Italy 1 Croatia 1: Mighty Mandzukic pounces to cancel out Pirlo's pearler
Posted on
Jun 14, 2012
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Mario Mandzukic scored his third goal in two Euro 2012 games to leave Croatia and Italy's quarter-final hopes on a knife-edge.Croatia went into the Group C encounter knowing a win over Italy would guarantee them a last-eight place, but they were decidedly second best in the opening 45 minutes at Poznan's Municipal Stadium.
Italy deservedly led at the half-time interval courtesy of Andrea Pirlo's stunning free-kick, but were never the same attacking force in the second period, allowing Mandzukic to equalise in the 72nd minute.
With four points from two matches, Croatia now face a challenging final clash with reigning world and European champions Spain.
