Euro 2024: Croatia Vs Italia Life And Death Match Both Teams

The Italian national team at Euro 2024 (Instagram @azzuri)

JAKARTA - Euro 2024's third matchday in Group B will bring together Croatia and Italy. The match, which was held at the Leipzig Stadium, Germany on Tuesday, June 25 at 02.00 WIB, will be the dead of the two teams again.

The situation in Group B is getting fiercer because one ticket qualifys for the last 16 has been locked by Spain. There is only one more ticket that must be contested by Italy, Albania, and Croatia.

For that occasion, Italy is quite above because it has pocketed three points. Gli Azzurri also only needed a draw to lock up the runner-up position.

Even though they are in a more profitable position, Italy still has to remain vigilant because poor results could lead them to become caretakers at the end of the standings.

The condition for Italy to qualify for the round of 16 is to win or draw versus Croatia. If it is only a draw, Italy will collect 4 points and ensure the runner-up position.

Although Albania can also get 4 points if it can beat Spain, Italy has a head to head over Albania. But if you lose, Italy must hope Albania doesn't win over Spain and then pray to qualify from one of the best third-placed teams.

Opportunities to escape the road are still open even though Italy will not be calm until the group stage matches are over.

Moreover, there are reports that Federico Dimarco may be absent due to a calf injury.

If it is true that Dimarco is absent, Luciano Spalletti certainly has to think about the alternative. Other players who play poorly against Spain can also be parked, especially Giovanni Di Lorenzo who is the target of Nico Williams.

If it is properly rested, Matteo Darmian can be the right option to replace Di Lorenzo's position.

As for Croatia, their main condition for qualifying for the round of 16 is to win. With a win, Croatia will shift Italy and see the result of the Spanish and Albania matches.

Where if Spain wins or draws, Croatia qualifys as runners-up. But if the winning Albania means Croatia and Albania both have 4 points, the situation will be re-calculated by looking at the goal difference records.

Croatia itself is not too dizzy with all these conditions. Focusing on winning is the main thing because if three points can be achieved, Croatia will have a great chance of qualifying even from one of the best third-placed teams.

To reap maximum results over Italy, Croatia is predicted to continue to rely on its senior players. Experience in dealing with critical situations like this will be very much needed from the figures Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic, and Andrej Kramaric.