One of the great things about soccer is that a late goal can change the way you feel about a game.
I feel like I’m being too passive when I say I watched Italy vs. Croatia last night. I endured Italy vs. Croatia. This was not a good football game. There were moments here and there, and a well-blocked header in the first half was the best Italy could muster. Croatia continued to look like a team that was around the block too much, and those old legs couldn’t find the kind of zip they needed.
Then, there was a handball penalty kick in the second half. These days it’s hard to fully understand what handball is and what it isn’t, but this time it seemed fairly clear. Luka Modric stepped up, and while his effort was poor, it was a fantastic save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, the best goalkeeper of the tournament so far, and from what we’ve seen, he may need to keep that up. Italy.
The ball was cleared but Croatia held on and I thought Luka Suchic’s cross back into the box was of excellent quality. The result was Ante Budimir’s quick effort towards goal, but Donnarumma again produced a brilliant save. His defenders watched in admiration rather than reacting, and Modric struck the ball home from close range to make it 1-0.
To be fair to Italy, they responded with some degree of control over their possessions and territories. After the goal they had 76% possession and had 7 shots on target. Croatia did not score a single attempt after scoring. The problem for the Italian team was a real lack of quality once they reached the final third. Bastoni’s best chance was his header from a corner where he should have scored. There was no spark, no zipper, no magic from anyone. The final pass, the final decision, was always poor. Long gone are the days when some Italian teams had special forward players with that little bit of extra ability to help them make breakthroughs.
They have long been critical of Gianluca Scamacca, who was rejected by West Ham. The kind of football Sam Alladic would have truly played if the world had been more open to his tactical genius. There was just nothing in front. So, at key moments, it would have been appropriate for defender Riccardo Calafiori, 22, to try and make something happen after seeing the players ahead of him fail time and time again. In the final minute of the added eight minutes he hit the ball to Mattia Zaccagni on the left flank for his first finish. It couldn’t get any better than thisPerched in the top corner, it guarantees Italian status.
Did Italy deserve it? Not really, but it reminds me of that line from Unforgiven and remember it has nothing to do with it. If so, it would be a bitter blow for Croatia. The excitement on the bench that seemed to be aiming for a scenic spot quickly turned into tears. There was absolutely no feeling over the last 97 minutes that Italy were capable of that level of performance, but that’s the beauty of this game. Even if the overall quality isn’t great, there’s always the potential for drama, and that’s never seemed more real than in this tournament.
Croatia has not yet been officially eliminated. They could be one of the best top 3 teams considering certain results are trending in a good direction, but it’s going to feel like a terrible few days after that late punch.
In the other match, David Raya played as Spain beat Albania 1-0 to top their group. I put it on my laptop at the same time as the Italy game, but it’s too distracting to watch both games at the same time. Ferran Torres’ goal was excellent and overall I think Sylvinho’s work with the Albanian team has been very impressive. This is especially true when you look at the groups they belong to.
Today we have France vs. Poland (Kiwi), Netherlands vs. Austria in the early matches, Denmark vs. Serbia and England vs. Slovenia in the second half. I found Harry Kane and Declan Rice’s comments about former players/pundits to be quite strange. It’s not the media’s job to be a cheerleader and boost the players’ confidence by saying nice things about them.
Are parts of the UK media trending towards OTT? Yes, it’s a very old story. However, the performances so far have been scrutinized/criticized correctly and fairly and it is up to the players to react on the pitch. Let’s see later if they can do that, and if Southgate is brave enough to do what he really needs to do and drop Harry Kane.
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You’ll be able to join the Euro 2024 chat on Patreon in a moment, and if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, there’s a new Arsecast Extra below. I’ll leave it as is for now.
