Croatia vs Italy preview: The Plaid Army has a back-to-back battle, and Modric performs for the curtain call?

Brother Bao loves football

2024-06-24 01:23Published in Zhejiang

At 3 o'clock in the morning on June 25, the third round of Group B of the European Championship will usher in a key battle of Croatia vs Italy. Croatia only accumulated 1 point in the first two group games, 1 draw and 1 loss, and finished at the bottom of the group; Italy has 3 points from 1 win and 1 loss in the first two group games, and is currently ranked second in the group. For Croatia, this game must be won to qualify, and a draw or loss will be eliminated, which will also be the curtain call of Modric in the European Championship; A win or a draw for Italy would be a sure way to qualify, and even if they lose, they could finish third in their group and qualify for the knockout rounds.

Croatia have been one of the most disappointing teams at this tournament, mainly due to the ageing of their midfield, with an average age of 28.5 years for the first game against Spain, 2.2 years older than their opponents, and 29.5 years for the second game against Italy, 2.3 years older than Italy.

Croatia have a total of seven players who have started in the backline in these two games: 22-year-old Gvardiol, 24-year-old Shutalo and Stanisic 24-year-old, 26-year-old Pongracic, 28-year-old Juranovic, 29-year-old Livakovic and 35-year-old Perisic. Among them, Perisic only started one game, and it can be seen that the Croatian backline has been initially renewed.

Seven Croatian midfielders have started in total: 26-year-old Majer, 29-year-old Petkovic, 30-year-old Kovacic, 31-year-old Brozovic, 32-year-old Budimir, 33-year-old Kramaric and 38-year-old Modric. The problem of aging in the midfield, especially in the midfield, is very serious, and Kovacic, the youngest of the starting three in the midfield, is 30 years old, which can be called the oldest average age midfield combination in this European Cup. If Croatia are unable to beat Italy in their last game, this game will also be the curtain call for Luka Modric's European Championships.

In the final do-or-die game against Italy, Croatia may continue to make changes to the starting lineup, with Gvardiol stabilizing in the middle at the back, Perisic continuing to replace Pongracic as left-back, 21-year-old Sucic starting in place of Brozovic to enhance the vitality of the midfield, and Budimir replacing Petkovic to return to the starting lineup. The expected starting line-up is goalkeeper Livakovic, defenders Perisic, Gvardiol, Shutalo and Stanišić, midfielders Mateo Kovacic, Sucic and Luka Modric, and forwards Kramaric, Boudimir and Majer.

As the defending champions, Italy did not look like the defending champions at all, conceding a goal in less than a minute in the first game, but after quickly tying the score, they completely lost the desire to attack; The second game was surrounded by Spain, and if it weren't for the help of the goal frame and Donnarumma's brave performance, I am afraid that it would have been beaten by Spain. But for fans who are familiar with the Italian team, this is Italy, every time they come to the big game, they always stumble, winning is a small win, losing is also a small loss, it always makes people feel hopeless, but it can always bring surprises.

At present, Donnarumma's position in the Italian team is unshakable, he is also the captain of the Italian team, after losing to Spain, Donnarumma publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's performance, believing that the team made too many simple passing mistakes, giving the opponent too much space, the front court could not control the ball, and the back court made mistakes, so it is strange not to lose. I don't know if this bombardment from the captain can make his teammates cheer up in the last game.

The Italian team is dominated by Inter players in the midfield, Bastoni has become the leader of the backline, and his long passes and forward insertions are also the secret weapons of the Italian attack; The insertion of midfielders Barella and Frattesi in the back row is also an important means for the Italian team to score; Compared with the Italy in our impression, today's Italian star is particularly dim, and the forward line is even more so, and it is impossible to find a top striker, so Italy has no big general, and Scamacca is the vanguard.

Italy's starting line-up is expected to be goalkeeper Donnarumma, defenders Di Lorenzo, Calafiori, Bastoni and Darmian, midfielders Jorginho, Barella, Cristante, Cambiaso Jr. and Chiesa Jr., and striker Retegui.

Croatia and Italy have met 6 times in official matches, with a record of 2 wins and 4 draws and remain unbeaten, with the last three meetings between the two teams all drawn, and the score is 1:1. The current situation is that Croatia has a back-to-back battle and must win to qualify, and if it draws, it will only accumulate two points, and it will most likely be eliminated; Italy will definitely qualify if they win or draw, and even if they only have three points from a loss, they may qualify for the third place in the best four groups, and for Italy, the bottom line is not to lose. So in this game, the two teams are likely to draw for the fourth time in a row.

Note: The picture comes from the Internet.

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