Croatia XI that started the 2-2 draw with Albania. Josip Stanišić and Marin Pongračić replace Josip Juranović and Ivan Perišić in defence, while Mario Pašalić and Luka Sučić come in for Bruno Petković and Lovro Majer up top.
Italy coach Luciano Spalletti makes three changes to his side in the wake of the more-comprehensive-than-it-sounds 1-0 defeat by Spain, and they’re all in attack. Out go Davide Frattesi, Gianluca Scamacca and Federico Chiesa; in come Giacomo Raspadori and Mateo Retegui up front, with Matteo Darmain adding some ballast to the back line.
Croatia put up a slightly better show against the Spanish in a 3-0 defeat (funny old scoring system, football) but shipped a late, late, late equaliser against the Albanians. All of which means this …
… which in turn means Croatia almost certainly need to win tonight if they’re to make it through to the knockout stage. This is most likely the last hurrah for their golden generation, who have come second and third at the last two World Cups, and were runners-up in last year’s Nations League. But Croatia have never quite made it at the European Championships: their deepest run, to the quarter-finals in 2008, is best remembered for the wild celebration of a 119th-minute “winner” against Turkey that was equalised in stoppage time before the subsequent inevitable penalty loss. So perhaps the Euros owe them a little something.
The reigning champions Italy face plenty of jeopardy of their own. A draw will be enough to see them through to the knockouts, but if they lose tonight they’d go out should Albania shock Spain – who have already qualified as group winners and could be forgiven for easing off the gas, so nothing’s off the table. Worryingly for the Azzurri, their record against Croatia is not great: in nine matches they’ve only won once, losing three. They’ll gain succour from the fact that the last three meetings between the countries have ended 1-1, which would be more than enough tonight. So with both sides in vague states of desperation, this is poised deliciously. The fun in Leipzig begins at 8pm BST. It’s on!
Source: theguardian.com
