Source: Newsweek
Tuesday 25 June 2024 11:12:26
Some how, some way, Italy is still alive at the 2024 Euros.
The defending champion after winning the 2020 Euros (which took place in 2021) over England, has qualified for the Knockout Round of the 2024 Euros at the very last second.
After Luka Modric gave Croatia a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute of the game, Italy needed eight minutes of stoppage time to get the game-tying goal against Croatia, and advance to the Knockout Round.
In the 98th minute of play, Italy raced down the field and Mattia Zaccagni got a perfect pass right in the box. He curled a shot past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, giving Italy its first and only goal of the match — and more importantly, sending them to the Knockout Round of the 2024 Euros.
This is an incredible turn of events for the Italians, who looked well on their way to elimination after being down 1-0 in stoppage time. However, Italy was able to advance by the skin of its teeth, and now keep its dream alive of a repeat at the Euros.
Italy entered the match against Croatia as favorites. The Italians needed just a draw to move onto the Knockout Round as the second-place finisher in Group B. Croatia outplayed Italy for 90-plus minutes, but in the 98th minute, it was Italy that had the final punch.
Italy kicked off the tournament with a 2-1 win over Albania thanks to goals from Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella. However, Italy then was shut out by Spain — the eventual winner of Group B — 1-0 due to an own goal by Riccardo Calafiori.
However, Italy remained on attack for the majority of the final half of the game. They concluded the match with 14 shots to Croatia's seven and an incredible 11 corner kicks to Croatia's two.
Croatia won the possession battle 51 percent to 49 percent while dominating the physicality in this game, earning six yellow cards and committing 18 fouls to Italy's two yellow cards and five tackles.
However, in the end, it was the 1-1 draw that sent Italy back to the Knockout Round, and ended Croatia's 2024 Euros in disappointing fashion.
After failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup following a surprising 1-0 loss to North Macedonia leading up to the event, Italy avoided another big disappointment by getting past Croatia and advancing to the Round of 16.
Italy joins join Spain, Germany, and Switzerland as the teams to qualify for the Knockout Round thus far in the tournament.