Croatia–Italy football rivalry
 Location of Croatia (green) and Italy (orange) | |
| Other names | Derby Adriatico |
|---|---|
| Locale | Europe (UEFA) |
| Teams |  Croatia Italy |
| First meeting | Italy 1–2 Croatia[nb 1] UEFA Euro 1996 (16 November 1994) |
| Latest meeting | Croatia 1–1 Italy UEFA Euro 2016 (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 Adriatic Derby (Italian: Derby Adriatico),[nb 2] is a football rivalry between the national football teams of Croatia and Italy.[1][2] The two nations are separated by the Adriatic Sea, from which the sporting rivalry derives its name.[3] Both national sides are governed by UEFA in Europe, in addition to FIFA during their international matches. Croatia has never lost against Italy, with most of the fixtures between the two nations played during qualifications and in tournaments.[4][5]
History[edit]
The two sides first competed against each other in the qualifying of Euro 1996, where Croatia prevailed 2–1.[6] Their next match during the qualifiers resulted in their first draw, 1–1. They drew again during a goalless international friendly in Zagreb. Croatia and Italy met for their first FIFA World Cup in 2002, in group stage, where the Croatians prevailed 2–1.[7] During the 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.[7] Two Italian goals were disallowed during the game.[8] Italy finished second in the group with a point more than Croatia and thus entered knockout stage where they were eliminated by South Korea. In 2006, Croatia beat Italy 2–0 in their second international friendly in Livorno.[9] The two sides drew 1–1 in the qualifying for Euro 2012.[10]
They resumed competition during the qualifying for Euro 2016; Croatia and Italy played each other twice, drawing both times.[11] The first match was marred by crowd trouble due to flares being thrown onto the pitch. During game-play, Andrea Pirlo scored a free kick in the 39th minute to give Italy the lead. Mario Mandžukić scored the equalizer for Croatia in the 72nd minute. Italy finished second in Group C with 5 points, one more than third place Croatia.[12]
List of matches[edit]
Top scorers[edit]
- Davor Šuker (3 goals)
- Antonio Candreva (2 goals)
- Mario Mandžukić (2 goals)
Statistics[edit]
Overall[edit]
| 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 |
See also[edit]
- Italians of Croatia
- Croatia–Italy relations
- Italian language in Croatia
- Croatia–Serbia football rivalry
- France–Italy football rivalry
Notes[edit]
- ↑ The Independent State of Croatia once played against the Kingdom of Italy in 1942, where Italy prevailed. The match is not recognized by the Croatian Football Federation and Italian Football Federation as Croatia was under direct control of Nazi Germany and Italy during this time.
- ↑ Both Croatia and Italy maintain Italian as an official language, the former in Istria County.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Quanti incroci: Italia e Croazia, la storia infinita". Sky Sport Italia. 12 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "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. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Jadranski derbi završio remijem u sjeni svastike". Index.hr. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ↑ "Vatreni duel jadranskih susjeda". N1. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Italy - Croatia 1:2 - Croatian Football Federation". hns-cff.hr. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Glendenning, Barry (2002-06-08). "Italy 1 - 2 Croatia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ↑ Glendenning, Barry (2002-06-08). "Italy 1 - 2 Croatia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ↑ "Italy national football team: record v Croatia". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ↑ "Italy 1-1 Croatia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ↑ "Croatia and Italy clash in empty stadium". Times of Malta. June 11, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Bonucci leads Italy charge against Croatia in 2016 Euro qualifier". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
Template:Croatia national football team
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