Italy came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Croatia in their Euro 2016 qualifier in Split this evening.
Mario Mandzukic wasted the chance to give the hosts an early lead when his penalty was kept out by Gianluigi Buffon.
Moments later, Stephan El Shaarawy had the ball in the net for Italy, but his close-range effort was ruled out for offside.
As the visitors protested, Croatia broke quickly and Ivan Rakitic's low ball across the face of goal was slotted in by Mario Mandzukic.
Mandzukic then gave away a penalty for handling an Andrea Pirlo free kick inside the box and Antonio Candreva stepped up to confidently chip home the spot kick.
In the final minute, Croatia captain Darijo Srna was sent off for a second bookable offence, as both teams ended up settling for a point.
Find out how the action unfolded below.
Hello everyone! We've got some cracking international matches coming up for you over the weekend, but there are not too many bigger than tonight's clash in Koprivnica. There are vital points to play for in Euro 2016 qualifying, as Croatia play host to neighbours Italy, in what should be a mouth-watering encounter.
At the moment it seems that both of these teams will be playing in the European Championships in France next summer, as they are currently in the two automatic qualifying positons in Group H. However, Norway are hot on their trails in third place and they will be expected to pick up all three points from their match against Azerbaijan this evening.
Croatia lead the way on 13 points, followed closely by Italy on 11, so a win for either team would provide a major boost in what is their final competitive game before the summer. Right, there's lots more to discuss before kick off, but let's take a look at which players have made the starting lineups.
CROATIA XI: Subasic, Srna, Vida, Schildenfeld, Pranjic, Rakitic, Brozovic, Perisic, Kovacic, Olic, Mandzukic
ITALY XI: Buffon, De Silvestri, Bonucci, Astori, Darmian, Parolo, Pirlo, Marchisio, Candreva, El Shaarawy, Pelle
CROATIA SUBS: Vargic, L. Kalinic, Vrsaljko, Leskovic, Leovac, Jajalo, Badelj, Pjaca, Kramaric, Sharbini, Rebic, N. Kalinic
ITALY SUBS: Sirigu, Padelli, De Sciglio, Moretti, Ranocchia, Pasqual, Bertolacci, Vazquez, Soriano, Immobile, Sansone, Gabbiadini
So, that's how the two teams will be lining up this evening. It's a strong starting XI from the hosts, with Mario Mandzukic leading the attack. There's no Luka Modric, but Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic and Mateo Kovacic are further back in the midfield, while captain Darijo Srna will be winning his 123rd cap for the national side.
Meanwhile, Italy manager Antonio Conte has changed things up with a 4-3-3 formation. It sees Stephan El Shaarawy handed a start alongside Antonio Candreva and Graziano Pelle in the attack, while the experienced Andrea Pirlo joins Claudio Marchisio and Marco Parolo in the midfield. There is one enforced change at the back, as the injured Giorgio Chiellini is replaced by Roma defender Davide Astori.
There really is little to choose between these two teams and according to the FIFA rankings we will be watching the 13th (Italy) and 18th (Croatia) best countries in world football. It was also evenly matched when they met last November, as Ivan Perisic cancelled out Antonio Candreva's goal in a 1-1 draw.
Croatia actually have a brilliant record over Italy and their only defeat in their previous eight meetings came in their first clash back in 1942. Since then they have won three and drawn four of their games with the Azzurri, including a memorable 2-1 victory in the group stages of the 2002 World Cup.
We did witness some trouble when these teams played in Milan last year, as the game was stopped on two occasions due to flares being thrown onto the pitch. There were also disturbances in the crowd, with the players taken off for 10 minutes shortly after half time by the referee.
© Getty Images
Due to the events that happened at San Siro, tonight's game is being played behind closed doors and it will be interesting to see how the players will be affected. I can tell you that we have just heard the national anthems from each country and the beginning of the match will be getting started in just a few moments.
KICKOFF! We are underway at the Stadion Poljud!
It's a very strange atmosphere here and it has been a quiet start to the match. There is no real pattern of play yet, with plenty of passes going astray already from both teams.
PENALTY TO CROATIA! It's been a slow start to the game, but there is drama now as Srna goes down inside the box under a poor challenge from Astori and a penalty is awarded. It has given Croatia the chance to take the lead and Mandzukic will take it.
MISSED PENALTY! It's a huge let off for Italy, as Mandzukic sees his penalty saved by Buffon. The striker went to the bottom left corner, but the Juventus keeper was quickly down to push away his attempt.
GOAL! Croatia 1-0 Italy (Mario Mandzukic)
Well, what an eventful start to the match. Croatia may have missed from the spot a few moments ago, but they lead now. It was slightly controversial, as El Shaarawy had the ball in the net for Italy, but it was disallowed for an offside. While the visitors protested, Croatia broke quickly and Mandzukic was on hand to slot in Rakitic's low cross from the right.
I've just had another look at the replay from the disallowed goal and the officials seem to have got that one wrong. El Shaarawy looked to be in line with the defence as he touched in Candreva's cross and he can rightly feel aggrieved that it was chalked off.
Italy have seen plenty of the ball as they look to get back into the match and they have won a couple of free kicks in decent areas out wide. Pirlo has delivered each of the set pieces, but so far the hosts have defended well.
CHANCE! Croatia have been such a threat on the counter attack and this time Perisic leads the charge down the left. He then gets to the byline and drives a teasing low ball across the face of goal that Olic is only inches away from touching into the net.
Italy are starting to pose more a threat in the final third and they cause all manner of problems from a long ball that the keeper can't claim. It then drops to Pelle, who looks to hook an effort goalwards, but El Shaarawy is flagged offside as he goes to challenge for the loose ball.
Mandzukic is causing plenty of problems for the Italy defence and he bursts clear down the right, before squaring for Kovacic. However, De Silvestri was there before the Inter midfielder could get a touch, but he has injured himself making the block and it doesn't look like he will be able to play on.
SUBSTITUTION: De Silvestri is unable to continue and he heads off to be placed by Milan full back De Sciglio.
Italy are getting into some promising areas, but they just aren't doing enough with the ball at the moment. Pirlo has been one of the major culprits so far and his last two deliveries have been poor for his extremely high standards.
CHANCE! What a massive chance this is for Italy to level the scores. Marchisio charges through the midfield and slides a ball through out wide to Pelle. The striker then picks out El Shaarawy completely unmarked inside the box, but he ends up placing his low strike straight down the middle and into the gloves of Subasic.
PENALTY TO ITALY! We're going to have a second spot kick of the evening, as Mandzukic gives away a penalty for handling a free kick from Pirlo. I'm not sure what he was thinking, but Italy will feel that a bit of luck has now gone their way.
GOAL! Croatia 1-1 Italy (Antonio Candreva)
How about this for a cool head under pressure! Candreva takes the penalty and chips the most delightful of strikes into the net past the stranded Subasic. It was a superb goal from the Lazio man and his side are right back in this game now.
This has been a really enjoyable half of football to watch and the scoreline is probably a fair reflection on how both teams have played. I'm sure that we haven't seen the last of the action and there looks to be more goals in this game yet.
Pirlo looks to be finding his range from free kicks and a great delivery into the box almost picks out Pelle, before Schildenfeld gets a vital flick on the ball. He then whips in a fine cross from the resulting corner, but Croatia stand firm again to clear the danger.
YELLOW CARD! Olic picks up a booking for a foul on Bonucci. I can tell you that Buffon and Mandzukic were booked earlier in the half amid the chaos of both goals.
We are going to have three additional minutes added on to the end of the first half.
SAVE! It's a big chance for Italy to take the lead as Pirlo plays a wonderful pass that sets Pelle free. He is at a tight angle and looks to fire in a strike towards Subasic's near post, but the keeper gets down well to beat the ball behind.
HALF-TIME: Croatia 1-1 Italy
It's half time in Split and the scores are level between Croatia and Italy. We've seen plenty of drama in a very entertaining 45 minutes, that saw a couple of goals, a missed penalty and a strike that was controversially disallowed.
© Getty Images
Here's how the statistics are shaping up after that first half. Italy have been the more dominant of the teams and they have enjoyed 60% of the possession. They have also had four attempts on goal, with Croatia having one effort, although that does not include Stephan El Shaarawy's disallowed goal.
There have been some huge calls for Martin Atkinson to make this evening and he got both of the penalty decisions correct. However, he should have allowed Stephan El Shaarawy's goal to stand, as the Milan forward looked to be onside when he scored.
Here's some interesting news. It appears that Salvatore Sirigu will be coming on for Italy in the second half. Gianluigi Buffon looked to have picked up a bit of a knock in the aftermath of the Croatia goal and he had been struggling with an elbow problem throughout the week.
Croatia take the kick off and get the second half started.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Let me bring you up to date with a couple of changes. As I mentioned, Sirigu is on for Italy to replace Buffon, while Croatia have also made a sub, with Rebic coming on for Olic.
There's not too much to report on the opening minutes of this half, with neither team keeping hold of the ball. It's similar to what we saw at the very start of the first half and that ended up being a very exciting affair.
YELLOW CARD! Parolo is the second Italian player to be booked this evening for a foul on Rakitic. He brought the midfielder down just outside the box following a quick break from the Croatians and they now have a free kick in a very promising position.
Srna takes the free kick, but he smashes his effort straight into the wall. The Croatian captain complains for a handball, but instead he is booked by Atkinson for dissent.
We've seen quite a few poor tackles already from Italy in this half and Pranjic is down after a lunging challenge from De Sciglio. It has just taken the flow out of the match, which is exactly what the visitors want to do when Croatia attack at pace.
This is a decent spell in the match for Croatia, who are seeing lots of the ball. They haven't been able to create any clear-cut chances since the break, with Sirigu untroubled since his arrival on the pitch.
SHOT! Croatia do work an effort on goal, with Brozovic picked out at the back post following a well-worked corner. However, the Inter midfielder can only fire his volley over the bar from a tight angle.
CHANCE! Down the other end of the pitch Italy have a chance when Candreva gets to the byline and stands up a great cross. El Shaarawy arrives to meet it, but he gets underneath the ball and places his header high over the bar. Pelle was just behind him and he did look in a slightly better position to take on the attempt.
The pressure is just starting to grow from the hosts and they are dominating the midfield. Rakitic is seeing a lot of the ball and he is dictating the tempo as his side look to pick a way through the Italian defence.
Let me just update you on what is going on in tonight's other Group H games. Third-placed Norway are currently being held to a goalless draw by Azerbaijan, while Bulgaria are just behind them and are leading 1-0 against Malta.
CHANCE! Candreva has been great for Italy this evening and he shows superb skill to beat his man at the byline, before cutting inside and laying it off for Pirlo just outside the box. The veteran midfielder then shifts it onto his right foot and fires in a strike, but he can only hammer the ball high over the bar.
CHANCE! Once again Candreva shows his class down the right and he whips a dangerous low ball into the box. Croatia fail to clear and it ends up falling kindly for Parolo, but the midfielder places a weak effort straight at the keeper. It was a similar chance to El Shaarawy's shot in the first half and it's another big moment wasted for Italy.
SUBSTITUTION: Croatia are going to make their second change of the match, with Vrsaljko replacing Pranjic.
At this moment in time, it's hard to call a winner and you feel that both teams would be happy with a draw. Croatia are seeing slightly more of the ball, but Italy look far more dangerous when they get into the final third.
CHANCE! This would have been some goal had it found the back of the net. Perisic picks the ball up around 25 yards out from goal and he works some room before firing an effort towards the top right corner. The ball ends up swinging wide of the far post, but it was a fine effort.
CHANCE! Once again Croatia try their luck on goal with Perisic finding Rakitic on the edge of the box. The Barcelona man then looks to guide an effort into the corner, but he is leaning back as he hits the ball and it ends up going high over the bar.
SUBSTITUTION: Italy make their third and final change of the match, with Ranocchia coming on for El Shaarawy. That means that the visitors will now switch back to their familiar formation of playing three at the back and they seem to have settled for a draw.
YELLOW CARD! Rebic is the fourth Croatian to be booked by Atkinson this evening for catching De Sciglio on the head with a high boot.
There's no sign of a late winner at the moment, with both teams content to just hold onto the ball and play it around in their own halves of the pitch. With Norway still level against Azerbaijan, a point tonight for both nations will keep them in charge of the top two spots in the group.
YELLOW CARD! Kovacic picks up a late booking for the hosts.
RED CARD! Srna was lucky not to be sent off for a foul on Marchisio just moments ago, but he picks up a second yellow card for another late challenge on the Juventus midfielder. It was a moment of madness from the Croatia captain and he will now miss his team's next game against Azerbaijan.
We are going to have two minutes of stoppage time.
SUBSTITUTION: It's a final change for the hosts, with Leovac replacing Kovacic.
FULL-TIME: Croatia 1-1 Italy
The final whistle blows in Split and it has ended in a draw between Croatia and Italy. The second half failed to live up to the excitement of the opening 45 minutes, as both teams earned a precious point on their way to qualifying for Euro 2016.
© Getty Images
Croatia have now moved up to 14 points in the group, with Italy two behind them on 12. Norway were unable to put any further pressure on the Azzurri, as they were held to a goalless draw by Azerbaijan, while Bulgaria kept alive their slim hopes of finishing in third place by beating Malta.
That's just about all we've got time for, after another important night of qualifying for next year's European Championships. There's plenty more live international action to come throughout the weekend, so make sure you join us for that. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Goodbye!
Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic
