⚽ UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany ⚽ - Qualifiers👉Group Stage👉1/8

[Sim_card]

~Snip

I dont think the Spain game will be that special, it stand right now 1-0 and Spain maybe to score another 1-2 goals. Italy against Croatia is exciting, there are good chances on both sides. Italy had the better and it was very close, which is nice to see. So I will watch the game, there has to be a powerplay towards the end of the game. Otherwise one of the two teams will have to go home after the game. sS far there have been 6 shots on goal and many corner kicks, and there are 30 minutes, so there is a lot going on.

You are right, Spain's matches are no longer interesting to watch when they no longer have any obstacles to qualifying for the round of 16. Croatia, who need to win first, is much more interesting even though so far neither team has found a goal. Croatia dominated possession of the ball, but they had minimal opportunities so the expected goal never came.

Italy still has a defensive style of play, but they try to attack and shoot a lot more. This is a life and death match for Croatia, if they lose or draw then it is certain that Croatia will be the team that goes home with great disappointment. The scenario that could make Croatia qualify is that they win or draw, while Albania loses to Spain. The first half was almost over, while Spain led the score 1-0.

Italy is known with their defensive pattern of football. Perhaps they did more attacking than defending because they were in charge of the midfield which was an advantage to them. If Croatia wants to score Italy it is will difficult for them to penetrate their into the box, so they should take shots from outside the box. It was a goalless first half and I hope the second half one of the teams will be able to break the deadlock. Spain is on the lead with 1-0 and currently they are on 9 points without losing or drawing any of their matches.

[Sexylizzy2813]

Today, the final matches of Group B, often referred to as the ‘group of death,’ are about to begin. It’s an exciting group indeed. Albania will face Spain, while Croatia will take on Italy. Tonight, both Albania and Croatia need victories to advance to the next round. Spain has already secured their place in the Round of 16, barring any major surprises, Spain is expected to secure first place in the group, with Italy following closely in second.

It is indeed a group of death but I wasn't expecting the Croatia team to be at this poor performance in this tournament, they should have made it hard for both Italy and Spain but they seem to be struggling to getting things done properly in the group stage starting from the beginning. As it is the Croatia team are already close to the exit door of the tournament and maybe a win can keep them going since they have been the one possessing the ball more than Italy and the second half might be for the Croatia side, I hope. As for Albania they're already out and Spain might be getting more goals in the second half.

[Stepstowealth]

I dont think the Spain game will be that special,

Italy vs Croatia game is more serious, Italy is fighting to remain in second position so that they can qualify for the round of 16 stage of the competition alongside Spain who have already secured their place. The Italians defend very well, and Croatians may need to start firing shots from outside to try beat Donnarumma.  The two coaches have made changes in the second half which means that they intend to make sure that they win this game, If the Italians who are the defending champion make any mistake, the Croatians I am sure will be ready to take it.

[Moreno233]

What a dramatic match tonight between Croatia and Italy. Just when I thought that Luka Modric have failed his country by missing a very crucial penalty, within a minute he corrected that mistake by scoring a very fantastic goal to put Croatia back into the game with a very high hope of qualifying for the knockout stage. Indeed Modric is an icon in football. 58 minutes into the match and it is 1-0 in the favor of Croatia and there is high tension in the match and so much uncertainty hovering both sides. This should be the most interesting match I have watch in this tournament.

[CryptoBuds]

What a dramatic match tonight between Croatia and Italy. Just when I thought that Luka Modric have failed his country by missing a very crucial penalty, within a minute he corrected that mistake by scoring a very fantastic goal to put Croatia back into the game with a very high hope of qualifying for the knockout stage. Indeed Modric is an icon in football. 58 minutes into the match and it is 1-0 in the favor of Croatia and there is high tension in the match and so much uncertainty hovering both sides. This should be the most interesting match I have watch in this tournament.

Croatia must win this match if they want to qualify for the next round. Italy, on the other hand, need a draw. But at the moment Croatia team is leading 1-0. Luka Modrich scored the only goal for Croatia.

Croatia and Italy have been performing cautiously since the start of the match. Croatia was very tactical in this match. They are not interested in conceding goals. Croatia kept their defense strong in this match. And very few attacks. But almost every attack by Croatia was very planned and powerful. So luka modrich managed to score in the 55th minute. The current champion Italy team will not be able to qualify for the round of 16 if they do not get any points from this match. It is sad that the champion team will be eliminated in the first round.

[skarais]

What a tense drama occurred in the Italy vs Croatia match. Why not, Croatia, who had hoped to win, actually had to concede a goal in the last minute which changed the score to 1-1. Mattia Zaccagni was a savior for Italy which also made Luciano Spalletti run happily along the side of the field. Spain won all matches and achieved 9 points, while Italy was runner up with 4 points from 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss.

The Croatian players naturally had big regrets, they failed to secure a narrow victory in the final minute. It's a shame, but it's a great day for all Italy fans. Congratulations to Italy and Spain, but there are still 4 3rd place teams who will qualify for the next round. The question is, will Croatia be one of them?

[baeva]

In a few moments, Croatia vs Italy will compete and it feels like this is one of the most interesting matches to watch. I could exclude Spain vs Albania today, but either way Spain is the favorite in that match. Italy vs Croatia will be very good, of course because the probabilities for both teams are almost the same. Croatia must win, if they lose they will go home.

The first half is almost over but the match is still quite monotonous in my opinion especially for Croatia offense.
 Croatias tried to play the tempo and tried to control the game so they tried more in terms of possession but their problem was too weak when attacking and it was easier to be used as a quick counter-attacking scheme by Italy.

There were several chances that Italy managed to get from the counter-attacks even though it did not manage to be converted into goals but it was clear that this was quite dangerous for Croatia which was indeed until now quite troubled to get opportunities.
Both teams seem to be playing carefully because indeed for now Italy only needs a draw to be in the runner up but with this, IMO Croatia should try to play all out again because they cannot qualify for the round of 16 if this match is not successful they win.  The first half is likely to end in a goalless draw but the second half is expected to be much better than this.

Italy is in a more advantageous position because they only need a draw to qualify for the round of 16, therefore they are more likely to play defensive football and wait for a good chance to counterattack. It looks like their strategy looks quite effective because Croatia clearly had difficulty penetrating and Croatia also didn't have much space to pass the ball forward.

And so it turned out, the match was not that boring, because the teams still exchanged goals, but I expected a better result from Italy, I thought they would win this match at least, but in the end they were not only on score, but in general were equal with Croatia. So I don't know how far Italy will go with this game, but I don't think they will reach the final

[red4slash]

What a match Croatia's match against Italy is full of hope lol
I honestly thought after Croatia managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead they would make it through with a surprise runner up spot but it looks like Italy didn't want that to happen.

90+8 was a nightmare for Croatia where Mattia Zaccagini's goal had to kill Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the next phase as runners up and it was Italy who made it through to the next round.
Very entertained by today's match because what they showed to qualify for the round of 16 was really good.
Croatia's only hope now is to finish in the top 3 but that is unlikely to be the case as there are a number of other things that go into the top 3 including match results and goal productivity.

Congratulations to Italy and Spain who today followed Germany and Switzerland into the next phase.

[Chilwell]

Today, the final matches of Group B, often referred to as the ‘group of death,’ are about to begin. It’s an exciting group indeed. Albania will face Spain, while Croatia will take on Italy. Tonight, both Albania and Croatia need victories to advance to the next round. Spain has already secured their place in the Round of 16, barring any major surprises, Spain is expected to secure first place in the group, with Italy following closely in second.

Spain has guaranteed itself to qualify from the group stage and today they will not play their main squad against Albania. On the one hand, this is a good rotation for all the Spanish players who have qualified, but on the other hand we expect a good match. I don't know, hopefully Spain can perform optimally in this match without underestimating Albania in the slightest.

In other matches, Italy and Croatia were really tough matches. Croatia has not won anything in the previous two matches and that is why they are ranked last in group B. Croatia needs a win today, but Italy does not seem to be an easy opponent. Not only Croatia, Albania also needs a win to advance to the next round.

Spain certainly doesn’t underestimate Albania. Even though they’re not playing their main squad at the moment, Spain is demonstrating a strong performance. In the first half, the match was completely under Spain’s control. They created numerous chances and dominated ball possession. As a result, watching the match was very enjoyable. In the first half, Spain led 1-0 with a goal scored by Ferran Torres in the 13th minute.

I like Spain for take every match serious and is the best so they would be fighting for the first place in table unlike Germany that was lucky to get it back on the late minutes goal, at the end of the group stage, Spain finally finished with 9 points still maintaining the top, Albania finished last in the table making them not to qualify for the next stage, they are second to be eliminated, Croatia that were dreaming of making it to the next round comfortably couldn't make it, Italy has refused them from smelling it by scoring in 98th minutes, which was a big disaster for Croatia and also legendary LUKA MODRIC, can we say Croatia have also been eliminated or we wait for the others to play before we make decision on their faith.

[ndutndut]

What a match Croatia's match against Italy is full of hope lol
I honestly thought after Croatia managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead they would make it through with a surprise runner up spot but it looks like Italy didn't want that to happen.

90+8 was a nightmare for Croatia where Mattia Zaccagini's goal had to kill Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the next phase as runners up and it was Italy who made it through to the next round.
Very entertained by today's match because what they showed to qualify for the round of 16 was really good.
Croatia's only hope now is to finish in the top 3 but that is unlikely to be the case as there are a number of other things that go into the top 3 including match results and goal productivity.

Congratulations to Italy and Spain who today followed Germany and Switzerland into the next phase.

This is a very crazy match, everyone thought Croatia would win this match but that's football, anything can happen as long as the match is not over and it is true that 30 seconds before the match ended Italy killed Croatia's hopes, this was very painful. Mathematically, Croatia still has hope of qualifying as long as the Czechs lose and Slovenia loses by more than 4 goals. Of course, this is very unlikely to happen, it could be said that Croatia's hopes of qualifying are no longer there.

There is something interesting about this crucial match, Modric's match and goal will probably be Modric's last with Croatia. Because Modric is 38 years old, of course this is the last tournament he will play for his country. I salute him, even though he is old, he can still make a big contribution to his team, and he is also the oldest goalscorer at the Euros so far.

[promise444c5]

Today, the final matches of Group B, often referred to as the ‘group of death,’ are about to begin. It’s an exciting group indeed. Albania will face Spain, while Croatia will take on Italy. Tonight, both Albania and Croatia need victories to advance to the next round. Spain has already secured their place in the Round of 16, barring any major surprises, Spain is expected to secure first place in the group, with Italy following closely in second.

Spain has guaranteed itself to qualify from the group stage and today they will not play their main squad against Albania. On the one hand, this is a good rotation for all the Spanish players who have qualified, but on the other hand we expect a good match. I don't know, hopefully Spain can perform optimally in this match without underestimating Albania in the slightest.

In other matches, Italy and Croatia were really tough matches. Croatia has not won anything in the previous two matches and that is why they are ranked last in group B. Croatia needs a win today, but Italy does not seem to be an easy opponent. Not only Croatia, Albania also needs a win to advance to the next round.

Spain certainly doesn’t underestimate Albania. Even though they’re not playing their main squad at the moment, Spain is demonstrating a strong performance. In the first half, the match was completely under Spain’s control. They created numerous chances and dominated ball possession. As a result, watching the match was very enjoyable. In the first half, Spain led 1-0 with a goal scored by Ferran Torres in the 13th minute.

I like Spain for take every match serious and is the best so they would be fighting for the first place in table unlike Germany that was lucky to get it back on the late minutes goal, at the end of the group stage, Spain finally finished with 9 points still maintaining the top, Albania finished last in the table making them not to qualify for the next stage, they are second to be eliminated, Croatia that were dreaming of making it to the next round comfortably couldn't make it, Italy has refused them from smelling it by scoring in 98th minutes, which was a big disaster for Croatia and also legendary LUKA MODRIC, can we say Croatia have also been eliminated or we wait for the others to play before we make decision on their faith.

Spain has always been serious  with all their matches even beyond this tournament to the world Cup no doubt they play exceptionally, just that luck is not always on their side especially at the knockout stage but it  seems they mean business thus time around , let's see their first match in the knockout stage hopefully  there would be no history  repetition  this time.... by the way you type  like a commentator   are you one 

[letteredhub]

What a match Croatia's match against Italy is full of hope lol
I honestly thought after Croatia managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead they would make it through with a surprise runner up spot but it looks like Italy didn't want that to happen.

90+8 was a nightmare for Croatia where Mattia Zaccagini's goal had to kill Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the next phase as runners up and it was Italy who made it through to the next round.

Croatia won't forget in a hurry the name Mattia Zaccagini in their football history at the 2024 Euros, his goal for Italy just when the final whistle was to blown damaged Croatia's hope of qualifying to the next round. What an astonishing way to score, a goal that eroded every bit of  hope just when it's to be celebrated at full time.

I celebrate with the Italians finishing in second place in their group in as much as I at same time feel some sympathy for the Croatians who are out of this tournamen. Very sad is that they have no chance of coming out among the best 10th place finishers following all criteria.

[KingsDen]

What a match Croatia's match against Italy is full of hope lol
I honestly thought after Croatia managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead they would make it through with a surprise runner up spot but it looks like Italy didn't want that to happen.

90+8 was a nightmare for Croatia where Mattia Zaccagini's goal had to kill Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the next phase as runners up and it was Italy who made it through to the next round.
Very entertained by today's match because what they showed to qualify for the round of 16 was really good.
Croatia's only hope now is to finish in the top 3 but that is unlikely to be the case as there are a number of other things that go into the top 3 including match results and goal productivity.

Congratulations to Italy and Spain who today followed Germany and Switzerland into the next phase.

I honestly missed this very important match. I couldn't have realized that I missed such an important match if not that Fabrizio and other blogs kept reposting weeping picture of legend Modric. That made me to watch the review of the match to notice how disappointing the match ended. Honestly, there was a very high hope for the Croatians, not knowing that the hope could easily be dashed even after 90 mins. There have been alot of surprises in this Euro and honestly there has never been this outstanding national team in the competition(likely Germany). No wonder Mbappe opined that Euro is more difficult than World Cup  . But then, he was totally wrong.
Is there still a possibility that Croatia can still qualify by best losers?

[Justbillywitt]

What a match Croatia's match against Italy is full of hope lol
I honestly thought after Croatia managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead they would make it through with a surprise runner up spot but it looks like Italy didn't want that to happen.

90+8 was a nightmare for Croatia where Mattia Zaccagini's goal had to kill Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the next phase as runners up and it was Italy who made it through to the next round.
Very entertained by today's match because what they showed to qualify for the round of 16 was really good.
Croatia's only hope now is to finish in the top 3 but that is unlikely to be the case as there are a number of other things that go into the top 3 including match results and goal productivity.

Congratulations to Italy and Spain who today followed Germany and Switzerland into the next phase.

It was indeed an entertaining football game, I was shocked when I joined the game later in the second half and saw Croatia winning by a goal. All my hope was that Italy was going to win from the first half because they would want to progress from the group stage, but it looked like it was not going to be business as usual when Croatia took the lead in the 55th minutes after Luka Modric opener.

 At some point I became neutral in this particular match, though I had favoured Italy before the start of the match. Reason being that they had performed better than Croatia in this tournament so far. But after watching the game till the 75th minutes I saw how determined Croatia was and I had to change my mind and I said to myself let the best team qualify. Italy as the defending doesn't deserve to leave at the group stage, they still have to fight better in defense of their title. Finally they are through to the next stage, but they have to do better henceforth if they are going to defend their crown as the reigning champions and win it back to back.

[pawel7777]

Is anyone familiar with the detailed qualification rules for the four best third-placed teams?
What happens if two, or more, teams have an equal number of points and identical goal difference? Is there going to be a draw, or are other metrics to be considered, i.e. more goals scored etc?

Btw, it's a pretty neat system, when every team has at least theoretical chances of qualifying up until the final round.

[Gencecikmen]

Today, the final matches of Group B, often referred to as the ‘group of death,’ are about to begin. It’s an exciting group indeed. Albania will face Spain, while Croatia will take on Italy. Tonight, both Albania and Croatia need victories to advance to the next round. Spain has already secured their place in the Round of 16, barring any major surprises, Spain is expected to secure first place in the group, with Italy following closely in second.

Spain has guaranteed itself to qualify from the group stage and today they will not play their main squad against Albania. On the one hand, this is a good rotation for all the Spanish players who have qualified, but on the other hand we expect a good match. I don't know, hopefully Spain can perform optimally in this match without underestimating Albania in the slightest.

In other matches, Italy and Croatia were really tough matches. Croatia has not won anything in the previous two matches and that is why they are ranked last in group B. Croatia needs a win today, but Italy does not seem to be an easy opponent. Not only Croatia, Albania also needs a win to advance to the next round.

Spain certainly doesn’t underestimate Albania. Even though they’re not playing their main squad at the moment, Spain is demonstrating a strong performance. In the first half, the match was completely under Spain’s control. They created numerous chances and dominated ball possession. As a result, watching the match was very enjoyable. In the first half, Spain led 1-0 with a goal scored by Ferran Torres in the 13th minute.

I like Spain for take every match serious and is the best so they would be fighting for the first place in table unlike Germany that was lucky to get it back on the late minutes goal, at the end of the group stage, Spain finally finished with 9 points still maintaining the top, Albania finished last in the table making them not to qualify for the next stage, they are second to be eliminated, Croatia that were dreaming of making it to the next round comfortably couldn't make it, Italy has refused them from smelling it by scoring in 98th minutes, which was a big disaster for Croatia and also legendary LUKA MODRIC, can we say Croatia have also been eliminated or we wait for the others to play before we make decision on their faith.

Spain has always been serious  with all their matches even beyond this tournament to the world Cup no doubt they play exceptionally, just that luck is not always on their side especially at the knockout stage but it  seems they mean business thus time around , let's see their first match in the knockout stage hopefully  there would be no history  repetition  this time.... by the way you type  like a commentator   are you one 

Spain eliminated Albania from Euro 2024 with a 1-0 victory, securing their third win in Group B. Despite making 10 changes to their starting lineup, Spain maintained their fluency and took an early lead through Ferran Torres’ goal. The impressive Dani Olmo and veteran striker Joselu had chances to extend the lead, but the second goal never materialized. Albania, who earned just one point in their second group game against Croatia, bid farewell to the tournament after a spirited effort against Spain.

[_BlackStar]

-snip-

Italy is in a more advantageous position because they only need a draw to qualify for the round of 16, therefore they are more likely to play defensive football and wait for a good chance to counterattack. It looks like their strategy looks quite effective because Croatia clearly had difficulty penetrating and Croatia also didn't have much space to pass the ball forward.

I didn't watch the whole drama - but felt how disappointed Luka Modric et al were when they had to accept the reality of ending the match with a score of 1-1. Modric missed a penalty in that match - but he paid for it a few minutes later, it was a responsibility.

Italy celebrated after successfully forcing Croatia to end the match with draw - but Italy's next challenge will be difficult considering that Switzerland is not an easy opponent in the round of 16. There are at least 8 more group stage match worth waiting for - France vs Poland could be interesting.

[hosseinimr93]

Is anyone familiar with the detailed qualification rules for the four best third-placed teams?
What happens if two, or more, teams have an equal number of points and identical goal difference? Is there going to be a draw, or are other metrics to be considered, i.e. more goals scored etc?

If two or more teams are equal in points, they will be ranked by their goal difference, then number of goals scored and then number of wins. If teams are still equal, their rank will be determined by number of yellow and red cards.
For more information, visit Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2022-24.


From Article 21 Match system – final tournament knockout stage:

To determine the four best third-placed teams, the following criteria are applied, in the order given:

• higher number of points
• superior goal difference
• higher number of goals scored
• higher number of wins
• lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points)]
• position in the overall European Qualifiers rankings (see Article 23), or if Germany, the host association team, is involved in the comparison, drawing of lots

[Alpha Marine]

What a match Croatia's match against Italy is full of hope lol
I honestly thought after Croatia managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead they would make it through with a surprise runner up spot but it looks like Italy didn't want that to happen.

I didn't expect Croatia to hold on for so long because after they scored the goal, they just sat back. There was too much pressure from Italy that it was difficult for Italy not to score. I was surprised it took Italy to the last minute to equalise.

I think I'll start taking Italy seriously after this game. They have so much experience in their squad and the experience is not old players, but players who know exactly what they're doing. They may not be stars, but they sure as hell know how to move the ball constantly forward. After Croatia scored, Italy did almost everything perfectly. I believe Italy deserved this win and a big shout out to Calafiori, what a player, the man of the match for me.

[Marykeller]

What a match Croatia's match against Italy is full of hope lol
I honestly thought after Croatia managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead they would make it through with a surprise runner up spot but it looks like Italy didn't want that to happen.

90+8 was a nightmare for Croatia where Mattia Zaccagini's goal had to kill Croatia's hopes of qualifying for the next phase as runners up and it was Italy who made it through to the next round.

That's why in football matches, a team shouldn't proclaim itself the winner of any football match until the referee blows the final whistle because the scoreline can change to your opponent's favor.
What happened to the Croatia team is a very heartbreaking experience they won't forget in a hurry that their opportunity to qualify for the round of 16 was denied by the Italian's late-minute goal.  Nevertheless, Italians vs Croatia commonly end their match in a draw match mostly. This will be their 4th draw so far since their meeting with another. Only a win has occurred from Croatia