Mattia Zaccagni broke Croatian hearts with a 98th-minute equaliser to send Italy into the Euro 2024 last 16 and put their opponents on the brink of elimination.
Luka Modric’s dramatic opener seemed set to send Croatia into the knockouts but instead, it will be Italy who take on Switzerland in Berlin on Saturday after securing second place in Group B behind Spain in sensational scenes in Leipzig.
With just two points, Croatia now need England to beat Slovenia by at least three goals on Tuesday if they are to progress as one of the best third-placed sides.
With the clock running down, Italy were desperate. Gianluigi Donnarumma had saved Modric’s second-half spot-kick – after Davide Frattesi was penalised for handball after a VAR check – but the 38-year-old magician converted from close range 33 seconds later before celebrating emotionally with his team-mates.
When Modric was subbed off with 10 minutes of normal time remaining he was given a standing ovation by the Croatia supporters. It looked like his latest magic moment would send Croatia once more into a major tournament knockout adventure. Instead, his 178th cap looks likely to be his final major tournament appearance for his country.
Alessandro Bastoni wasted another big, headed chance to go with his effort which was brilliantly saved by Dominik Livakovic early on and Gianluca Scamacca failed to turn in Federico Chiesa’s low cross as Italy frantically searched for an answer. But it was sub Zaccagni who came up with his first international goal to transform the narrative.
Riccardo Calafiori burst forward and then fed the Lazio winger in the left channel. His curled, right-footed finish was exquisite, bending inside the far post. A moment of beauty – but a brutal blow for Croatia.
The joy… and the despair!
Image: Italy’s Mattia Zaccagni bends in his brilliant, last-gasp equaliser…
Image: …and runs off to celebrate.
Image: The contrast in emotions was huge…
Image: …but it was all pain for Luke Modric on what is almost certainly his final major tournament appearance
Spain made a winning start to Euro 2024 as they outclassed Group B rivals Croatia to claim a 3-0 victory at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
Inspired by Barcelona phenomenon Lamine Yamal, making history as the youngest player ever to feature at a European Championship – aged 16 years and 338 days, Luis de la Fuente’s side scored all three of their goals in a one-sided first half.
The first two came in the space of three minutes as captain Alvaro Morata buried a one-on-one chance from Fabian Ruiz’s incisive through-ball, before the midfielder twisted and turned in the Croatia box and rifled home the second goal himself.
Image: Lamine Yamal is tracked by Josko Gvardiol
Yamal was involved in the build-up to Fabian’s goal and provided the assist for the third when his superb cross was poked in by Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal for his first international goal, only two weeks after he scored in the Champions League final.
Croatia, led by 38-year-old Luka Modric, playing in his ninth major tournament, surprisingly had a higher share of possession than Spain but their defensive sloppiness was ruthlessly punished and, at the other end, they failed to capitalise on their openings.
Marc Cucurella cleared a Josip Stanisic effort off the line in the second half and Croatia then saw a late goal ruled out for encroachment after substitute Bruno Petkovic had won a penalty off Rodri following an error by Unai Simon, then scored from the rebound after the Spain goalkeeper saved his spot-kick.
Player ratings
Spain: Simon (6), Carvajal (8), Le Normand (7), Nacho (7), Cucurella (8), Pedri (7), Rodri (7), Fabian (8), Yamal (8), Williams (7), Morata (8).
The result represents a near-perfect start to the tournament for Spain, the only concern being an apparent knock to Rodri which saw the Manchester City midfielder substituted late on.
Star performer: Lamine Yamal outstanding
At 16 years and 338 days old, Yamal smashed the youngest-player record previously set by Poland’s Kacper Kozlowski, who featured at the last European Championship aged 17 years and 246 days.
If that was not enough of a feat in itself, the precocious Barcelona winger went on to play a crucial role in the victory, causing problems for Croatia right up until his 86th-minute substitution.
The highlight of his performance was the delicious, diagonal cross to set up the third goal but there were plenty of other eye-catching moments as he exploited the space behind Croatia left-back Josko Gvardiol to deadly effect, his speed, vision and one-on-one ability shining through in a thrilling display.
When Spain kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Croatia in Berlin, the identity of the opposition will mean more to Dani Olmo. He was 16 when he moved to Zagreb. “Would I be the player I am now if I would have stayed? I think not,” he told Sky Sports.
Olmo had been a young hopeful in Barcelona’s famed academy, dreaming of following Andres Iniesta and so many before him into the first team. But this future Spain international midfielder, now a regular for the national side, took a different route to the top.
The move to Dinamo Zagreb in 14 was as unusual then as it is now. Financial realities mean that the familiar journey is from east to west. But Olmo and his family identified another path for him, one that they hoped would fast-track his progress.
Olmo’s rabona was nearly the Bundesliga assist of the season
It worked, proving to be a learning experience on the pitch and off it. Olmo would go on to spend six seasons in Croatia during which he made over 100 appearances for the first team, winning multiple trophies and growing as a player and a person.
“In Croatia, it was another culture and I learned a lot physically. In Spain, it was more about the ball, especially at Barcelona when I was young in the academy. I learned things in Croatia. I also learned a lot of things here in Germany. It is all part of the process.
“But Croatia, in particular, helped me a lot. I was 16 and training with national team players who had played at World Cups. That was such a big step for me. It made me improve as a player physically and mentally because the game was faster and everything.”
Speaking to Olmo earlier this season, before he knew the identity of Spain’s opponents in their group, he was open about the challenges that the move presented as a teenager. Were there really no doubts when making that decision to walk away from Barcelona?
“Honestly, never,” he said. “I knew from the first day that this was my goal. Of course, there were good moments and not so good. This is normal. But after I started playing regularly when I was 18, playing in Europe, everything was perfect. I had made it.”
‘They would have said I was a lunatic’
Speaking to Romeo Jozak about this, the club’s former academy director explained just why Olmo’s move was so seismic. “I love Dinamo, it is my club. But just imagine how hard it was for him to go from Barcelona to Dinamo Zagreb. How can you even compare?”
He added: “When I started in the academy, getting one of Barcelona’s best young players to come to Dinamo would have been impossible. They would have said I was a lunatic. But because of our image, because of our pathway, Olmo made that move.
“Together with his parents, he put the numbers together. He knew he would get a chance at Barcelona B but he had all these names in front of him. His father was humble enough and smart enough to analyse the environment and the clubs all around Europe.
Image: Olmo has never regretted his decision to join Dinamo Zagreb as a teenager
“He realised that we were the ones giving the best young players their opportunity. We were doing it for business reasons, of course, because you want to sell the player down the line, but the pathway was there for him. There was a pure logic to it.
“Even so, it was a big decision. Barcelona was sunny but when the planes land in Zagreb in November you have to be careful. Croatia has nice weather generally but where the capital is it can snow and it can rain, it can get very windy and foggy there.
“But he kept fighting and performing, showing this ambition. As a teenage kid, he must have had doubts, but his parents and his representatives had a vision and he stuck at it, I have not seen that often. You have to respect that decision. He deserves huge respect.”
Spain’s Group B fixtures
Jun 15: Spain vs Croatia, Berlin
Jun 20: Spain vs Italy, Gelsenkirchen
Jun 24: Albania vs Spain, Dusseldorf
Olmo’s connection to Croatia remains
That respect should be mutual when the game in Berlin comes around. Olmo’s ties to Croatia remain. When he joined the Common Goal initiative, he chose to donate one per cent of his salary in support of a charity helping victims of conflict in the region.
That respect should be mutual when the game in Berlin comes around. Olmo has gone on to success in Germany, becoming a key player for RB Leipzig and is now being linked with a move to bigger clubs as his career continues to progress. But ties to Croatia remain.
Watch how Olmo’s hat-trick ruined Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich debut
When he joined the Common Goal initiative, the pledge-based charitable movement launched by Olmo’s compatriot Juan Mata in 2017, he chose to donate one per cent of his own salary in support of a charity helping victims of conflict in the region.
“I have been collaborating with them for a long time. I wanted to help because I feel really attached to Croatia. As a player but as well as a person. I wanted to give back a little of what they gave me. I have had this opportunity to help. It is a nice experience for me.”
It is a further reminder that while he will be wearing the red of Spain, he is a product of both nations. Indeed, for Jozak and others within Dinamo Zagreb, the sense of pride at his success is particularly strong. “Who produced him? Not Barcelona. We did.”
