Croatia–Italy football rivalry
 Location of Croatia (green) and Italy (orange) | |
| Other names | Derby Adriatico |
|---|---|
| Location | Europe (UEFA) |
| Teams |  Croatia Italy |
| First meeting | Croatia 2–0 Italy Friendly (16 November 1994) |
| Latest meeting | Croatia 1–1 Italy UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying (12 June 2015) |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 8 |
| Most wins | Croatia (3) |
| Top scorer | Davor Šuker (3) |
| All-time series | Croatia: 3 Draw: 5 Italy: 0 |
| Largest victory | Croatia 2–0 Italy Friendly (16 August 2006) |
| Largest goal scoring | Croatia 2–0 Italy Friendly (16 August 2006) |
The Croatia–Italy football rivalry, also known as the Derby Adriatico, is a football rivalry between the national football teams of Croatia and Italy.[1][2][3] Croatia has not lost against Italy (Italy won one game in 1942 while Croatia was an axis puppet state, but it is not recognized by the Croatian Football Federation) with most of the fixtures played in qualifications and at tournaments.[4][5] At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Croatia came from behind to beat Italy 2–1 in a controversial game, after two Italian goals were disallowed.[6] During the Euro 2016 qualifying phase, Croatia and Italy played each other twice, drawing both times.[7] The first match was marred by crowd trouble due to flares being thrown onto the pitch, which also occurred when the two teams met at the UEFA Euro 2012.
List of matches[]
History at major tournaments[]
2002 FIFA World Cup[]
The two nations faced each other at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. They were drawn in the Group G along with Mexico and Ecuador. In their second group match, Italy took the lead in 55th minute after Christian Vieri scored, but Croatia made a comeback by goals from Ivica Olić in 73rd and Milan Rapaić in 76th minute. Even though Croatia won, Italy finished second in the group with a point more than Croatia and thus entered knockout stage where they were eliminated by South Korea.
2012 UEFA Euro[]
Croatia and Italy met in the group stage of UEFA Euro 2012 along with Spain and Republic of Ireland. Andrea Pirlo scored a free kick in 39th minute for Italy's lead and Croatians equalised through Mario Mandžukić in 72nd. Italy finished second in the Group C with 5 points, one more than third Croatia. Italy reached the final where they once again played against Spain to whom they lost 4–0.
Statistics[]
Overall[]
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Goals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | Italy | Croatia | Italy | |||
| FIFA World Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| UEFA European Championship | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| All competitions | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| Friendly | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| All matches | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 6 |
References[]
- ^ "Quanti incroci: Italia e Croazia, la storia infinita". Sky Sport Italia. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Parla Boban: "Italia, riscopri l'arte di Rivera e Baggio"". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Kroatien bleibt Italiens Angstgegner". Tiroler Tageszeitung. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Jadranski derbi završio remijem u sjeni svastike". Index.hr. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Vatreni duel jadranskih susjeda". N1. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ Federation, UEFA (July 15, 2018). "Italy's competitive record against Croatia in football". worldfootball.net. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ Reuters Editorial (June 10, 2015). "Croatia and Italy clash in empty stadium". Reuters. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- International association football rivalries
- Croatia national football team rivalries
- Italy national football team rivalries
- Croatia–Italy relations