Gigio Donnarumma raged at his teammates when Luka Modric gave Croatia the lead last night, while Mattia Zaccagni collapsed in joy after the final whistle and was soon joined by other Azzurri.
It was one of the craziest nights in La Nazionale’s history as a late Zaccagni goal helped Italy secure a 1-1 draw against Croatia and qualify for the EURO 2024 Round of 16.
Football Italia was among the accredited media at the Leipzig Stadium last night, so we can bring you three things you didn’t see on TV on Monday.
Donnarumma rage
Gigio was once again the MOTM for the Azzurri and he could do nothing to avoid Modric’s opener early in the second half. The PSG star made two key saves in the space of 30 seconds. First to deny the Real Madrid ace from the spot and then another one to frustrate ex-Crotone and Samp forward Ante Budimir. However, when he saw Modric squeeze past his teammates and put the ball inside an empty net, he reacted angrily. Gigio was absolutely fuming and while over 25,000 Croatians celebrated with their heroes throwing any sort of thing from the stands, the Italian keeper jumped and shouted at his compatriots inside the box as they should have done more to stop the Croatian legend.
Spalletti
What a game it was for the CT. His rage erupted during post-match interviews, but before that, he followed the game with incredible passion and involvement. Spalletti had his head in his hands when, at minute 83, Federico Chiesa made a sharp pass inside the box but found no Italy player ready for the tap-in. Everyone saw Spalletti’s crazy run on the touchline to celebrate Zaccagni’s dramatic equaliser, but not many saw the coach return to the pitch from the locker room over 30 minutes after the final whistle to wave at less than 1,000 Italy fans who had remained in the stands to celebrate a vital draw. As Spalletti explained at a post-match press conference: “President Gravina came to me and said: ‘Come say hello to everyone because you went straight inside the tunnel.’ He was right. You must be there and wave to the fans because they are all waiting for you. These people have paid for a ticket and they eat in the streets.”
Zaccagni
The new Italian hero could not find a better moment to score his first goal with the national team. We’ve all seen it multiple times and from any angle today. Regardless of Italy’s results in this competition, Zaccagni’s late equaliser will forever remain one of the most iconic goals ever scored by La Nazionale at a major tournament. Perhaps he couldn’t even believe what he had just made when the referee blew the final whistle last night. Like many of his teammates, Zaccagni collapsed in joy as soon as the game ended, covering his face with his hands. Perhaps he was crying, but indeed, he was acknowledged by many of his teammates, who ran towards him for another warm and unforgettable hug.