Croatia 1-1 Italy: Zaccagni steers Azzurri into last 16

Italy edged out Croatia for second place as Mattia Zaccagni's 98th-minute equaliser proved pivotal in their final UEFA EURO 2024 Group B match in Leipzig.

Match in brief: Zaccagni denies Modrić the limelight

Croatia enjoyed a near monopoly on possession in the formative stages, a spell that culminated in a rasping 25-metre Luka Sučić drive that was heading for the top corner before Gianluigi Donnarumma's intervention. The Azzurri remained composed and grew into the contest – and their new 3-5-2 system – nearly taking the lead themselves when Riccardo Calafiori's cross was nodded narrowly wide by Mateo Retegui.

They came closer still when Nicolò Barella's cross was headed powerfully at goal by Alessandro Bastoni, only for Dominik Livaković to make a stunning reflex save. The goalkeeper also had to thwart Lorenzo Pellegrini as the Vatreni defence, which had shipped five goals in their opening two goals, came under strain.

"The main issue is that we have been conceding goals too easily," Zlatko Dalić had noted before the game, but it was Croatia's lack of threat which prompted the coach to introduce Ante Budimir up front at half-time. It appeared to have the desired effect as another half-time substitute, Davide Frattesi, handled Andrej Kramarić's goal-bound shot to concede a penalty, but Donnarumma dived low to his left to keep out Luka Modrić's spot kick.

'Best when it's toughest' is the Croatia slogan, and Modrić's response embodied that resilience and spirit as, within a minute, he turned home a rebound to give his side the lead after Donnarumma had initially parried Budimir's effort. Dalić's defence then seemed to have held back the tide until the dying seconds of the game, when Zaccagni bent his strike around Livaković from Calafiori's pass to book the Azzurri a round of 16 date with Switzerland, leaving Croatia hoping for a best third-place berth.

Luka Modrić fires in Croatia's opening goalUEFA via Getty Images

Vivo Player of the Match: Luka Modrić (Croatia)

Became the oldest player to score a EURO goal and completed 14 passes in the final third in a superb all-round performance.
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Elvir Islamović, Croatia reporter

If Dalić could choose a player to deliver a big moment against Italy and secure a spot in the knockout phase, it would undoubtedly be Modrić. The captain of Croatia, the greatest player in their history, deserved his moment, only for the late equaliser to deny him the spotlight.

Paolo Menicucci, Italy reporter

A late goal by Zaccagni earned Italy the point they needed against Croatia to qualify for the round of 16, where they will face Switzerland. The Azzurri played well in the first half and managed to respond after conceding from one of the few chances Croatia had during the game. It was a tough game, but Italy deserved a share of the spoils.

Reaction

Luciano Spalletti, Italy coach: "When games are decided like this, in the end everything becomes more exciting. No one believed it any more, but the players risked little and kept their heads clear. We have to congratulate them on how they reacted. In the first half we were sub-par. If we do so little, we accomplish little. A behaviour where you think about the result without believing you can win it. I expect more from my players. You have to find that balance."

Zlatko Dalić, Croatia coach: "Last minute [against] Albania, last minute today. I can only congratulate the guys on the fight, the willingness, the sacrifice they showed. But here it is, it's not our tournament. [At the finals] we've missed two penalties and conceded two goals in injury time, that's what it is. We had the situation in our hands. Thank you to the people who cheered us on, I'm sorry for them. I'm mostly disappointed because of that."

Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Italy defender: "It was a tough game, but the important thing was to get through the group, a difficult group. But we're happy, it's nice to draw and go through in the last minute. Maybe against Spain we gave this sense of fragility that a great team like ours shouldn't have. We definitely need to grow, even if the time to do so is not enough in these tournaments. In terms of play we can do better, but in terms of attitude we can't say anything. It's a point from which we have to start again."

Luka Modrić, Croatia midfielder: "I don't know what to tell you, football is cruel sometimes. That was the case again here, but well, what is there is there. We didn't deserve [to concede] this goal. We didn't doubt the fans, we knew they were always with us. We're sorry that [we didn't get] that victory to go to the next round."

Key stats

Gianluigi Donnarumma keeps out Luka Modrić's penaltyAFP via Getty Images

• Modrić became the oldest scorer in EURO finals history, at 38 years and 289 days.
• Croatia and Italy's last four meetings have all finished 1-1.
• The Vatreni are unbeaten in the last nine matches between these nations (W3 D6).
• This was only the second time Croatia completed a EURO final tournament group without a win, after EURO 2004.
• Italy have now qualified for the knockout rounds in each of the last five EUROs. The last time they failed to make it out of the group stage was in 2004.
• The Azzurri have never lost two successive EURO final tournament matches. They have not lost back-to-back major final tournament games since the 2014 FIFA World Cup, when they were beaten by Costa Rica and Uruguay.
• Donnarumma became the youngest Italian player to reach ten EURO finals appearances, aged 25 years and 120 days. Federico Chiesa became the second youngest at 26 years and 243 days. The previous record was set by Leonardo Bonucci (29 years and 57 days at EURO 2016). Donnarumma also became the youngest goalkeeper to hit this milestone in EURO history.
• Dalić took charge of Croatia for the eighth time in a EURO final tournament match, equalling the record of Slaven Bilić.
• This was Croatia's fifth EURO meeting with the reigning EURO champions, with each game coming in the group stages. They beat Denmark 3-0 in 1996, drew 2-2 with France in 2004, lost 1-0 against Spain in 2012 then beat La Roja 2-1 in 2016.

Line-ups

Croatia: Livaković; Stanišić, Šutalo, Pongračić, Gvardiol; Modrić (Majer 80), Brozović, Kovačić (Ivanušec 70); Sučić (Perišić 70), Kramarić (Juranović 90), Mario Pašalić (Budimir 46)

Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Darmian (Zaccagni 81); Barella, Jorginho (Fagioli 81); Raspadori (Scamacca 75), Pellegrini (Frattesi 46), Dimarco (Chiesa 57); Retegui