.
Josip Sutalo of Croatia looks to control the ball whilst under pressure from Giacomo Raspadori
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Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/06/24/italy-steal-crucial-points-croatia-dramatic-added-time-equaliser/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-06-24 22:23:53
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