da aviator aposta: The Lazio winger came off the bench to score a last-gasp goal that keeps Italy's title defence alive – but almost certainly eliminates Croatia.
da bet esporte: What a finish! Seriously, what a finish! In every possible way. On an incredibly dramatic night in Leipzig, we saw the end of a glorious era of Croatian football, with Luka Modric's men knocked out of Euro 2024 thanks to the most sublime finish from Mattia Zaccagni with the last kick of the game.
The goal cancelled out Modric's opener, which had come just seconds after the legendary No.10 had seen a penalty saved by the brilliant Gigi Donnarumma, and means Italy progress to the last 16 at the expense of the Croats, who, with just two points to their name after this 1-1 draw, have next-to-no hope of progress as one of the third-place finishers.
Below, GOAL rates all of the Italy players on show as the defending champions kept their title defence alive with a stunning strike in the eight minute of injury time that sets up a meeting with Switzerland in Berlin on Saturday evening…
GettyGoalkeeper & Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma (8/10):
It looked like the goalkeeper's heroics were going to go to waste, which would have been so harsh on Donnarumma, who made some fantastic stops, the pick of which was his penalty save from Modric.
Matteo Darmian (6/10):
Brought into the team to form a back three that looked so comfortable until the penalty sparked chaos. Darmian, though, was decent for the most part.
Alessandro Bastoni (6/10):
Rather damningly, Italy's most dangerous weapon, but twice failed to put away two great chances. Hoovered up possession for Italy but also appeared to duck out of the way of the cross that led to Modric's goal.
Riccardo Calafiori (8/10):
The benefits of playing the versatile Bologna defender on the left-hand side of the back three were there for all to see, as he created two chances in the first half alone before creating the equaliser with a characteristically brilliant break into enemy territory.
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Giovanni Di Lorenzo (5/10):
Credit where it's due, he recovered well from being torn to shreds by Nico Williams, winning plenty of duels. His passing wasn't great, though, and he was too slow to react on Croatia's goal.
Nicolo Barella (6/10):
Caused Croatia problems with his precise and progressive passing in the first half but his influence faded in the second half – when Italy needed their best midfielder most. Still, he kept running – and perhaps more importantly – keeping the ball moving right until the end.
Jorginho (6/10):
A much, much better display from the Arsenal man (which wasn't hard after his shocker against Spain!). He helped Italy take control of the game after a sluggish start, but he was sacrificed in the dying stages as Italy pressed for an equaliser as he was offering nothing offensively.
Lorenzo Pellegrini (4/10):
The only midfielder to really get into dangerous areas in the first half, while he also made a couple of timely interceptions, but he was withdrawn at the break after giving the ball away nine times in 45 minutes.
Federico Dimarco (3/10):
A shockingly ineffective display from the highly-rated Inter wing-back, who contributed little defensively and absolutely nothing going forward before being hauled off before the hour mark.
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Mateo Retegui (6/10):
Seriously lively in the first half, going close with a fine header from an inviting Calafiori cross, but Josko Gvardiol's head deflected the strike wide. Still, probably did enough to hold onto his starting spot.
Giacomo Raspadori (6/10):
A surprise starter and he justified his inclusion by creating four chances in total and working his socks off until he was taken off late on.
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Davide Frattesti (3/10):
Replaced Pellegrini during the interval and almost immediately gave away a penalty with a stray arm.
Fedierico Chiesa (5/10):
Brought on right after Croatia broke the deadlock and was full of intent but only created one decent chance.
Gianluca Scamacca (N/A):
Thrown on for the last 20 minutes after being dropped for this game, but couldn't get on the end of Chiesa's cross.
Nicolo Fagioli (N/A):
Not enough time to impress himself on the game after taking over in midfield from Jorginho.
Mattia Zaccagni (7/10):
Only came on with just over five minutes of normal time remaining but he earned Italy a 1-1 draw – and qualification for the last 16 – with a Del Piero-esque finish right at the death.
Luciano Spalletti (7/10):
The personnel and formation changes worked. Italy played impressively for nearly an hour, looking comfortable at the back and menacing going forward. A minute of madness turned the game on its head but the Azzurri recovered and deservedly got a draw thanks to one of Spalletti's subs, Zaccagni, who also impressed off the bench against Spain.