Italy can breathe easy after qualifying for the round of 16 of the Euro to the detriment of Croatia (1-1). Mattia Zaccagni gave the Nazionale a draw by scoring the equalizing goal in added time. Third, with only 2 points in group B, the Croats are on the verge of elimination.
The match: 1-1
Put under pressure from the start, the Italians were able to count on the flight of Gianluigi Donnarumma on a distant attempt from Luka Sucic who flew into the top corner (5th) to keep them in the game. The rest of the first period was dominated by the Nazionale, who did not suffer any more shots on target until the break.
Luciano Spalletti’s players created their first opportunity in the 21st minute. Established in place of Gianluca Scamacca, Mateo Retegui saw his header go wide of Dominik Livakovic’s goal. Faced with the Italian offensives, the Croatian goalkeeper remained vigilant, as on the powerful header of Alessandro Bastoni (26th) or the cross shot of Lorenzo Pellegrini (36th).
Upon returning from the locker room, the match changed in two minutes. Donnarumma first took out a penalty from Luka Modric (54th), before giving in to the 2018 Ballon d’Or. The Madrilenian followed Ante Budimir’s attempt repelled by the PSG player and caught up with his missed penalty by opening the score from close range (1-0, 55th).
The reigning European champion pushed for the equalizer, and Croatia held on for a long time, but ended up cracking after added time. After a final full-axis raid, Riccardo Calafiori shifted Mattia Zaccagni to his left whose sumptuous curling shot at the entrance to the area ended up in Livakovic’s top corner (1-1, 90th + 8).
38
Author of the opener, Luka Modric became the oldest scorer in Euro history at 38 years and 289 days.
The player: Zaccagni delivered Italy
At the end of a tense meeting, during which Italy was on the edge of the precipice, Mattia Zaccagni offered Italy qualification. And yet he was not the one expected to take on this role. Remained on the bench against Albania (2-1), having played only 28 minutes against Spain (0-1), the Lazio player was not Spalletti’s number 1 option. But eight days after celebrating his 29th birthday, the winger (now 2 goals in 8 caps) scored the most important goal of his career.
2024-06-24 22:23:13
#Italy #advances #Euro #added #time #goal #Croatia
