Highlights Italy 1-1 Croatia

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Mattia Zaccagni's goal in the 90+8th minute helped Italy draw 1-1 against Croatia. With this result, the Azzurri secured their place in the next round, while Croatia is almost certainly eliminated from Euro 2024.

Highlights Italy 1-1 Croatia

Before the final matchday of Group B at Euro 2024, Croatia was in a desperate situation, sitting at the bottom of the table with 1 point, 2 points behind second-placed Italy. This meant that the Balkan team needed to beat Italy in their direct confrontation to guarantee qualification. In fact, Croatia came very close to victory. They led Italy until the 90+8th minute but were still pegged back to a 1-1 draw. With this result, the Azzurri secured their place in the next round in second place with 4 points. Croatia finished third with 2 points.

Mattia Zaccagni celebrates his priceless goal (Photo: UEFA).

With this point total, Modric and his teammates are almost certainly eliminated. At least, so far, they are 3 points behind the three third-placed teams: Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. That's why the Croatian players collapsed on the pitch and cried after the match. Entering this game, both Croatia and Italy showed great determination. They created several dangerous opportunities early on, but goalkeepers Livakovic and Donnarumma played excellently. In the latter half of the first half, the two teams mostly played defensively with no real chances. The second half was much more exciting. In the 53rd minute, the referee awarded Croatia a penalty after Davide Frattesi handled the ball. Luka Modric missed the penalty.

The sky seemed to fall before the eyes of the Croatian players (Photo: Getty).

However, in the very next situation, the ball was crossed to Budimir, who unleashed a shot. Gianluigi Donnarumma made an excellent save. But Luka Modric was in the right place at the right time, firing the ball into the top corner of the net. After this goal, Italy pressed forward in attack. However, they were completely ineffective against Croatia's well-organized defense. Coach Spalletti emptied the bench, bringing on strikers like Federico Chiesa, Gianluca Scamacca, and Mattia Zaccagni. And as the Croatian players awaited the referee's whistle to celebrate, tragedy struck. In the 90+8th minute, center-back Riccardo Calafiori dribbled the ball straight into Croatia's penalty area before passing to Mattia Zaccagni, who curled the ball into the net. This priceless goal secured Italy's progression and sent Croatia to the brink of disaster. The match ended 1-1. In the round of 16, Italy will face the second-placed team in Group A, Switzerland.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/italy-di-tiep-nho-ban-thang-o-phut-908-croatia-gan-nhu-chac-chan-bi-loai-20240625013143211.htm