Italy equalizes against Croatia in the 98th minute with a splendid curling shot by Mattia Zaccagni assisted by Riccardo Calafiori and at the last minute saved second place in group B behind Spain (who finished with full points, with 3 wins out of 3), qualifying for the round of 16 of the 2024 European Championships in Germany. The Azzurri will face Switzerland in Berlin on Saturday 29 June with a place in the quarterfinals at stake.
“You believe in it until the last second, there are moments that become highlights. Since they were behind, a clean exchange could be done. We missed sensational goals. Illogical things still happen, we need to get our head around it. We deservedly got through, then we’ll think about the next games“, the first hot words of Luciano Spalletti.
“Towards the end no one believes it anymore but our team kept a clear head, we must congratulate them for how they managed a team that finished in such an offensive manner on the pitch. We are below level in terms of playing quality, if we achieve little it is because we produce little. I expect more stuff from my players because in some moments they show it to us. Croatia is a great team that can put any group in difficulty“, continues the national coach.
Italy at its last breath! Zaccagni equalizes in the 98th minute and takes the Azzurri to the round of 16 of the European Championships!
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“We were never able to exploit what we could have done tactically. Caution? But what prudence? It’s that more needs to be done at all times. In the first half we lost some balls that we cannot lose, which is prudent. We need to do things better, it has nothing to do with the form, we need to do more, we were a bit shy. We have to do more and we have to be cleaner in some situations, we make mistakes that are not our thing“, adds the Tuscan coach to Sky’s microphones.
