European Championship qualifier, Group H, Giuseppe Meazza – Italy 1 (Candreva 11) Croatia 1 (Perisic 15)
Italy and Croatia played out a 1-1 draw in Milan after crowd trouble in the Croatian section of fans almost caused the match to be abandoned.
The group’s leading teams were locked at 1-1 after early goals in the first half from Antonio Candreva’s fine strike and Gianluigi Buffon’s mistake that let Ivan Perisic’s shot squirm underneath him.
Croatia then dominated the match for long periods against a weakened Italian side shorn of many of its leading players including Andrea Pirlo.
But just as the Italians began to turn the tide going into the remaining 15 minutes, flares began to rain down on the pitch from a minority of the away fans.
Safety concerns and visibility issues caused a 10-minute stoppage that may have further repercussions. And Perisic missed a glorious late chance to condemn Italy to a first competitive qualifying loss dating back to 1999 when he shot wide of Buffon’s goal.
The result means that both Croatia and Italy remain top of Group H, a point clear of Norway who beat Azerbaijan 1-0.
But there was bad news for Real Madrid midfielder Luca Modric, who left the field early in the first half with a serious looking hip injury.
- Source: Eurosport
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