An incredible finish by Mattia Zaccagni in the 98th minute broke Croatian hearts, allowing Italy to progress into the round-of-16. Conversely, Croatia are highly unlikely to progress with their destiny out of their hands. Luka Modrić looked to be the hero of the night for so long, but it was Zaccagni who stole the show right in the very last minute.
With Italy claiming three points this evening, it saw them finish runners-up of the group. Spain have topped the group of death, while Albania going home with Croatia more than likley to join them.
Here are FromTheSpot’s player ratings for the game:
Croatia
Dominik Livaković – 7
The goalkeeper made numerous superb saves throughout the night to give his side a shot at progressing. He kept the Italians out right until the death and was unlucky not to keep his clean sheet.
Josip Stanišić – 7
Dealt with the Italian pressure well, right up until the very last moment
Josip Šutalo – 6
He switched off for the goal, with a lapse in concentration at the very last moment .
Marin Pongračić – 6
Like his fellow Croatian defenders, they defended well and kept the Italians out, but it just wasn’t quite enough to get over the line.
Joško Gvardiol – 6
Looked comfortable in the left-back position, with some dangerous runs down the left-hand side
Luka Modrić – 8
The veteran controlled the midfield and was urging his team on throughout the night, in a must-win game for Croatia. Despite his missed penalty after a tame effort, it took only one minute to make up for his mistake. He smashed it in from the rebounded to give his side the lead.
Marcelo Brozović – 7
He gave it his all and looked heartbroken when the final whistle went. Controlled the midfield alongside Kovačić
Mateo Kovačić – 7
He was a key part in Croatian midfield, he dealt with the battle against the trio of Italians in the middle of the park well.
Luka Sučić – 6
He was close to grabbing his first goal for Croatia and putting his side ahead just 5 minutes in, with his powerful effort tipped behind.
Andrej Kramarić – 7
He won the penalty, with his strike on goal blocked by the hand of Davide Frattesi. Didn’t pose much of a threat in the first half when playing as a number nine but looked better when he drifted out onto the left flank.
Mario Pašalić – 6
Didn’t offer much on the wing and had a quiet night.
Substitutes
Ante Budimir – 7
He made an instant impact off the bench, forcing Gianluigi Donnarumma into a sensational save before Modrić followed in. He will claim the assist for that one.
Ivan Perišić – N/A
Luka Ivanušec – N/A
Lovro Majer – N/A
Josip Juranović – N/A
Italy
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 8
It was a fine performance from the Paris Saint Germain keeper. He guessed the right way for Modrić’s penalty, to keep the score level. He made an excellent save to deny Ante Budimir, with the keeper able to very little about the follow-up.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 5
Found himself in advanced positions, but his quality at the crucial moments was below par. The Napoli wing-back was not where to be seen when Modrić opened the scoreline.
Alessandro Bastoni -6
The centre-back should have grabbed his second goal of the tournament, with his headed effort from point-blank denied. A solid performance defensively, nevertheless.
Riccardo Calafiori – 7
Teed up his teammate for the late leveller with a brilliant ball, as well as disciplined performance at the back. The versatile defender caused a lot of problems for Croatia throughout the night with his passing ability.
Matteo Darmian – 5
He could have dealt with the opening goal better and had a quiet game in the left-back position. He looked comfortable playing in a back three.
Nicoló Barella – 7
He was the one in midfield looking for that killer ball and looked the creative spark for Gli Azzuri. Not successful all the time, but he can be praised for his efforts to look forward when Italy needed it most.
Jorginho – 5
Nothing stood out about the Arsenal’s midfielder’s performance, and with that, he also didn’t put a foot wrong.
Giacomo Raspadori – 6
Didn’t make a real impact for Italy but found himself in the right positions at times, throughout the night
Lorenzo Pellegrini – 5
The midfielder was withdrawn after 45 minutes, but he was getting into dangerous positions in the first period. He wasn’t as effective as he could have been.
Federico Dimarco – 5
He was finding a lot of joy on the left-hand side, however as we’ve seen before in this tournament, his end-product and crossing wasn’t anywhere near good enough.
Mateo Retegui – 7
He looked lively in attack, being unlucky not to put away one of his chances. His best chance came from a header deflecting just wide.
Substitutes
Davide Fratessi -5
His first involvement game isn’t one he’ll want to look back on, giving away the penalty after sticking an arm out.
Federico Chiesa – 6
He posed a threat from the minute he came on, with his pace and direct play on the wing.
Mattia Zaccagni – 8
Is there a better way to announce yourself from the bench than scoring a last minute equaliser to put your side into the next round-of-16? A sensational and composed finish from the substitute found the top corner, with his first-time finish being the last kick of the game.
Gianluca Scamacca – N/A
Nicolò Fagioli – N/A
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