The two matches of Group D also followed, and before the game, conspiracy theories and tacit understanding were rampant, although the Spanish team repeatedly said that they would go all out for the sake of glory, but the process of the game still made the Italians tremble.

If the match between Spain and Croatia ends up with a 1-1 result, Italy will have to go home without a goal difference.

There is joy over there, there must be sorrow here, at the last moment of the game, Croatia's most threatening opportunity in the whole game, the moment it was resolved by the Spanish goalkeeper Casillas, the Croatian bench was full of lamentation, and the rock coach Bilic slapped his forehead harder, from the quarterfinals, the Croatian team was once so close, and finally so far away.

The strength and fighting spirit shown by the Croatian team in this European Championship have won the support of many neutral fans, and it is enough to make the powerful Spanish team feel a serious crisis for a while, which is enough to reflect that they are really doing well.

At the last moment, the Croatian team still did not give up, and even goalkeeper Pletticosa rushed to the front of the Spanish penalty area, but the miracle did not happen, and the Plaid Army could only go home after the group stage.

It was also Bilic's farewell match for Croatia, where the rock boss had already left a lasting impression on fans around the world at Euro 2008.

A former international and later head coach of the national team, Bilic is also an LLM and plays guitarist in a heavy metal band. On him, a legend is written. What is particularly impressive is that in two consecutive European Championships, the Croatian team has performed very well under the leadership of Bilic. They don't have to hang their heads when they leave this time.

The victory of the Spaniards was not convincing, and the Croats were out, but with their pride.

In another game at the same time, Cassano became a hero of the Italians, eight years, this moment Cassano waited for eight years, in 2004, Cassano's goal in the final stage helped the team beat Bulgaria 2:1, but he waited for the fate of elimination, because of the ecstasy of completing the lore within a minute and the great sorrow of going out, Cassano, who was only 22 years old at the time, sat on the turf and cried, for a while the rain and tears soaked his face, this moment time seemed to be frozen, I don't know how many Italian fans were saddened by this scene, which is still regarded as a classic image in the history of the European Championship.

Eight years later, it seems that history will repeat itself again, time has passed, and the "bad boy" of that year has experienced the ordeal of ischemic and medium-risk retirement at the beginning of the year, and has become a stable candidate for the Italian striker.

Embarrassingly, Cassano is now facing the same situation as eight years ago, and in the final round of the group stage, if Spain and Croatia play 2:2, Italy will be eliminated.

However, this time Cassano has been very calm: "Being able to participate in the European Championship is already a victory for me. ”

Finally on the Italian European Championship squad, Cassano said he wanted to thank Blues coach Prandelli the most, and after Cassano underwent surgery, Prandelli immediately said that he was willing to wait for Cassano until the last minute, and Cassano was also full of gratitude to Prandelli.

Before that serious illness, Cassano was recognized as a "bad boy" in football, and now the various behaviors of the national team's forward partner "Ba Shen" are just frying Cassano's "cold rice" in the past ten years.

"I'm still as young as a child at heart."

After all this, Cassano still considers himself a child from the bottom of his heart, and he can even understand Balotelli: "I was more rebellious at his age, and of course I paid a high price and got almost nothing. ”

Cassano believes that Balotelli needs someone to lead him on the right path and, of course, his own determination, and that the two interact with each other to mature.

Of course, after returning from injury, Cassano has a sense of maturity: "The illness has changed my perspective on many things a lot, and I have a better understanding of what the most important things in life are. ”

Cassano now has all his eyes on the European Championship title: "I cherish this opportunity and I will give everything I have to help Italy win. ”

This is Cassano's third European Championship in his career, eight years ago in Portugal, Italy was blocked out of the group by a tacit goal, and now the Italians are facing a similar situation, Cassano is quite calm: "Now I will enjoy the game to the fullest, Italy have been through two tough tests, I believe the team can beat any opponent. ”

Sometimes, God is fair, and Cassano's goal tonight finally helped Italy qualify.

Cassano's header in the first half helped the team take the lead early, and helped the team finally win 2-0 against Ireland, but the wait was also long, after the game, the Italian team did not leave immediately, but was waiting for the result of the Spanish team, when it was learned that the Spanish team won 1-0 against Croatia, Buffon, who was walking alone on the edge of the penalty area, began to run wildly, and he danced to vent his emotions, And Cassano, who cried because of 2:2 eight years ago, also hugged Buffon tightly, in the current national team, only Buffon, Pirlo and Cassano experienced the 2004 battle, so Buffon may be the one who knows Cassano best.

Interestingly, the head coach of the Italian team in 2004 was the current head coach of Ireland, Trapattoni, and when the camera captured Trapattoni, the Italian coach showed a somewhat embarrassed smile, obviously with some mixed emotions in it.

On the one hand, I am helpless to be out, and on the other hand, I am afraid that I am also relieved by the turn of Cassano's fate, after all, everyone knows that Cassano was Trapattoni's absolute favorite at that time.

Eight years, Cassano has also changed from a boy to a real boy, in these eight years, he has gone through the frustration of Real Madrid, but also experienced a process of accumulating strength in the small and medium-sized club Sampdoria, and then encountered a rare heart disease in AC Milan, but none of this defeated him, he still recovered miraculously before the European Cup, and adjusted his condition to the best, he has become more brave and mature, in recent years some negative news about Cassano has almost disappeared, And he is also married and has children, and has taken on the responsibilities of a man, and it is clear that such a Cassano deserves everyone's respect.

"Give everything I have to help Italy win."

Italian veteran Cassano vowed before the game, but in fact, the Italian media still questioned him before the game, but Prandelli understood Cassano's strength and gave him full trust, which eventually proved that this trust was rewarded, and after the Italian main striker scored, Cassano has become Italy's top scorer in the European Championship finals.

Although some media believe that Cassano did not perform much after scoring goals, in fact, scoring goals was not Cassano's only contribution in the whole game, his efforts on the field were not inferior to anyone, and he made many penetrating wonderful balls in the game.

Don't forget, Cassano is an assist master, and last season Cassano only made 16 league appearances for AC Milan due to a heart attack, but he gave an incredible 10 assists, and if it weren't for heart disease, the title of assist leader of the season would definitely belong to Cassano and not Pirlo.

The match against Ireland was a life-or-death battle for the Italians, and the pressure was understandable for an Italian team who needed a win to qualify for the quarter-finals and were still thinking about the score of another game in the same group. However, even in this situation, the Italian team still played the most beautiful game in 32 years.

In today's game, Prandelli did not stick to the 3-5-2 formation of the first two games, but opted for a 4-3-1-2 team, and this Italian team also shined.

From the first minute, the Italian team played a smooth combination, the Italian team's first attack was in the first minute of the game, when, after Abate broke the ball at the back, the ball passed through Marchisio and Cassano twice, Di Natale completed the cross, the ball fell outside the box, and the follow-up De Rossi volleyed, although the ball was deflected, but it set the tone for the Italian team's attack in this game: beautiful football.

Every attack of the Italian team will go through the organization of the midfield, and it is no longer the impression of a big foot driving forward, passing three passes and two hands in front of the goal.

Not only that, but the Italian team's attack is also full of layers, such as the first goal of this game is a model.

In the 34th minute, Pirlo's pick pass on the right side, after Di Natale was offside, he shook the attacking Gilvin near the penalty area, although the angle was small, he still hit the goal, the defender destroyed the ball out of the penalty area, Cassano took the ball in the middle, a high-quality long shot, the frightened Given's received the ball and got rid of it, the ball went out of the bottom line, and it was with this corner kick that the Italian team scored.

If efficient passing and dazzling coordination are to hit the opponent in space, then the layered and high-density attack is to disintegrate the opponent psychologically.

And Balotelli's goal in the final moments of the game was the icing on the cake for the Sky Blue team.

Such a beautiful game, in the previous Italian team, is difficult to imagine, but in fact, the change in Italy, the first game has already begun.

Although the opening game was against a mighty Spain, and although they did not dominate possession, Italy was still refreshing, no longer the ugly, ugly Italy side, but competed with Spain for a full 90 minutes through quick, concise passing.

In the first half against Croatia, Italy's performance and on-field performance were also very good, but it was only in the final stage that the Croatia equalized due to the failure of Plantry's on-the-spot adjustment, and the two consecutive draws made Italy stand on the same cliff eight years ago, and also made people ignore the new changes in Italy this year.

What is valuable is that in today's game, the Italian team played such a beautiful game when they were worried that they might be eliminated by the two teams of Spain and Croatia together, and on the other hand, they had to win against the Irish team.

Speaking after the game, captain Gianluigi Buffon said: "We knew we had to give it our all, the team was positive, we were a little bit luckier than the previous European Championships, the team was in good shape and had a lot of firepower. ”

Cassano said: "Italy are about to start a new European Championship and we are confident that we will go to the end and win the title. ”

Maybe the Italian team in front of him is not strong enough, and the team is not fully formed, but the Italian Football Federation has made it clear that no matter what the results of this European Cup, Prandelli will remain in office, and there is reason to believe that in time, Prandelli's Italian team will return to its former glory.

In this game, it was the Barry boys who won for the Italians on the pitch, and it was Prandelli who was the strategist and directly directed this wonderful victory.

Before the European Championships, few people were optimistic about this civilian Italy, but Prand used his amazing vocational skills to finally present a new Italy in front of people.

As we all know, when Prandelli was in Fiorentina, he always pursued the neutralization of beautiful football and practical football, but there was no super player like Digan in Italy, and Prandelli had to be forced to make some adjustments to bring Italy closer to his former Fiorentina.

The final result of the game also allowed Prandelli to relax a little, although the current Italy is still far from the original team that swept the whole of Europe Fiorentina, there is still a big gap, but I believe that under Prandelli's tutelage, the Italian team's next road will be smoother and smoother.

Italian Football Federation President Abate also announced afterwards that regardless of Italy's results in this European Cup, the current coach Prandelli will still be the head coach of the Italian national team in the next two years.

Although Italy have stumbled since the start of the European Championships, finally beating Ireland in the final round after two consecutive draws to finish second in the group, Abate said the results of the European Championships will not affect Prandelli's future in Italy.

In an interview, Abate said: "No matter what Italy will achieve in this year's European Championships, Prandelli and his team will continue to play for Italian football for two more years, at this moment, we don't need to guess what Italy will achieve in the end, even if it is eliminated, it doesn't matter, the team is there, the difficulties are there, we should focus on how to overcome it." ”