Euro 2016 qualifiers: Croatia, Italy preserve respective unbeaten records with 1-1 draw

Azurri unbeaten in San Siro for 89 years, Croats unbeaten against Italy in 72

MILAN: An ugly flare-throwing incident in Milan's San Siro stadium marred the spectacle as an under-par Italy were held 1-1 on Sunday in the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Group H leaders Croatia.

The visitors had crossed the Adriatic hoping to protect an impressive unbeaten record against the Italians that stretched back to 1942, when the Azzurri beat the then Yugoslavia 4-0 in Genoa. The Italians on the other hand had their own unbeaten record to preserve as they hadn’t been beaten in the San Siro since 1925.

Instead, Croatia coach Niko Kovac spent most of the post-match talk apologising for the disruptive behaviour of his country's notoriously difficult fans. “I want to say sorry for what happened with our fans,” said Kovac. “This is not football and it's not a fair image of our country or our people.”

Kovac, a former captain of the national team, ultimately saw his side underline their superiority against an Italy side which, after a second consecutive first-round exit from the World Cup last summer, is now looking to turn over a new leaf under new manager Antonio Conte.

Lazio midfielder Antonio Candreva got the hosts off to a great start in the 11th minute with an impressive finish to claim his debut goal for the Azzurri in front of a packed San Siro.

However, the lead lasted only four minutes as the Croats were back on level terms when Gianluigi Buffon was too slow to get down and allowed a low Ivan Perisic shot to go through.

The visitors continued to dominate despite an injury to Luka Modric, with Inter Milan playmaker Mateo Kovacic coming on in his place in familiar surroundings, and Perisic should have doubled his tally and given his side the lead late on but fired wide when put through clear on goal.

Croatia remain top of Group H with Italy still in second but UEFA’s spotlight will once again shine on the Baltic nation, who have been issued sanctions in the past for their fans’ behaviour.

Meanwhile, Conte was quick to praise Italy’s opponents on the night rather than blame his side. “Croatia are strong, they're well-prepared and have great individual players who play at the top level. They gave us a tough match," said Conte. “In the circumstances and in terms of our objectives, I'm happy with our performance. I don't want the media to criticise our squad. We still have progress to make.”

Holland, meanwhile, defeated Latvia 6-0 and Turkey won 3-1 against Kazakhstan.

 

 
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