June 25th 2024.
In a thrilling match in Berlin, Italy's Mattias Zaccagni scored a last-minute equalizer against Croatia to secure their spot in the Euro 2024 group stage. Meanwhile, Spain continued their dominant performance in Group B with a 1-0 win over Albania in the final round of group play.
Croatia came out with an aggressive mindset, knowing that only a win would guarantee their advancement into the round of 16. Luka Sucic had the first opportunity of the game, unleashing a powerful shot from 20 meters that forced Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to make a spectacular save.
Italy took some time to settle into the game, but they came close to scoring in the 20th minute when Mateo Retegui headed a cross from Ricaardo Calafiori towards the goal. However, Croatia's goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic made a crucial save to keep the score level.
As the first half came to a close, Italy had a couple of great chances to take the lead, but Croatia's defense, led by Livakovic, managed to keep them at bay. The second half started with Croatia taking the lead through Luka Modric's penalty, which was initially saved by Donnarumma but was eventually tapped in by Modric himself.
Italy responded with a relentless attack on Croatia's goal, as they needed at least a draw to secure their place in the next round. However, Croatia's defense held strong, denying Italy's Alessandro Bastoni and Lorenzo Pellegrini from finding the back of the net.
With time running out, it seemed like Croatia would hold on for the win, but Italy had one more trick up their sleeve. Calafiori made a brilliant run down the flank before setting up Zaccagni, who beautifully curled the ball into the top right corner from the edge of the box, leaving Croatia stunned.
In the other Group B match, Spain continued their impressive run with a 1-0 victory over Albania, thanks to a goal from Ferran Torres. With these results, Spain finished on top of the group with 9 points, followed by Italy, Croatia, and Albania.
As the group stage came to an end, the top two teams from each group and the best four third-place finishers would advance to the round of 16 knockout stage. Italy and Spain had already secured their spots, while Croatia and Albania would have to wait for the results of the other groups to see if they would move on to the next round.
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