1-1 draw with Croatia. Spalletti puts a compact team on the pitch. At the beginning of the second half we fell apart. Final desperate assault and qualifying goal
Italy’s forward #20 Mattia Zaccagni celebrates scoring a goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B football match between Croatia and Italy at the Leipzig Stadium in Leipzig on June 24, 2024. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
Zaccagni saves Italy in the 97th minute. But we saw something, especially in the first half
Italy can do it. In the 97th minute. With Zaccagni putting it into the top corner. Giving him the ball is Calafiori who pushes himself to FRanco Baresi and then passes it to him, Zaccagni doesn’t take any time to ask, he shoots and scores. It’s one to one. Let’s avoid repechage. We will play against Switzerland on Saturday evening.
It’s not easy to comment on Italy-Croatia. Spalletti set it up well. Italian style. It probably forced his nature. In our opinion, obviously, he did well. Even though he complained after the match that he was excessively shy. Maybe And in fact he didn’t have the courage to continue the whole match like this. Or maybe we couldn’t stand their pressure at the start of the second half. Forcing not even that irresistible. She seemed to be lost. One nil. Goal from Modric who also missed a penalty. But Zaccagni equalized in the 98th minute. And we’re in the round of 16.
Spalletti had started well. We liked him. Today it is called density. And he put a lot of density on the pitch. He fielded the most compact team possible. Centered on five defenders. Three very respectable central defenders: Darmian, Bastoni, Calafiori. With Di Lorenzo and Dimarco on the flanks. Tortoise again. One of those teams that discourages opponents just by looking at it: now how do we score against them? Up there Gianni Brera couldn’t believe his eyes, he nudged Gianni Mura, with at least (at least) two nice bottles of Barbacarlo already open. At the reading of formations they toasted with smiles on their faces.
The surprise was ahead: Chiesa and Scamacca on the bench, leaving room for Retegui and Raspadori. The start was timid, then the Azzurri melted away. They played very well. As Jorginho explained: they played like this to attract them and start again. They also came close to scoring with Bastoni. At the end of the first half, ball possession Croatia 62% Italy 38%. Breathe deeply, it’s pure air. Also because at the end of the fair we were the most dangerous.
Then, however, the start of the second half turned everything upside down. Spalletti brought in Frattesi for Pellegrini: technical choice. The intention was to be more dangerous. Mal blamed him for it. Their goal arrived on time. First a penalty kick on Frattesi’s naive hands. But Donnarumma relaxed and reminded Modric of Ancelotti’s words on the eve of the European Championships: «Italy has only one champion: Donnarumma». A minute after the penalty saved, we conceded a goal. The defense perhaps got distracted, Budimir turned in a cross: Gigio blocked it but Modric was there and scored.
At that point, lost after lost, Italy rushed forward. Spalletti has tried them all. Inside Church, Scamacca, Zaccagni, Fagioli. Lots of forcing, no roast. It seemed over. But Calafiori and Zaccagni took care of it.
