Italy 1-1 Croatia: Pirlo dictates first half, Croatia dominate the second after half-time switch
The starting line-ups
Croatia initially had problems with Italy’s 3-5-2, but a clever half-time switch by Slaven Bilic got them back into the game.
Cesare Prandelli kept the same formation and starting XI, so Mario Balotelli remained upfront despite Antonio Di Natale’s impact as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Spain.
Bilic rewarded the eleven players that played in the 3-1 win over Ireland with a second start.
A game of two halves. In the first, Italy recorded 11 shots compared to Croatia’s three. In the second, Croatia ‘won’ this statistic 7-3, summing up the change in the balance of play.
First half
This was role reversal – Italy had the least possession of any of the 16 sides in the opening round of games. That was mainly because they were up against Spain, of course, but it was still a completely different situation to see them taking the game to the opposition early on here. Croatia, on the other hand, were the dominant force against Ireland – but this time sat back and let Italy come onto them.
Italy were again a standard 3-5-2, but Croatia’s formation was different from against Ireland. Luka Modric sat much deeper, Ivan Rakitic moved inside from the right flank even more and Darijo Srna pushed higher up on the right with Ognjen Vukojevic looking to cover for him. Higher up, Mario Mandzukic started the game by dropping onto Andrea Pirlo when out of possession.
Formation battle
So where were the free players? Italy broadly had a 3 v 2 situation at the back when Mandzukic was high up the pitch, but at the other end, Croatia had no spare man. Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano against spent the game working the channels, particularly towards the left, as Srna moved higher up the pitch than Ivan Strinic.
In theory, Croatia’s advantage was on the flanks, where they should have had 2 v 1 situations. But they rarely took advantage of this, with Strinic staying in position at left-back and Ivan Perisic cutting inside down the left. On the right, Rakitic moved into the middle so quickly that it was difficult to overload Emanuele Giaccherini. Interestingly, Rakitic rarely tracked Giaccherini back, leaving him to Srna.
Midfield battle
But the key to the first half was Pirlo, and Italy’s dominance in midfield. In the first few minutes, Mandzukic did a good job, dropping deep onto Pirlo and forcing him to play sideways passes – they left Italy 3 v 1 at the back, and forced the two outside centre-backs, particularly Giorgio Chiellini, to step forward and play passes into the midfield. The game was fairly even.
But Mandzukic, for some reason, stopped tracking Pirlo. This may have been pure laziness, and he stayed higher up the pitch next to Italy’s centre-backs. This didn’t help Croatia at all – it didn’t even eliminate Italy’s spare man, they were still 3 v 2 – though maybe it stopped the advance of Chiellini.
However, it meant Pirlo became free. And he was the most important player in the first half, enjoying time on the ball and looking to hit good long diagonals towards Balotelli, who clearly fancied his chances up against Vedran Corluka. It’s also worth asking what Rakitic’s defensive task was – he wasn’t doing much to stop Giaccherini, and could have been asked to help shut down Pirlo. Pirlo’s opening goal came from a free-kick rather than from open play, but he was the appropriate goalscorer.
Second half
The second half line-ups
Bilic didn’t make any substitutions at half-time, but he did completely change the shape of his side. Croatia were now a 4-2-3-1 – Rakitic came into a deep midfield position with Vukojevic, with Modric moving forward to a number ten position. Mandzukic was moved away from Pirlo, and became a right-winger / second striker.
The most important development in all this was Modric up against Pirlo. Italy’s creative fulcrum was now closed down quickly and no longer had such an influence on the game. He couldn’t hit those diagonals into the channels, and it also meant he wasn’t getting time on the ball and allowing Italy to push higher up the pitch – that’s particularly important with wing-backs – often Italy only had two players in attacking positions, whereas in the first half they were getting plenty of players forward.
Croatia were now in charge of the game, pushing Italy back into their own half. Now, the 2 v 1s down the flanks became much clearer, particularly with Strinic moving higher up on the left (although there was no real reason he didn’t attack more in the first half). Italy’s wing-backs became full-backs, and Croatia started putting more crosses into the box, putting Italy under constant pressure.
Equaliser
Danijel Pranjic came on for Perisic down the left, but he and Vukojevic had briefly switched positions for the goal. Still, Vukojevic made a good run along the flank to create a 2 v 1 versus Maggio, and Strinic had plenty of time and space to cross for Mandzukic at the far post for the equaliser.
Of course, Italy should have been able to cope with crosses – they still had 3 v 2 at the back when Mandzukic arrived from the right wing into the box, and it was a simple misjudgement by Chiellini that was crucial for Croatia’s equaliser.
Like in the Spain game, Prandelli brought on Sebastian Giovinco and Di Natale upfront to offer a different attacking threat, while Bilic replaced Nikica Jelavic with Eduardo – but a third goal wasn’t forthcoming, and a draw was a fair result.
Conclusion
Croatia’s starting shape would have worked if Mandzukic had been stricter with his defensive job on Pirlo, or if Rakitic moved into the centre permanently to help defend in that zone. But Pirlo was allowed the freedom of the midfield, a suicidal strategy. Manduzkic staying high up meant Italy were effectively playing against a 4-4-2, and were comfortable with a spare man at the back.
Croatia were better when they switched to a system with only one forward. Italy now had a surplus at the back and were matched in midfield, and Croatia’s improved use of the flanks highlighted Italy’s wing-backs’ inability to cope with two direct opponents at once.
Overall a really excellent (and quick) analysis, but I disagree with your opening sentence that “Croatia initially had problems with Italy’s 3-5-2, but a clever half-time switch by Slaven Bilic got them back into the game.”
It was pretty clear prior to the game that if Italy used the 3-5-2 they would dominate Croatia’s system, with Italy having a spare man in midfield and that man being Andrea Pirlo. Bilic must have thought that either he could nullify him with Mandzukic (which lasted about 10-15 mins if that) or that Italy would go away from the system that served them so well against Spain (very unlikely as it seemed if anything more useful for the Croatia and Ireland games). So this ‘clever switch’ was really just correcting his pre-game mistake, and he’s lucky that thanks to the excellent Pletikosa they made it to half-time only one goal down, and he had the opportunity to do so.
I agree it was not clever. Yet, I appreciate a coach who is able to see his mistake, correct it and get back in the game while there is still time.
I think BFC is right. Bilic’s half-time tactical reshuffle was quite impressive, even if there shouldn’t have been a problem to begin with.
Italy were robbed. They were at least three incorrect offside decisions that prevented clear goal scoring opportunities.
my dear friend, the only team being robbed by the ref were the Croats. Webb didn’t grant them a justified penalty in the 1st half committed on Jelavic. Webb didn’t see a lot of very hard starts done by italian defenders against croatian players. But the worst joke was the non-existing “foul” on Balotelli that resulted with Pirlo’s beautiful free kick goal
at least 2 offsides that weren’t. anyway good game for italy but chiellini made a costly mistake prandelli could have used better subs.
You really can’t complain about the ref when it is Webb. He is always atrocious and irritates both team’s fans. Arguable not many can do that, is that the reason he is reffing? I’ve been trying to find a reason for the past two years. He is as bad in the premier league of course.
To me it looked more like a foul by Jelavic. It’s something he’s quite ‘good’ at, he tugs and tussles with a defender then drops to the ground trying to make it look like a foul.
Slight correction: it’s ‘Vukojević’ that should be written in the formation.
The key Croatian player for me, was Strinić. Normally, he is extremely defensive, and among Croatian fans, he has been criticised for this. Shy to come foward, or get past men, basically.
But he has been somehow ridden of his mental blocks, and surprised Italians. Their scouts must’ve relayed the advice that Strinić need not be given attention, as he is unlikely to do much. And as a consequence, he was left free to cross. I myself was shocked by the quality of the cross to Mandžukić for the goal.
Is it just me, or is this tournament throwing up quite a few similar games? The pattern seems to be that one team dominates for a period, goes a goal (or even two) up, but then sits back too much, stops playing football altogether and eventually lets the other team grab the goal (or two) they need to force a draw.
If it is a pattern (and not just me imagining it), can anybody tell me why they think it’s happening? Is it simply tournament football getting the better of players, who are scared to keep attacking when they’ve gone ahead?
Why do you sound so surprised that the team with the lead is more defensive and the team trailing behind attacks more?
Thanks for the useless reply.
I think the last phrase is the answer. It is not a coincidence that Spain and Germany are the favourites. They don’t do that.
History of clashes between Italy and Croatia:
6 matches. 3 croatian wins. 3 draws. no italian wins so far.
Prandelli should have switched to four at the back by moving De Rossi into midfield. They basically wasted him in the second half since Jelvic was the only threat in his area.
I love Italy going 3-5-2 for this tournament, but agree. Once Croatia went 4-2-3-1, it would’ve been a perfect time for Prandelli to switch to a 4-3-1-2; which most, if not all, italian players know how to play(even if their club teams don’t utilize it, they see enough of it in Serie A and have the players to play it). They then would’ve still had a spare man at the back and an extra man in midfield; meaning Pirlo would have time again or someone else in midfield would be left unmarked and allowing Italy to continue taking the game to Croatia.
De Rossi could’ve been moved into midfield, pushing Marchisio to the top of the midfield diamond, or even making a substitution and playing someone more suited to the role there.
Buffon
Maggio-Bonucci-Chiellini-Giacherrini
De Rossi-Pirlo-Marchisio (with Montolivo and Nocerino as possible subs)
Giovinco
Cassano-Balotelli (with Di Natale as a sub)
Very good point, similar to how Chile played at the World cup, Italy should have reacted more to the amount of strikers playing. Really De Rossi could have just moved forward and Pirlo moved into AM perhaps.
Pirlo hasn’t played as an AM for years though. Hasn’t really got the legs for it, and it doesn’t suit his vision and “quarterback” style.
That’s what I was thinking, bringing on a LB (or a CB and send Chiellini wide) for Motta would have been a good option. You could have 352 -> 433, or 442 depending on where Giaccherini is played.
Essentially… Buffon
Maggio-Bonnuci-Chiellini-LB
Marchisio-Pirlo-DDR
Cassano-Balotelli
And play Giaccherini in the midfield, or further up, linking play with the forwards(where he seems to play his best for Juventus)
And from here Prandelli can make further substitutions, but at least you have a formation switch, and can push the Croatian defense back by being proactive, not just switching strikers and ceding the midfield with Montolivo…
This is exactly what I was thinking while watching the game. A switch to a 4 man defense was necessary once Croatia started pinning back Maggio and Giaccherini. My swap would have been Motta for Barzagli, with Chiellini out wide. That way they’re essentially playing Juve’s excellent backline (with the addition of Maggio). As Scott said, I hope they stick with the 3-5-2, but Prandelli needs to be aware of the inherent tactical weaknesses, and use his substitutes as necessary when the opponent is exploiting them.
I’m a little concerned about Italy’s quality in the final third too… At least in the starting line up. So far the goals have come from a substitute (Di Natale) and an excellent individual effort on a FK (Pirlo). In open play, Balotelli and Cassano have been good at creating chances, but poor at converting them. In particular, I thought Cassano today had lost some of the magic that he had against Spain. His movement was good, but his technique on the ball wasn’t wonderful. If Spain and Croatia tie (possible considering how Croatia look like world beaters) Italy might be in the uncomfortable position of having to score several goals past the Irish.
Barzagli is injured. Balzaretti can come on as LB though.
Yes. I think quality is lacking in the final third also. Maybe resting Cassano until later in the match, and using Giac and Gio to support Balotelli?? (like a 433-ish or 4321) I’m not quite sure what Prandelli is looking for but he needs to find a better way to attack the opposition. Especially when ROI will be playing a defensive/counter-attacking strategy, Italy should probably look to stretch the field as much as possible (442??).
At this point, I don’t care what Prandelli does, as long as Italy win.
Agree 100%, even during the game I wanted to see exactly that. De Rossi should have been pushed up, there is no reason for 3 men to defend against 1 if Croatia withdraw Mandzuric. He would have helped Pirlo, and would be able to close Modric down as well. Italy missed a great chance here. They were brilliant in the first half, and I can’t believe Prandelli didn’t react to something so obvious. Also Pirlo is getting on in years, and his season at Juve didn’t prepare him for a game every 3 days, he needed the help and protection even without Bilic reacting.
So now we have it
3-5-2 can cope with a narrow 4-2-3-1 (Spain) but not one with width; but, the we knew that already!
The difference between “can” and “cannot” is aparently very marginal in your eyes. Both games ended with a draw; I believe you are reading far too much into formations. But then I guess that’s the whole purpose of this site; making formations and tactic THE big deciding factors even though they almost never are.
Even considering the goals by Shevchenko or Gomez Pirlo looks like the player with the highest individual impact on the performance of his team at this tournament so far. In the first match, he not only dictated Italy’s play, but also displayed an immense work rate and the Azzurri looking somewhat ordinary and increasingly being on their back foot towards the end of the match has to be attributed to Pirlo tiring as much as Spain improving after the introduction of Torres imo.
Against Croatia it was pretty much the same story. As long as he could do his thing in midfield, Italy were well on top, when he was taken care of by Modric in the second half, they were poor and fortunate to take 1 point from this game. Questions have to be asked about the roles of Motta and Marchisio, who so far don’t perform well as the shield for their playmaker.
Therefore the key to playing this Italian side seems to be to make specific plans for Andrea Pirlo. Can it really be that simple though or are they just going through their usual routine of barely making it out of the group and then going from strength to strength once the knockout matches start ?
I agree with this, but the problem is that there are so few players who are comfortable pressing defensively from an AMC position. Croatia were lucky they had Modric in the team, Kevin Prince Boatang (Milan), and Schweinsteiger (Bayern, rather than for Germany) are the only 2 other players I can think of who can adequetly play the AMC position and do a defensive job on a deep playmaker. Most either switch off (think Rooney vs. Busquets in the CL final 2009) or contribute nothing to the buildup of attacks.
I think Bilic made a mistake in the first half, when he asked Mandzukic to cover Pirlo. Mandzukic is known for his bad workrate, and the inability to track back.
Instead, he should have pushed Modrić forward to play against Pirlo (as he did in the second half), and have Mandzukic or Jelavic stick to De Rossi, who has great long passes.
To be fair, Italians should have led by more at half time. Croatian centre backs are slow, and Schifo is (in my eyes) really unreliable.
The good thing for Croatia was that Giaccherini still isn’t as good as Maggio, who made countinous runs on the right, and there were a few times that Perisic had to come back to save the situation. His reactions were far from optimal, but they worked.
i think for the first half srna played very high up the pitch and i dont know why . i thought he was playing as a winger and was trying to find who was the right back . he stayed very high up the pitch which opened spaces for balotelli and cassano . cassano played the same way as he used to play at sampadoria drifting wide left and write and also coming inside . the croatians didnt went after him instead were content to keep the shape and that suited both of them . i think in the first half both srna and strinic played much high trying to stop maggio and giaccherini and also to put italians on the back foot but it backfired since pirlo passed straight forward in channels to cassano bypassing the midfield. also in this fixture modric played quite high up pitch and had the license to drift on either flank .
not only he made the substitution in the second half but there was a major change happened in the croatian shape srna went in the back rather than staying up which reduced the space in the italians were thriving . other than pirlo the other italian midfielders arent that imaginative or you could say they dont know how to make use of the ball . maggio was kept silent by strinic who was excellent since the italian is good but was kept silent by the croat . giachherini’s use on the field is still a question mark for me .
i really would like to know as what are the use of the two italian midfielders marchisio and motta . motta is basically a defensive minded midfielder but he is played higg up the pitch where his use is limited . marchisio has a good shot from distance but can he dictate the game or is creative is really a big question . chilleni is good defender but on one occasion jelavic turned very easy on him .
last but not the least but i dont think the substitution had anything to do with the draw instead the change of tactics where on the shape of the team was corrected led to the draw and the croats were banging on the door for long and they just got lucky as did the italians in the first half .
if italians need to make themselves a force to reckon with then they need to get things simple play pirlo where he will thrive that is behind the front and play motta where he is more useful .
Italy once again started well then faded in the second half. They don’t seem to be one of the fittest sides here as quite a few players performances visibly drop in the second half (The WB’s, CM’s, Strikers). It makes sense as they get through a lot of running, but it still seems strange that it is such a big difference. Anyway, Italy started well and seemed geared up to getting the best out of Pirlo. They have a 3 man defense as Pirlo can be bypassed on the counter easily (not mobile or a great tackler) so back up is needed at the back. Then they play 2 energetic CM’s ahead him to press forward ala Juventus, this create space for him too. He is then allowed to roam where he wants to pick up the ball to try and get Italy playing. He dictated wonderfully in the first half and the quality free kick was very much deserved. Despite dominating they looked more threatening when the broke quickly and got the ball forward to the strikers with precise long balls. When they dominated they seemed to lack a clear strategy of scoring, with both strikers roaming and no clear presence in the penalty area. Italy were already looking weak down the flanks, their big weakness for other teams to exploit, so it was no surprise Bilic concentrated more down the wings in the 2nd half. Italy now face a must win game against Ireland, if Ireland sit back they could stifle Italy and then break down the wings, Italy’s weakness. This will be a hard game for them, but Pirlo should be given a lot of room again and could orchestrate the win Italy needs.
Croatia’s big flaw as already said was giving Pirlo so much time on the ball, and when Italy broke quickly it exposed their slow defense. But they were already showing their threat down the wings and in the second half just concentrated more on their strengths. Srna was brilliant getting forward down the right, while strinic was more of a surprise factor and Italy were found wanting when Croatia spread it to that wing and got a cross in. As ZM noted, Italy should have been okay dealing with these crosses, but De Rossi looked a bit lost and it seemed to put off the other two CB’s. Mandzukic showed his versitility moving over to the right and remaining a threat, while Jelavic lead the line well. Modric moved higher and tracked Pirlo, stopping Italys biggest player, while Rakitic played deeper, keeping a technically good player in deep midfield. This allowed Croatia to evade Italy’s pressing (already on the wane) and he also tracked Motta who was not getting forward as much as Marchisio, meaning Rakitic’s defensive ability wasn’t tested to much.
Italy will need Pirlo to dictate against the Irish if they are to break them down and get Italy a crucial win. Croatia meanwhile should play to their strengths and attack down the wings, with Alba and Arbeloa particularly vulnerable. But Croatia will struggle to handle the Spanish game and will likely lose, so they will be hoping Ireland can do them a favour.
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Guys, are you aware that Italy received an unjustified free kick by Pirlo as a result of a diving Balotelli? Not to speak about the refused penalty for the foul done on Jelavic in the first half? Bilic messed up the tactics in the first half.but he improved in the second half. Strinic was surprisingly strong. It became obvious that the pretty old guys from Italy don’t have shape for 90 minutes
As I posted earlier, I don’t think Jelavic was fouled. He’s a ‘clever’ player in the box at fouling an opponent, they both go down, but he makes it look like he was the one that was impeded. He has done this numerous times.
Anyway, the ref to me didn’t have the biggest influence on the game and it’s not what we’re here to discuss. Croatia played into Italy’s hands in the first half and could have been out of touch but for the inability of Italy to take their chances.
It wasn’t so much the age of the Italians that worked against them in the second half – it’s not like they’re a team of oldies anyway – but, as ZM says, the change in Croatia’s shape. Forcing Italy into a back 5 meant Italy were more 5-3-2 and the ‘3′ were having to shift a large distance across the width of the pitch to close their opponents down.
Croatia did the right thing IMO by working the ball back and forth across the width of the pitch and it was succession of passes of this type that led up to the goal.
It doesn’t matter a great deal from Ireland’s point of view given they’re already out but if they go with the 4-4-2 again then Italy and Pirlo will have a field day. A safe passage through to the next round awaits. (And I’m an Ireland supporter btw)
Let’s hope Ireland will fight against Italy trying to show at least a decent honorable last performance. It would be a shame if they would accept to go home with zero points being the worst team of the tournament. Please show a tough and fair approach against Italy,our Irish friends. Greetings from Croatia
Italy didn’t score when they had multiple opportunities in the 1st half. This is also why I’m not a Pirlo fan in this tournament, because if you shut him down, well you see what happens.
I have no idea why Italy stopped going foward in the second half, too bad they can’t get another chance against Croatia.
Regardless Balotelli is Italy most destructive forward, and should always be one the field, I’d also consider Giovinco or Borini in place of Cassano. Finally why not give Balz a chance over Giaccherini.
I am an Italy fan, although not an Italian. However I am not convinced that with few crosses Croatia deserved to get a point. Even in their half they did not create anything special. Even their strategy to cross into the box was tactically the wrong approach as you have 3 CBs that are good on heading the ball, while Croatia had 1 player in the box and possible one on the far post, but on the far post Italy had the higher Center Backs. Their goal was more of a poor positioning and lost balance from Chiellini, rather than a good cross.
I think that Bilic tried something new and was a bit lucky. However his back-up plan worked well and showed that Prandelli is not ready when they counter the 3-5-2 and Pirlo. Prandeli might add a new tactical approach in his arsenal after this game, however it might be too late. I would like him also change his strikers. Balotteli is poor and Cassano is not physically ready to step in. I would like to see Giovinco and Borini forward duo in one of the matches, while Cassano and Di Natale can come later and help with their experience, while being fresher than the defenders against them.
Anyone knows the rules? Can somebody confirm that if Croatia and Spain draw 2-2 or more Italy is out? But if they draw 0-0;1-1 Croatia is out? Oh well, I can not see Croatia drawing Spain, but if the Spaniards prefer the Croats go forward instead of Italy then I can see it happening.
If Croatia draws against Spain 1-1,then Italy needs to with 3-0,4-1,5-2 against Ireland. Which is not realistic. Croatia is capable to beat any team in the world on a good day-even Spain. They already showed this couple of times against the best teams in the world. From the quality point of view Croatia is the much better team than overaged Italy. The only weak part of Bilics team is the defense. Italy’s defense is much stronger than the Croatian one. Midfield and offensive the Croats have much more to offer than Italy. Bilic just chose the wrong tactic 4-4-2 in the first half not covering oldie Pirlo in an appropriate way – otherwise Croatia would have won the match. What a pitty that power horse Olic got injured,he would have tortured Italy’s defense for 90 minutes
Who says that Italy is gonna beat the Irish? Don’t think so. The Irish are no unfair jerk-team surrendering against Italy without fight.
Of course Ireland will put up a fight. I was suggesting that the 4-4-2 they always use will suit Italy. Just as Mandzukic was responsible for picking up Pirlo in the first half, so will one of Ireland’s front two, probably whoever partners Keane. I stand to be corrected but it’s not often that a centre-forward does this job of dropping back to pick up an opposition midfielder very well. Therefore, I think it will be fairly straight-forward for Italy to create space for Pirlo to run the show.
Personally, I’d rather Ireland moved McGeady to a central role so he can have a bit more freedom and get on the ball more. He is the most talented player in the squad and he has been involved in most of Ireland’s (albeit minimal) good play. I doubt we will see this with Trap’s dedication to the system that got the team to the tournament and I can understand that. Given Ireland are out though, it could be a chance to experiment a little.
Ireland is a lousy demotivated loser-team. They will let down their panties without any resistance against Italy. And don’t forget: Trap is an Iralian too. So Italy has another big advantage by influencing the Irish set up. Trap is gonna fix Italys proceeding to the QF in a mutual call with Prandelli. Sorry Croatia,but there is no way that the well-known Italian manipulation mafia won’t fix this issue.
Last time a similar situation presented, it was Trapattoni’s Italy that was fucked by two teams which represented two well-known fair and ethical northern european nations, with a soft 2-2 equalizer at the 89′ minute mark.
But yeah, stereotypes ftw
If Italy played Nocerino. They would have beat Croatia. Only Nocerino can bring Italy a glory.
Seriously,who is Nocerino? Remember Olic and what he did to Italy 2002 or against Juve 2010/2011? You guys should be happy that he injured himself in our last test match against Norway.Honestly
Irish fellas, show some guts and pride by taking at least one point against the Italians. Otherwise you won’t be welcomed this summer in Croatia:) just kidding. Show your Irish fighting spirit and don’t disappoint your fans and country. Take just one point against Italy and I guarantee you the heartliest welcome this summer in Croatia. Including drinks for free:) Cheers
some excellent points already made in this article. i think italy miss one crucial thing, they don’t have reliable target man. balotelli, although physically capable, is not target-man type. when italy concede the goal, they desperately need to throw long pass to their forward. one incident show this, giovinco exploited the right flanks, sending good cross but di natale can’t reach it.
italy can maximize their potential with good target man like luca toni, static striker who can hold the ball from pirlo, de rossi, etc. target man can open spaces for midfielder to try some long-shots. italy have some best long-passer, and brave long-range shooter too (marchisio, motta, pirlo). if they still have players like vieri, italy will win this game easily.
…and if Croatia still had Davor Suker and Zvonimir Boban then they would have massacred Italy 4-0. Please stop using “what-if” phrases
Tactical reasons or not, we were comfortable for large parts of the game. The first half was men against boys, particularly in midfield. We just didn’t take our chances.
- DEFENDING -
Hard to criticise our back line but for a momentary lapse from our best defender, which hurts. Yet for all Croatia’s pressure, and supposed aerial threat of two big strikers, Buffon had very little to do for 90 mins. True, we were vulnerable to overload in wide areas which, as you pointed out, led to the goal from our right – Pirlo failing to help Maggio out – but that is the midfield’s fault.
- FINISHING -
The Cassano- Balotelli partnership has its uses, but it lacks goals. Cassano should have shot on a couple of occasions in the first half but opted to play one extra pass, while Balotelli was not sharp to the rebounds (for the second game running). I felt before the tournament that Pazzini (regardless of form) or Osvaldo should have been in the squad, at the expense of Borini.
- SUBS -
Prandelli went from genius to idiot in 4 days. Di Natale on vs Spain was perfect, but Montolivo for Motta was just wrong. The whole of Italy was crying for Nocerino. He may not be easy on the eye, but I bet you anything he would have tracked the Croatian player who made the overlap on our right flank. Also, Giovinco should have come on a lot earlier.
- CONCLUSION/REGRETS -
If you’d have given me 0 points vs Spain, and 3 vs Croatia, I’d have taken that. Ultimately, all we have shown is that we are a dangerous side for 60 mins, before completely forgetting how to play for the last half hour.