Italy snatches a draw from Croatia in the last move and goes to the round of 16 of the European Championship

Italy secured qualification to the round of 16 of the European Championship this Monday. With a goal in the last play of the match played at Red Bull Arena, the team led by Luciano Spalletti snatched a 1-1 draw from Croatia. Modric opened the scoring and became the oldest player to score in the history of the tournament (38 years and 289 days), but Zaccagni took the score.

With four points, five less than Spain, Italy guarantees qualification to the next stage as second place in Group B. Croatia, with two points, is in third place and with a remote chance of avoiding elimination.

Italy’s next game will be against Switzerland, in the round of 16, on Saturday, at 1 pm (Brasília time), at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. Croatia, in turn, needs to wait for the end of the first phase to try to advance as one of the four best third parties.

Help us write a copy 👇#EURO2024 #CroatiaItaly #Zaccagni#National #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/4JupOtDgXY

— Italian national team ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) June 24, 2024

The game – The first half was marked by Italian dominance in offensive actions, despite Croatia’s greater possession. With two good saves, Livakovic managed to keep the score at zero.

Frattesi committed a penalty just eight minutes into the second half and gave Croatia a great opportunity to open the scoring. Playmaker Luka Modric went for the ball, but goalkeeper Donnarumma managed to save.

In the next move, after ten minutes, Modric himself scored his record goal, when he invaded the area and took advantage of the rebound of another great save by the Italian goalkeeper.

In the last play of the match, in the 53rd minute of the second half, Mattia Zaccagni hit a beautiful shot from the edge of the area and sent Italy to the round of 16.