On the evening of June 19, the second round of the group stage of the European Cup began. Croatia and Albania, who both lost their first game in Group B, have a crucial match. Croatia, ranked 10th in the world, will only need a win to keep their hopes of qualifying from the group alive. However, just 11 minutes into the first half, Albania took advantage of a counter-attack to take a 1-0 lead and push Croatia to the brink. In the second half, Croatia scored two goals in three minutes and reversed the score 2-1. But in stoppage time, Albania stubbornly equalized, 2-2!
Croatia's squad for this European Championship is seriously aging, especially the team's midfield has sent a number of veterans, resulting in too slow midfield transition, insufficient offensive speed, and repeated counterattack opportunities by the opponent to threaten their own goals. The 38-year-old Modric, 31-year-old Brozovic and 30-year-old Kovacic are more than stable and less maneuverable.
Croatia and Albania are geographically part of the Balkan Peninsula and this is their first major meeting. In the starting line-up, Croatia made three personnel changes compared to the first game. Petkovic replaced Budimir as a central striker, Josan Gvardiol returned to centre-back for Pongracic, veteran Perisic started at left-back and Juranovic replaced Stanišić at right-back.
After the start of the game, Croatia kept pressing, trying to establish a score advantage as soon as possible, but their offensive efficiency was not high, and under the premise of defense, they were just seized by the opponent who was determined to play counterattack.
In the 11th minute, Albania counterattacked, Asani crossed with his left foot after a kickback on the right, and Rachi inserted a header into the near corner in the middle, 0-1! Croatia started from behind, while Albania made a comeback after scoring a goal that went down in European Championship history for 23 seconds.
After falling behind in the opening game, Croatia had no way back and could only choose to press the attack, while Albania continued to fight back. In the 31st minute, Modric made a mistake in passing, Albania broke the ball on the spot and counterattacked, Assani sent a subtle through pass, Asllani inserted a right-footed push, and the ball was saved by Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic! Croatia almost fell behind by two goals.
In the 36th minute, Kramaric broke through on the left and created a free kick opportunity near the penalty line, Modric passed the ball high into the box, and Croatia, which had a number of tall players, still did not fight for the ball. In the 38th minute, Modric passed the ball, and Brozovic's long-range shot from around 35 yards was weak, and the ball was easily picked up by the opposing goalkeeper.
In the 45+1st minute, Asani sent another cross, and the center-forward Manaj grabbed a header in the penalty area and was saved by Livakovic, who was in excellent form. Had it not been for the goalkeeper's excellent performance, Croatia could have fallen behind by three goals in the first half.
Throughout the first half, the aging Croatian attack was inefficient, the ball was slow, the 38-year-old Modric was caught in the opponent's multi-person bag, it was difficult to complete high-quality breakthroughs and passes in the midfield, and today's starting center Petkovic did nothing, and he was almost invisible in the 45 minutes of the game.
In terms of statistics, although Croatia had close to 70% possession in the first half, their attacking efficiency was too low, with only 4 shots on goal and none on target, while the opponent Albania counter-attacked sharply, contributing 8 shots and 3 shots on target, and scored a goal. With defending champions Italy facing them in the final round of the group stage, Croatia are likely to face a comeback from the group stage if they are unable to turn their tide in the second half.
At the beginning of the second half, Croatia, who had no way out, came on as substitutes for Pasalic and Sučić, replacing Majer and Brozovic, who were in a slump. In the 51st minute, Sučić's left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area was saved by the opposing goalkeeper, and then Pasalic's long-range shot was saved, and the two substitutes came up to create a continuous threat. In the 53rd minute, Kovacic's long-range shot from the edge of the box was saved by the goalkeeper.
In the 57th minute, Croatia crossed from the right, and Petkovic's header in the box went high. In the 59th minute, Modric's long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area was full of power, and the Albanian player flew to block it and lay on the ground in pain for a long time. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Croatia made two substitutions, and the attack obviously increased its pace, threatening the opponent's goal many times.
In the 69th minute, Perisic was in the middle of the left, and Pasalic jumped high at the back post to head the goal, but unfortunately the ball went over the crossbar again.
In the 74th minute, Croatia launched a wave of offensive, Kovacic broke through the middle and crossed, Pasalic assisted, Kramaric buckled the opponent's defender in the penalty area and shot low with his right foot, 1-1! After a long attack, Croatia finally equalized.
In the 76th minute, Kramaric made a direct pass, Pasalic broke through on the left side and crossed in front of the goal, Sucic outflanked the middle and swept his left-footed shot into the opposing player and bounced into the goal! 2-1！
Within three minutes, Croatia, who had adjusted their tactics properly, completed the reversal of the score with the excellent performance of two substitutes.
But in the 96th minute, Albania scored through a combination and Jasura scored tenaciously to make the score 2-2!
With this unfortunate draw, Croatia have just one point from two games, and with defending champions Italy facing them in the final round, the in-form Plaid Army are likely to return home in the group stage, which will also be their worst result since Euro 2012.