Croatia and Italy draw a blank

Ten-man Italy and Croatia just kept alive their hopes in UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group B as they played out a goalless draw in Mondeville.

Both teams needed a positive result after losing their opening games and each created chances in an entertaining first half which was shaded by Croatia. Italy left-back Michelangelo Albertazzi collected two yellow cards in as many minutes just before the hour, and Croatia came close to snatching all three points when Arijan Ademi's shot struck the post late on. The pair therefore trail second-placed Portugal by two points, and each must win their last match to have a chance of joining section winners Spain in the semi-finals.

Initially Croatia looked the more likely to respond positively to their Matchday 1 setback, Filip Ozobić's free-kick drawing a diving stop from Simone Colombi with only three minutes on the clock. Ante Vukušić then cleverly tricked his way past Luca Caldirola only to shoot too high from the angle.

Roberto Punčec and Ademi both also went close as Croatia seized the early initiative, but Italy slowly worked their way back into the match and Mattia Destro – the top scorer in qualifying with eight goals – forced Matej Delač to punch away his free-kick just past the half-hour. Minutes later Tomislav Glumac had to clear away Fabio Borini's effort from virtually under his own crossbar.

Croatia began the second half as they had the first, Ozobić flashing a shot just past the post and a stretching Mario Tičinović heading too high before Albertazzi's 59th-minute dismissal. It might have been even worse for the Azzurrini, Ademi heading the resulting free-kick into the side-netting and Colombi touching over Zvonko Pamić's header shortly afterwards.

Ten minutes from time the Italy goalkeeper was beaten by Ademi's bouncing 30-metre shot, but the left-hand post came to his rescue, while at the other end Delač was equal to Destro's well-struck effort as the teams strived in vain for a breakthrough. In their final fixtures on Saturday, Croatia play Portugal while Italy take on section winners Spain.