Contents
Read on one page Contents
Page 1Only Italy stands out so beautifully
Page 2The masters of positional play
Croatia – Italy 1:1 (0:0)
Tore: 1:0 Luka Modrić (55. Minute), 1:1 Mattia Zaccagni (90.+8. Minute)
Albania – Spain 0:1 (0:1)
Tore: 0:1 Ferran Torres (13. Minute)
Which game was particularly important?
Both, because Albania, Italy and Croatia could all still advance, be eliminated or reach the uncertain third place. Italy against Croatia was also a real deciding match; whoever won was pretty much through. But as is the case with deciding matches, the courage was limited at first. Italy waited and then tried to advance quickly – but looked like a team that had left its most dangerous winger on the bench. Federico Chiesa, who was watching from the sidelines, probably thought so too. And Croatia kept feeling their way forward, but looked like a team whose best players are past their prime.
Mateo Retegui and Alessandro Bastoni missed a few good Italian chances in the first half. Gianluigi Donnarumma managed to get his strong arms up in time to stop Luka Sučić’s most beautiful Croatian shot. Things got wilder and more entertaining in the second half after Croatia took the lead and Italy also felt the pressure.
Who was the hero of this evening?
There were two: Riccardo Calafiori and Mattia Zaccagni. The defender’s shoes are big in Italy, you are measured against men like Giorgio Chiellini, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini. Riccardo Calafiori apparently at least goes to Nesta’s hairdresser. And when he took the ball in the eighth minute of stoppage time and marched off along the halfway line, you could still see a bit of Maldini’s elegance and Chiellini’s determination. A one-two later, Calafiori was in front of Croatia’s penalty area, then he passed the ball to the left to Zaccagni. And his decisive equaliser made German fans wince: the way he stood there free in front of Croatia’s goalkeeper, the way the ball spun in the air and then landed perfectly in the net, top right, reminded some of Alessandro Del Piero against Jens Lehmann in 2006. Only Italy can score that beautifully.
Who was the tragic hero?
Luka Modrić. When a handball penalty was awarded in the 55th minute because Davide Frattesi’s arm was swinging uncontrollably through the air, Modrić immediately collected the ball. He even had it in his hand when referee Danny Makkelie was still checking the video images. Up until then, Modrić had played a rather poor game; once he made an awkward slid-into-the-air tackle, another time a chip ball from the half-field sailed so high over every Croatian head that you would have thought you were in the Bundesliga conference.
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So no one was that surprised when little Modrić was stopped by the great Donnarumma. And at the same time, they were very surprised because little Modrić is one of the greatest footballers of recent years. He reminded us of this 32 seconds later when he smashed the ball into the goal with his left foot from a few meters away at the end of the attack that immediately followed. After that, he lay on his back and covered his face while the red and white crowd of fans in the stadium lost their composure. It was an insane half a minute of football. And proof that Croatia should never be written off. Unfortunately, neither should Italy. So Modrić chewed nervously on his shirt when Calafiori stomped off in the last minute, panic in his eyes. Perhaps this world-class, no-frills player already suspected that his goal would not be enough. Anyone who saw him after the game had to feel sympathy.
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Further
Croatia – Italy 1:1 (0:0)
Tore: 1:0 Luka Modrić (55. Minute), 1:1 Mattia Zaccagni (90.+8. Minute)
Albania – Spain 0:1 (0:1)
Tore: 0:1 Ferran Torres (13. Minute)
Both, because Albania, Italy and Croatia could all still advance, be eliminated or reach the uncertain third place. Italy against Croatia was also a real deciding match; whoever won was pretty much through. But as is the case with deciding matches, the courage was limited at first. Italy waited and then tried to advance quickly – but looked like a team that had left its most dangerous winger on the bench. Federico Chiesa, who was watching from the sidelines, probably thought so too. And Croatia kept feeling their way forward, but looked like a team whose best players are past their prime.
