Italy drew 1-1 with Croatia and secured a place in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 thanks to Mattia Zaccagni’s goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
The tie guarantees second place in Group B for Italy, current European champions. The draw puts them above Croatia, who had led the game since Luka Modrić’s 55th-minute goal.
With the Italians pushing for a vital equalizer, Riccardo Calafiori’s pass split the Croatian defense and found Zaccagni, who curled a shot past goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.
Croatia had their sights set on overtaking Italy and moving into second place in the group after Modrić’s goal ended a wild minute-long run in the game.
Italian Davide Frattesi was cited for a handball in his own box, which was confirmed following a VAR review. Up came Modrić, who tried to go to the bottom right corner, but saw his shot denied by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Croatia retained possession and Luka Sučić’s cross into the Italian box was deflected into the goal by Ante Budimir. The attempt was saved by Donnarumma, but Modrić was on the spot to score the rebound.
The goal made Modrić the oldest player to score at the Euros, at 38 years and 289 days.
Ivica Vastić, who played for Austria between 1996 and 2008, was the previous record holder, aged 38 years and 257 days, when he scored against Poland at Euro 2008.
Spain’s 1–0 victory over Albania earned them the group title, with Italy finishing second. Croatia must now wait and see if they finish as one of the top four third-placed teams among all participating nations.
GROUP B
*Spain – 9 points
*Italy – 4 points
Croatia – 2 points
Albania – 1 point
*advance to the knockout stage
