Yesterday, we learned the teams that qualified from Quartet B. And while Spain easily won the group, the battle for second place in the qualifiers was a life-and-death affair. The teams left all the drama for the second half, and there was a lot of nerves.
In the last seconds, Italy managed to turn its bus into an attacking one and finally win. OBOZ.UA talks about the decisive battle of the death group, which turned out to be really fantastic.
Starting lineups Italy: Donnarumma - Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Darmian - Barella, Giorgino - Raspadori, Pellegrini, Dimarco - Retegi Croatia: Livakovic - Stanisic, Šutalo, Pongračić, Guardiola - Modric, Brozović, Kovacic - Sučić, Kramaric, Pasealic The first half. Calmness versus haste Croatia started the game with reconnaissance: they needed to understand how the opponent would act in the defensive phase. The Italians' first touch of the ball came in the 4th minute! Donnarumma made it when a long possession by the Croats ended in a clearance.
It's easy to explain: before the game, many said that the Balkans should be more aggressive and score first to control the game. That's why Squadra Azzurra was looking closely and cautiously waiting for the Croatians to get tired. They were also satisfied with a draw, as it was not bad to sit back.
Italy's passive play postponed its switch on. In the first half, they abandoned dangerous passes and counterattacks. The maximum was a large-scale pressure and 6 players close to Livak.
