Leonardo Bonucci has refused to blame Italy teammate Giorgio Chiellini for Croatia’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw.
Leonardo Bonucci has refused to blame Italy teammate Giorgio Chiellini for Croatia’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw.
The Juventus stopper mistimed his attempt to clear a cross and the result has left the Azzurri in third place in Group C with one game left.
“We knew that Croatia would be especially dangerous when they throw balls into the area from the flanks,” Bonucci noted.
“I, however, think that the positioning of the entire defence was wrong during their goal – it is never the fault of just one player when you concede in such a way.
“Unfortunately, it takes just one incident to change the outcome of a game and that is what happened.
“We played much better than Croatia in the first half, but our performance dropped in the second half and we paid the price for it.”
Italy play the Republic of Ireland on Monday evening.