The Round of 16 of the 2024 European Championship will take place against Italy in Switzerland and Berlin on June 29. The defending champions looked like losers for a long time against Croatia. Mattia Saccagni scored in the 98th minute to level the final score at 1-1. While the defending champions were in football heaven, the Croatians were devastated. Tears flowed after the final whistle and the end of the European Championship was sealed. Croatians are always a good competitive team. In the last two World Cups, they have been in the semi-finals or finals.
The tragic man of the match was Luka Modric. With a 1–0 goal in the 55th minute, he became the oldest goalscorer in European Championship history at 38 years and 289 days. Matric converted Ivica Vastic, who scored at the age of 38 years and 257 days at the 2008 domestic European Championship, in a 1–1 draw against Poland. The goal certainly caused a complete confusion of Croatian emotions. Because just 31 seconds (!) earlier, the six-time Champions League winner was beaten by a penalty from Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Croatian media will continue to write about whether Modric is too old for this European Championship.
The draw marked Italy’s fifth successive defeat in the knockout rounds of the European Championship. What remains is that Italy have not conceded a goal in the last six European Championships.
More about the Euro
