Italy vs. Croatia: Draw Puts Italy in Precarious Position in Group C

Italy didn't lose to Croatia, but it didn't get the result it needed.

The two sides played to a draw in Poznan earlier today.

Cesare Prandelli's side find themselves in a real tough spot heading into their third and final match of group play, and are now in a win-or-go-home situation against the Republic of Ireland.

Andrea Pirlo struck first in the 39th minute, giving the Italians a 1-0 lead on a beautiful free kick from just outside the box. He was able to get it just inches over the wall and tuck it inside the left post before Stipe Pletikosa could close the ground.

The Croatians got what was coming to them. A lackadaisical first half hardly bodes well against a quality team like the Azzurri, but the football gods were smiling down on them on this day.

The Italians' incompetence came back to bite them in the 72nd minute when Giorgio Chiellini misjudged a cross inside the box. The ball sailed over his head and right into Mario Mandzukic's lap. Mandzukic promptly collected himself and fired the equalizer over Gianluigi Buffon's outstretched arms.

There wasn't much more to the match than that. Croatia finds itself with four points heading into the final group match against Spain, needing only a draw to remain in the discussion to advance.

Italy is in a much tougher position. After playing to a draw in its first two matches, the Italian side desperately needs a win against the Irish to remain in the discussion to move on to the knockout stage of the tournament.

Beating Ireland shouldn't be that hard for Italy, but it's never good to put yourself in such a pickle. The Italians haven't shown much firepower at all in the 2012 European Championship, and a loss is never out of the question.

Italy's chances for success will seriously increase if Spain is unable to come away from today's match against Ireland with a victory. In all likelihood, Spain will win, but we've seen some curious results thus far in this competition.

For the purpose of this analysis, we'll consider it a fact that Spain will beat Ireland. Spain and Croatia will be tied with four points. Italy will have two.

That means that the Italians need a win against the Irish on June 18. They also have to hope for anything but a draw between Spain and Croatia, or else their hopes will hinge on goal differential or amount of goals scored. It's never good to look to another team or a tiebreaker for help in a competition of this caliber.

While it is still possible for Italy to advance, it will need to play to win against Ireland and hope Spain pummels Croatia.

The situation is precarious for Italy, but the prospects of advancing are far from bleak.