The Croatian national team was unable to defend its lead against Italy in the third round of the 2024 European Championship group stage, largely due to the fatigue of older players. Former head coach of the Russian national team Boris Ignatiev stated this in a comment to socialbites.ca.
“I believe the Croatians are underachieving due to the number of older players. They lack the range of movement and speed, all this was noticeable against the background of general fatigue. So, while some were on vacation, others were on standby,” says Ignatiev.
The match between Croatia and Italy ended with a score of 1:1. The first goal of this match came from 38-year-old Luka Modric in the 55th minute of the match. At the moment of the stoppage time, Italy equalized the score; 90+8. Mattia Zaccagni sent the ball to the goal in the minute.
Italy ranked second in the group after Spain. Italy won their first match against Albania with a score of 2:1, then lost to Spain (0:1). This allowed the team to pick up four points and qualify for the European Championship play-offs.
The Croatian team took third place in the group by collecting two points. Croatians lost 0:3 to the Spanish national team in the first match, and drew with the Albanian national team in the second round; The match ended with a score of 2:2.
The Italian national team is currently European champion.
Previously coach of Gladilin statedAn interesting match awaits the Netherlands and Austria at the 2024 European Championship.