(Munich) The miracle of Leipzig: almost eliminated as added time came to an end, Italy, defending champion, equalized against Croatia and qualified on Monday for the round of 16 of Euro 2024 , leaving Luka Modric’s Croatia on the edge of the precipice.
At the final whistle, they all fell to the ground, the Italians and the Croats, the miraculous and the cursed.
A few seconds earlier, in the eighth and final minute of added time, winger Mattia Zaccagni had scored a superb curling shot, the first fair move of the evening from an Italian striker, to beat Dominik Livakovic (1- 1, 90 8).
With this goal, the Azzurri stunned the Croats and at the last minute offered themselves a ticket for the final table and for a round of 16 against Switzerland.
It came down to very little, but the title holders are still alive while the team with the checkered flag is in a very bad position.
With its two small points, Croatia will now have to wait for the results in the coming days to know if there is a small place left for it in the final table.
With its replacements, Spain, one of the favorites for Euro 2024, continued its flawless performance on Monday in Düsseldorf by beating 1-0 an Albania team that was limited at the start, then revitalized, and finally eliminated.
Luis de la Fuente’s team drew on their bench, but not really their reserves, to end the first round with three wins, no goals conceded and a welcome breather for their starters.
The coach had the peace of mind of someone who is already qualified, with first place in Group B secure, even before kick-off.
