Croatia v Italy LIVE: Reaction as Azzurri snatch las-gasp equaliser to go through

And so Italy became the first team to go where no other nation among the favourites at Euro 2024 have bothered, or dared, or thought worthwhile, so far.

No, not to go all-out-attack and wipe the floor with an opponent – Germany did that on the opening night. Not to drop a big name, either, or to leave out a leading goalscorer.

Instead, Luciano Spalletti ensured the Azzurri were the first of the big guns to attempt to show their tactical proficiency in more than one distinct shape, altering their set-up from a back four and wide forwards in the opening two fixtures to line up 3-5-2 against Croatia in their decisive Group B encounter.

Against Spain in particular, their wide players had failed to have any kind of impact and Federico Chiesa was one of those to pay the price, making way as Spalletti’s alterations saw a roving two-man strikeforce come into play, Gianluca Scamacca also pulled into bench duty, key man from the qualifying campaign Giacomo Raspadori replacing him and Matteo Darmian starting as a third central defender.

It lasted an hour, before panic mode set in.

It is a fair walk from Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof to the Merkur Spiel-Arena. It clocks in at around 90 minutes, typically, although it feels much longer in 27 degrees of heat, with the spring sun glancing off the surface of the Rhine and slow-roasting your cheeks. Still, the long, straight, riverside route is scenic, and on Monday evening the blue of the Rhine was balanced out by the streams of red on its bank, as swathes of Albanians and Spaniards made their final pre-game trek of the group stage.

For the Albanians, it would be their last at Euro 2024, full stop. Not that they saw that as an inevitability before kick-off.

They outnumbered the Spanish supporters convincingly on this particular path, and they were in jubilant voices and seemingly confident spirits. Near the start of the route, at a junction by Oberkasseler bridge, the fans who had opted against walking to the stadium were either driving or hanging out of cars – the latter group sang and waved flags; the former blared their horns, having tied the national crest to their bonnets.

If this was very much the night’s second match, those watching Italy-Croatia may have missed the chance to see the fifth-best team a Euro 2024. That just happens to be Spain football’s second team, who kept playing with a fluidity beyond virtually everyone else at the tournament.

They had many of the same qualities as the first team, if also the same flaws in the finishing. That didn’t matter here, as they beat Albania football 1-0 to make it a perfect three wins from three in the group stage. They will now surely look to become the first European champions to win all their games, something no one has yet done, even in the 16-team era. That is what Spain should be aiming for.

This isn’t to diminish Albania, who did eventually up it at the end as they knew they had a chance to stay in this competition but they couldn’t get close enough. They sank to their knees in disappointment at the end, but there was probably considerable exhaustion from chasing passes in that too.

Here’s that Zaccagni goal in real time. What a superb finish!

So Spain and Italy advance from Group B for certain. Croatia face a nervous wait to see if they’ll be in the next round.

Italy will face Switzerland in Berlin on Saturday, 29 June at 5pm BST.

Spain do not yet know their opponents, but they know they will be playing on 30 June at 8pm BST in Cologne. They will play the third-placed team from one of Group A, D, E or F.

So, this is how Group B looks after the final round of games.

1 (Q) – Spain – 9 points, GD +5

2 (Q) – Italy – 4 points, GD +1

3 – Croatia – 2 points, GD -3

4 – Albania – 0 points, GD -2

Unbelievable emotion at the end there. The difference between the Italian and Croatian players.

There’s no more time for a Croatia attack and the game ends 1-1!

Italy are through in second place, and Croatia will likely be out!

GOAL! Unbelievable ending and Italy are level and heading through in second!

It’s a brilliant goal too. Calafiori collects the ball near halfway and the space opens up in front of him. he surges towards the box before laying it off to Zaccagni on the left. He hits it first time, curling an inch-perfect effort into the side-netting of the far corner!

Croatia think they’re through on goal but Bastoni was fouled.