Croatia faced a challenging start to their Euro 2024 campaign, suffering a heavy defeat to Spain in their opening Group B match and then conceding a late equalizer to draw 2-2 with Albania. This left Zlatko Dalic’s side with an uphill battle to reach the knockout stage.
The match against Italy saw Croatia start brightly, with Luka Sucic unleashing a powerful 25-yard drive that Gianluigi Donnarumma managed to push away at full stretch. Italy, also seeking redemption after their own loss to Spain, came close when Genoa striker Mateo Retegui’s header deflected wide off Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol.
The Azzurri continued to threaten, especially just before the half-hour mark when Nicolo Barella delivered a cross from the right. It floated through the six-yard box to Alessandro Bastoni, whose powerful header was tipped over by Croatia’s keeper Dominik Livakovic. Livakovic was called into action again shortly after, saving a low 20-yard shot from Lorenzo Pellegrini.
In the 54th minute, Croatia was awarded a penalty following a VAR review for handball by Italy substitute Davide Frattesi, who had just come on at the start of the second half. However, Luka Modric’s spot-kick was saved by Donnarumma low to his left.
Moments after his penalty miss, Modric redeemed himself by firing Croatia ahead in the 55th minute. The Croatian fans erupted in celebration when Modric pounced on a rebound after Donnarumma made a superb reaction save from Ante Budimir at point-blank range. This goal made the 38-year-old Real Madrid midfielder the oldest scorer in the tournament’s history.
Italy, facing the prospect of needing other results to progress as one of the best third-placed teams, found a lifeline in stoppage time. Lazio winger Mattia Zaccagni came off the bench to curl home a stunning strike in the eighth minute of added time, securing a dramatic 1-1 draw.
Zaccagni’s last-minute heroics sent the defending champions through to the knockout stage of Euro 2024, leaving Croatia’s fate hanging in the balance.
