In an empty stadium, due to UEFA sanction against Croatia, Italy had a rough start. They conceded an early penalty after seven minutes, when Astori fouled Srna in the box. Buffon saved Mandzukic’s penalty, and shortly afterwards, a goal for Italy was disallowed for offside. Whilst the Azzurri were still complaining, Croatia went up the other end and scored through Mandzukic. It was a tough opening 15 minutes for Italy, but the Azzurri started to dictate the game through playmaker Andrea Pirlo. Luck was not on Italy’s side for this fixture: after the numerous injuries suffered in training ahead of the game, the Azzurri suffered further during the first half. De Silvestri was forced to leave the pitch in the 26th minute after a collision with Kovacic, and was replaced by De Sciglio. Buffon was also suffering from a problem with his knee.
Italy had a huge chance to equalize, but El Shaarawy’s close-range effort was easily saved by the Croatian keeper. The equalizer, however, was only a matter of time, as the Azzurri won a penalty in the 35th minute due to a “hand ball” by Mandzukic. Candreva converted Paneka-style from the spot. Pellè had another huge chance in the first half, but the teams went into halftime with the score tied at 1-1.
Buffon did not emerge after halftime because of his knee injury, and was replaced by Sirigu. The Azzurri continued to dictate the game and had three more chances through Marchisio, Pirlo and Parolo, but they all failed to score.
Croatia woke up again in the final stages of the match, with Perisic seeing his long-range effort go just wide of the goal. Conte’s final substitution saw Ranocchia come onto the pitch for the final ten minutes, replacing El Shaarawy. The score did not change before the final whistle, but Croatia did finish the game with ten men, following Srna’s red card in the 89th minute.   ]]>