The Azzurri barely had a sniff in defeat to Spain but remain in a strong position to reach the knockout stages, needing to only match Albania’s result against already-qualified Spain to clinch a last-16 spot.
But Croatia have been fairly miserable. They were 3-0 down to Spain before half-time of their first game and then conceded an injury-time equaliser to Albania to leave them with just a point to their name, and almost certainly needing to beat Italy.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Croatia vs Italy is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Monday June 24, 2024.
The match will take place at Red Bull Arena, Leipzig.
Croatia will be sent home if they lose in Leipzig
REUTERS
Where to watch Croatia vs Italy
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on BBC One, with coverage beginning at 7.30pm.
Live stream: Fans can also catch the contest live online for free via the BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Croatia vs Italy team news
Ante Budimir made his case to start for Croatia with an impressive cameo off the bench against Albania.
Zlatko Dalic moved Ivan Perisic to left-back for that game, with Josko Gvardiol playing in the middle, in an experiment that failed to pay off. Borna Sosa could replace the veteran.
Italy were unchanged against Spain from the win over Albania, but Luciano Spalletti must be tempted to make changes.
Gianluca Scamacca was feeding on scraps against La Roja but did little with rare chances, and was arguably shown up by Mateo Retegui. Federicio Chiesa will be nervous about his spot.
Getty Images for FIGC
Croatia vs Italy prediction
This is a very interesting one.
Croatia may only have one point, and have been largely underwhelming, but caused Spain real problems in the second half of their opening game. They then produced more fight against Albania before that late blow. Italy recovered well from an early goal to beat Albania but were simply overrun by Spain four days later.
Which version of these teams will show up in this final-game decider? Italy appear to have more about them but Croatia can beat most when they click. It should be thrilling.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Croatia have been a major bogey team for the Azzurri, who won their first meeting in 1942 but none since. They played out a group-stage draw at Euro 2012 while the Croats were victorious in a surprise result at the 2002 World Cup.
Croatia vs Italy match odds
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
