Tuesday | June 25, 2024

Croatia needed three maximum points to keep their hopes alive at the UEFA European Championship 2024 last night in Leipzig, Germany. 

But Italy has other ideas. They wanted surety to remain in contention for the 17th edition of the continental top honours.

Held in Leipzig Stadium, Croatia dictated play for the most part of the game but goals were few and far between.

However, Croatia had a sniff through a penalty that team captain Luka Modric squandered just a few minutes from the halftime break.

Few seconds later, he pounced on a rebound to give his countrymen a rare one-goal lead on the 55th minute to inspire them.

When it seemed Croatians had this one in the bag, the current holders, Italy, pulled a stoppage-time equaliser, thanks to Mattia Zaccagni in the 98th minute.

And the Croatians were crestfallen and defeated.

Italy’s tally went up to four (4) points flowing from the draw. They secured an automatic qualification behind Group B leaders, Spain.

For their part, the Spanish sunk Albania to the bottom of the group through a 1-0 scoreline in a fixture played simultaneously at Duesseldorf Arena in Düsseldorf.

Thus, finishing on top with nine (9) points from their three consecutive wins.

Albania finished with a single point from their draw with Croatia which means an outright elimination.

Meanwhile the latter ended the group stages in 3rd position with two (2) points. And it looks like they will not benefit from the last four spots to be contested by the four best 3rd-place finishers among the six groups (A-F).

Tonight

Tuesday,  June 25 EURO 2024

Group D Fixtures:

France 🇫🇷 vs Poland 🇵🇱 at BVB Stadion Dortmund (Dortmund) – 18h00

Netherlands 🇳🇱 vs Austria 🇦🇹 at Olympiastadion (Berlin) – 18h00

Group C Fixtures

England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs Slovenia 🇸🇮 at Cologne  Stadium (Cologne) – 21h00

Denmark 🇩🇰 vs Serbia 🇷🇸 at Munich Football Arena (Munich) – 21h00