Euro Result: Croatia 2-2 Albania

Euro Result: Croatia 2-2 Albania

After conceding an own goal earlier, Klaus Gjasula’s late goal leveled the score in a thrilling Group B encounter.

The Volkswagen Stadium was buzzing. As soon as the teams emerged from the tunnel, the stadium was filled with the chants of both sets of spectators.

After both teams’ first group stage losses, they realized that losing was not an option. And so Hamburg had a cautious opening.

Albania, content to moderate the pace, quickly found comfort in control. Then, almost unexpectedly, Qazim Laçi burst free at the near post to catch a glimpse of Jasir Asani’s accurate shot from the right.Another early goal for Sylvinho’s team..

When Croatia appeared briefly rattled, the Eagles recognized their chance to attack once more. To Zlatko Dalić’s relief, Nedim Bajrami dashed into the danger zone this time but was unable to challenge Dominik Livaković…

As Croatia advanced across the field, they created their first genuine danger when Marcelo BrozovicŁ’s hurried snap shot went horribly wide.Undaunted, Albania persisted in their attack, and in the thirty-first minute Livaković had to deny Kristjan AsllanI.

Although Albania sat deep to preserve their lead, they broke through the Brozović-defended Vatreni defense again prior to halftime; however, Livaković stopped Rey Manaj’s close-range header.

Following the arrival of Mario PasŇalić and Luka Sučić, Croatia generated two respectable performances.Thomas Strakosha deflected Sučić’s powerful shot with a strong hand before Pašalić fired.d over.

Now in the height of Dalić’s team’s play, Albania were becoming less energetic and more dangerous for Croatia.

After searching for a weakness in the Albanian defense, the Vatreni finally made a breakthrough in the 74th minute. Upon Albania’s switch-off, Andrej Kramarić scored his first goal in the EURO on his 33rd birthday, finding the bottom corner to restore parity. After a goalmouth scuffle, two minutes later, Klaus Gjasula deflected the ball into his own net, giving Croatia another goal.

Croatia appeared to have clinched all three points with their outstanding second-half performance, as they continued to exert pressure until the final whistle. Gjasula, who entered the game in the 72nd minute, however, pulled off a stunning comeback by scoring a low last-gasp equalizer. Both teams dutifully asserted their initial points for EURO 2024.


Important statistics

  • This was Croatia and Albania’s first ever international match.
  • In a EURO, Croatia has never dropped their second game (W3 D5).
  • In their past five EURO matches, Albania has only won once (L3 D1).
  • Only one clean sheet has been maintained by Croatia in their previous 13 European matches.
  • Out of Croatia’s 23 previous EURO matches, just one has been goalless. That was their opening match at EURO 2004 against Switzerland, ending in a 0-0 tie.
  • In their last three European Championship games, Albania has taken the lead.
  • On his 33rd birthday, Andrej Kramarić scored Croatia’s opening goal in the EURO.
  • In a EURO, Albania is the fifteenth different team that Croatia has played against.
  • Luka Modrić has now represented Croatia in five EURO final competitions. He has made more appearances than any other Croatian player, with a total of 15.
  • Modrić, who is making his 117th appearance, has surpassed Gianluigi Buffon to rank third among UEFA players with the most caps, behind only Ronaldo (208) of Portugal and Ramos (180) of Spain.

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