Beijing time on June 25th, the final round of the European Cup group stage continued. The two games of Group B started at the same time. Of the four teams, only Spain qualified early, and the duel between Croatia and Italy will determine the fate of the two teams. This time the two teams also tried their best. Croatia was only 1 minute away from qualifying. Italy was tied in the 98th minute. In the end, the two sides tied 1-1. Italy scored 4 points in the group and advanced to second place.
Croatia was disappointing in the first two rounds of the group stage. They defeated Spain 0-3 in the first game. In the second game, they faced Albania, the weakest team in the group, and once completed the reversal, they did not expect to be equalized at the last moment. This also put them into a completely passive situation. They could only qualify by defeating Italy in the last round. They were not disappointed and even saw an opportunity. Unfortunately, they collapsed at the last moment again.
The two teams each had an excellent opportunity in the first half. Unfortunately, the goalkeepers played very well and did not allow their opponents to break through the door. The battle ended in a 0-0 draw. In the second half, Fratesi gave a handball and Croatia had a chance to take the lead. Unfortunately, Modric's penalty was saved by Donnarumma. Fortunately, he made up for it later, and the goalkeeper shot a supplementary shot to break the deadlock. Croatia has been holding on since then. Leading, once they can beat Italy 1-0, they will get second place in the group.
Everyone thought that Croatia would advance successfully. Unexpectedly, in the 98th minute, Italy formed the last attack. Center back Calafioli went all the way forward and passed the ball to the unguarded Zacani in front of the penalty area. The player took a kick and the ball flew into the net in a beautiful arc. The countdown for the last 98 minutes was absolutely level. In this way, the two sides tied 1-1, and Croatia went from qualifying to being on the verge of elimination. With only 2 points, it was very difficult for them to advance as third in the group.
This scene is really desperate. Croatia originally came to the knockout stage, but unexpectedly it was pulled back in the end. After the group stage, Croatia only scored 2 points, while Spain and Italy advanced. The 39-year-old veteran Modric also looked desperate. He was looking forward to it on the bench, but he didn't expect to be tied in the end. He also sat on the bench and watched blankly, a little unable to believe the scene in front of him.
