Mattia Zaccagni’s goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time helped Italy draw 1-1 with Croatia and guarantee their spot in the Euro 2024 knockout phase.
The stalemate gives Italy, the reigning European champions, second place in Group B. They are now ahead of Croatia, who had been leading the game since Luka Modrić’s goal in the 55th minute.
Riccardo Calafiori’s ball split the Croatian defence and found Zaccagni, who curled his effort past goalkeeper Dominik Livaković as the Italians pressed for a crucial equaliser.
Mattia Zaccagni’s goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time helped Italy draw 1-1 with Croatia and guarantee their spot in the Euro 2024 knockout phase.
The stalemate gives Italy, the reigning European champions, second place in Group B. They are now ahead of Croatia, who had been leading the game since Luka Modrić’s goal in the 55th minute.
Riccardo Calafiori’s ball split the Croatian defence and found Zaccagni, who curled his effort past goalkeeper Dominik Livaković as the Italians pressed for a crucial equaliser.
After Modrić’s goal ended a chaotic one-minute stretch in the match, Croatia’s goal was to leapfrog Italy and take second place in the group.
A VAR review verified that Italy’s Davide Frattesi had been called for a handball inside his own penalty area. Modrić stepped up and attempted to go to the bottom right corner, but Gianluigi Donnarumma, the goalie, denied him.
With the ball still in Croatian hands, Ante Budimir flicked Luka Sučić’s cross into the Italian box on goal. Donnarumma stopped that shot, but Modrić quickly converted the rebound.
Meanwhile, if Georgia and Czechia lost their Group F matches against Portugal and Turkey, they would only be able to finish with one point apiece, with Croatia finishing ahead of them both. However, both of the aforementioned permutations must materialise.
All things considered, it appears unlikely that Croatia will go on to the next stage of the competition; nevertheless, in the annals of football tournament history, stranger things have happened.