The Group of Death is at its best in the UEFA Euro. Only Spain have secured their place in the last 16 by winning their first two matches, while the remaining three teams still have a chance to progress into the next round. Italy are the closest to Spain with three points, and a draw should be enough for the Azzurri to secure the Round of 16.

Meanwhile, this UEFA Euro has been a disaster for Croatia. They are yet to register a win from their first two matches, losing one and drawing one. But a win over Italy would change the entire direction for the Croats. With all these equations, Croatia will face off against Italy tomorrow in a do-or-die match at Red Bull Arena.

Croat boss Zlatko Dalic is concerned about the defense as they have conceded five goals in just two matches. He said, “We must remain positive, accept responsibility and correct our mistakes. In Russia [at the 2018 World Cup], we didn’t concede in the group stage; in Qatar [at the 2022 World Cup], only once. Here we’ve already let in five. Every dangerous attack ends up in our net. We need to change our approach and fix it before facing Italy. We have to win – if not, we’re going home.”

Stats & Facts

  • Croatia and Italy have met only twice in major tournaments – one in the FIFA World Cup and the other in the UEFA Euro. Croatia defeated Italy in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, while their only meeting in the UEFA Euro 2012 ended in a 1-1 tie.
  • Croatia have not lost in any of their last eight meetings with Italy, winning three and drawing five games. Additionally, the previous three meetings between the two sides ended in a draw!
  • Italy have lost only one of their last nine final group-stage matches in the UEFA Euros.
  • Croatia have conceded five goals in their first two matches, while only two in this tournament so far.

Team News

Italy boss Luciano Spalletti played the first two matches with an unchanged squad. But a change might come for the match against Croatia as Mateo Retegui potentially replaces Gianluca Scamacca in the front.

As for Croatia, Mario Pasalic and Luka Sucic came off the bench in the second half during the match against Albania. This duo will likely to start against Italy, replacing Marcelo Brozovic and Lovro Majer.

Possible Lineup for Croatia: Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Perisic; Modric, Kovacic; Pasalic, Sucic, Kramaric; Budimir

Possible Lineup for Italy: Donnarumma; Darmian, Bastoni, Calafiori, Dimarco; Cristante, Jorginho; Barella, Pellegrini, Chiesa; Retegui

Prediction: Italy 1-1 Croatia

After being destroyed against Spain, Croatia also struggled with Albania in their following game. But the Croats showed their attacking ability against Albania and secured a hard-fought draw.

As both Italy and Croatia are not in their peak form, we are expecting a draw between the two sides. However, a draw will take Italy into the next round, eliminating Croatia and Albania.

Betfair Odds

Croatia: 3.23

Draw: 3.23

Italy:2.39

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