Croatia vs. Italy: Score, Grades and Reaction from Euro 2016 Qualifier

Mario Mandzukic and Antonio Candreva both scored in the first half as Italy and Croatia played out a 1-1 draw in an empty stadium, preserving the status quo in Group H of the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

After a busy first half that saw two goals, two penalties and some controversy, both teams clamped down in the second half and played for the draw. The result means Croatia preserve their two-point lead over the Azzurri at the top of the standings.

Due to incidents in their previous qualifiers, Croatia were forced to host Italy behind closed doors. TSN's Joe Giannotti thought it was odd to watch a match of this magnitude with no fan noise in the background:

Croatia started the match well, with Ivan Rakitic dominating proceedings in midfield. The hosts were given an early penalty after Rakitic played in Darijo Srna and Davide Astori made a dreadful tackle.

Luckily for Astori, he plays in front of Gianluigi Buffon, and the legendary stopper had little difficulty stopping Mandzukic's tame effort.

Goal's Kris Voakes thought the veteran reminded everyone why he's still the starter with that save:

The high pace of the first half continued, and soon, Croatia took the lead, albeit in controversial fashion.

Stephan El Shaarawy appeared to give the Azzurri the lead, but the linesman inexplicably raised his flag for offside, even though the AC Milan forward was clearly onside.

The Italians went to argue with the linesman, and Croatia took advantage by quickly taking the free-kick, rushing forward and scoring themselves, with Rakitic finding Mandzukic inside the box.

Daniella Matar of the Associated Press shared the odd sequence of events:

Buffon was given a yellow card in the skirmish that followed, but the Italians' fury was understandable given the dreadful decision of the linesman and resulting setback.

Things got even worse for the Azzurri, who lost Lorenzo De Silvestri midway through the first half to injury. The full-back made a fantastic block on Mateo Kovacic, but his knee appeared to buckle in the worst way during the action. The 27-year-old was visibly in pain, and the New York Times' Andrew Das felt bad for the defender:

Italy started taking control of the match, however, and should have scored on multiple occasions. Graziano Pelle did his job up front and Claudio Marchisio played several delightful passes, but every chance was skillfully ruined by El Shaarawy.

He fluffed one cross in particular that had fans cringing, and The Hard Tackle's Chelston D'souza could only make this observation:

Eventually, the Italians found the breakthrough, as they were given a penalty of their own for a handball from Mandzukic. The striker decided it was a good idea to punch the ball out of the air for no reason, giving the official no choice but to point at the spot.

Candreva stepped up and beat Danijel Subasic with a cheeky lob, much to the delight of David Amoyal:

Pelle had one more chance to give Italy the lead before half-time, but Subasic produced a fine save to keep the teams level.

Buffon was replaced by Salvatore Sirigu to start the second half, while Ante Rebic was introduced by the hosts in favour of Ivica Olic. 

The two sides went back and forth to start the second half before the hosts gained control of possession, but it led to few chances. In fact, Italy came closest to scoring, with Andrea Pirlo blasting a shot just over the bar, per the team's Twitter account:

Where the first half was a veritable spectacle, there was little to enjoy in the second. The match turned into a physical battle in midfield, and creativity was abandoned in favour of cynical fouls. 

Ivan Perisic tried his luck from distance, and his driven effort flew just wide of the post, with Sirigu watching. Italian manager Antonio Conte responded by taking off El Shaarawy for Andrea Ranocchia, reverting a three-man back line and playing for the draw. 

Srna was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence on Marchisio, but the Azzurri couldn't take advantage, as the hosts easily held onto the 1-1 draw. 

Norway's shocking goalless draw against Azerbaijan means the Group H standings remain unchanged, as Croatia leads Italy by two points. Norway are a further two back, two points ahead of Bulgaria. Both Croatia and Italy remain safe bets to qualify for Euro 2016.

Relevant Match Grades

Ivan Rakitic: B

Rakitic was the driving force behind Croatia's early dominance but lost control over the midfield midway through the first half. It was hardly his fault, as he received little help from his team-mates, and overall, the Barcelona man put together another fine effort.

Stephan El Shaarawy: C-

Things could have been so different for El Shaarawy had his early goal not been disallowed. The forward worked hard and combined well in midfield, but his finishing was atrocious. The youngster clearly lacks form and confidence in front of goal.

Post-Match Reaction

Conte was happy with the result, although he expressed his fury with the controversial first goal, as he told Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia):

"

I think we put in a good performance with character and courage. I am happy, but we know there’s work to be done.

The young players are growing and gaining experience, which is very important.

We were a bit naïve, but we were convinced it was a goal and the players were celebrating. It was a double blow because the goal was not offside.

At the very least the referee should’ve found some reason to stop the counter-attack, in my view.

 

"

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