M. Leovac enters the game and replaces M. Kovačić.
90'
D. Srna gets a second yellow card and is sent off.
Just the two minutes of added time allocated by the referee and Croatia are making a late change. Kovacic, who was booked a few minutes ago, comes off to be replaced by Leovac.
88'
SRNA IS SENT OFF FOR! The Croatia captain, who should have arguably received another booking a few minutes ago, fails to learn his lesson and comes stupidly and needlessly through the back of Marchisio in a nothing area in the middle of the park! A second yellow and subsequent red are duly shown by the ref.
87'
M. Kovačić gets yellow.
86'
Candreva pops up down the left-hand side this time and swiftly cuts in on his right foot before hitting a wicked, low cross to the front post. Schildenfeld meets it but it is a horribly tired clearance from the defender who sends the ball straight behind for yet another Italian corner kick.
84'
Just over six minutes remaining in this clash now and it does indeed look like the draw is the most likely result. With quite a bit riding on the result and with the potential consequences at the top of the table, Croatia and Italy appear to be happy to maintain the gap. Still time for a winner, though...
82'
A. Rebić gets yellow.
That is a really nasty challenge on De Sciglio from Rebic! The attacker tries his hardest to get on the end of a loose ball inside the centre circle, and although there was no malice in the tackle, manages to catch the Italian defender who bravely ducks his head into the challenge to clear away. A yellow is brandished to the Croatian by the referee, Martin Atkinson.
80'
A. Ranocchia enters the game and replaces S. El Shaarawy.
Third and final change from Italy now and it is a defensive one from Conte. El Shaarawy, who has shown glimpses of his ability but who has ultimately disappointed, is coming off and will be replaced by Andrea Ranocchia. An attacker coming off for a central defender, then, which will likely see the Azzurri reverting to a back three.
78'
PERISIC! HOW CLOSE WAS THAT?! The Wolfsburg winner finds space around 30 yards out from goal and unleashes a drilled strike aimed towards the top right corner. Subasic is certainly troubled by it but the attempt flashes just wide of the right-hand post! That would have been a screamer!
76'
Pirlo is dropping more and more deep and is almost playing as a third centre-back at the moment, which is actually contributing to Italy regaining control in the midfield area. It does look like both sides may be happy with the draw, but a winning goal for either side could have big ramifications in Group H.
Minute
Description
74'
Both sides probably would have entered the match tonight thinking that a draw would have been a decent result, so it should be interesting to see how much attacking ambition is encouraged by both coaches. Croatia currently two points ahead of Italy in the group, and that deficit will remain the same if the result remains as it is.
73'
Š. Vrsaljko enters the game and replaces D. Pranjić.
72'
Second change of the match from Kovac and it, rather unsurprisingly, sees Pranjic come off to be replaced by Vrsaljko. The former has been given the run around by Candreva in the last few minutes, so it is understandable that he has been taken out of the firing line.
71'
C. Marchisio gets yellow.
70'
Another glorious chance passed up by Italy! Candreva is once again at the heart of everything productive for the Azzurri as he easily gets beyond the struggling Pranjic down the right wing before reversing a pass into the box. Parolo meets the ball but sends a horrendously tepid strike into the arms of the keeper in the centre of goal! That was more like a pass back!
68'
PIRLOOOO! JUST OVER! Candreva leaves Pranjic for dead near the byline with a superb bit of skill before teeing up his compatriot on the edge of the box. The Champions League finalist hits a dipping strike towards goal but it just doesn't dip enough in time and ends up floating north of the bar! Subasic was certainly struggling to get to that one had it been on target!
66'
The lack of noise and atmosphere inside the stadium has gave us somewhat of an insight into the psyche of Conte and Kovac on the touchline. Both coaches are rather vocal from their dugouts and you can here every shout clearly as they bark out instructions to their troops.
64'
Croatia are enjoying the majority of the possession at the moment and are really knocking at the door trying to find an opening in this Italy defence. The visitors are just being forced back due to Brozovic and Rakitic's control of the ball, but this may prove just to be a small spell as the Azzurri have seen more possession overall here.
62'
Marchisio pops up in midfield and fires a pass into the feet of Candreva, who turns sharply before sliding the ball out wide to De Sciglio. The substitute finds a yard of space and whips a cross into the box, but it is cleared at the front post by Vida.
60'
Candreva gets the better of Pranjic down the right wing and hits the byline before standing a superb cross into the centre of the box. El Shaarawy rises high and heads an attempt looping over the ball, whilst Pelle is behind him in a much better position. Just a little more communication required on that occasion there.
58'
Candreva poorly gives the ball away in the middle of the park and Mandzukic takes advantage to open up his stride through the centre. The Atletico Madrid striker finds Rebic on the right wing, but the substitute's touch lets him down which allows Darmian to come in and win possession with a solid challenge.
56'
El Shaarawy was bright in the first half and had that goal wrongfully disallowed, but for since the break he has looked bereft of confidence when on the ball in the final third. He has had his injury problems this season, of course, but he'll need to start contributing a little more for club and country.
54'
D. Srna gets yellow.
It is Italy's turn to counterattack this time and it is Candreva who leads the charge through the middle whilst under pressure from three retreating Croatians. The Lazio winger fires a pass into the pass of El Shaarawy, and then goes into the box looking for the return pass, but it is short from the Milan man which allows the home side to clear.
53'
M. Parolo gets yellow.
52'
Croatia counterattack at pace after winning the ball deep in their own half as Italy are caught with quite a few men forward. In the end Rakitic bursts forward before looking to get a shot away on the edge of the box, but Parolo takes one for the team and commits the foul before being awarded with a booking. Free kick to the hosts.
51'
Some lovely interplay from Italy as Pelle comes short to receive possession before laying the ball neatly into the path of Marchisio. The Juventus man then attempts to exchange a one-two with El Shaarawy but the return pass from his compatriot is intercepted.
49'
Rebic, in his meaningful action since coming on, breaks away to the right wing and latches on to a lovely pass from Rakitic before teasing a cross along the six-yard box for Mandzukic. The attack for Croatia breaks down though as Sirigu proactively comes off his line to claim.
47'
Before this match, Buffon was struggling with a knee injury and also an elbow injury, so it was perhaps a risk from Conte to start the experienced goalkeeper tonight. It is a risk that has not paid off as the Juventus man is forced off. A more than capable replacement in Sirigu coming on, though.
46'
A. Rebić enters the game and replaces I. Olić.
S. Sirigu enters the game and replaces G. Buffon.
We are back under way in this Euro 2016 qualifier between Croatia and Italy! Who will be in top spot in Group H at the end of this 90 minutes?!
A couple of changes to report for you at the break. For Italy, perhaps ominously, Buffon is forced off with injury and will be replaced by Sirigu. For Croatia, Rebic comes on to replace veteran striker, Olic, up top.
45' +1
SAVE FROM SUBASIC! Pelle loses his marker inside the box and breaks away to the right of goal before rifling a strike towards the front post, but his attempt is excellently parried away by the Croatia keeper! Corner kick to Conte's men!
44'
Three minutes of added time have been allocated by the official and that has most likely came from De Silvestri's injury, which took up a bit of time. Can either side take a vital lead heading into the break?
43'
I. Olić gets yellow.
42'
Olic, in typical style, relentlessly presses the opposition defence high up the park but on this occasion takes it a little too far as he takes out Bonucci from behind with a loose boot to the calf. The Hamburg striker is the latest player to be awarded a yellow card from the ref.
40'
Vida, not for the first time in the match, comes in with a rash challenge on Pelle which gifts Italy yet another set-piece in a dangerous position. Pirlo's delivery is once again terrific, but the Croatia defence react well and turn behind for a corner before the Southampton striker can get a header away.
38'
On the balance of play, that equaliser from Italy is probably deserved, for no more reason than the fact they had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside earlier in the half. Croatia started the match well, but since going a goal behind the Azzurri have rallied and have eventually clawed a strike back.
36'
Penalty goal scored by A. Candreva for Italy!
GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLL FOR ITALY! Candreva steps up confidently and cheekily chips the spotkick straight down the middle with Subasic going down to his right-hand side! A lovely Panenka penalty there! One-one!
35'
M. Mandžukić gets yellow.
PENALTY TO ITALY! Pirlo whips the free kick into the box and Mandzukic, bizarrely, beats the ball away with his hands whilst complaining of a push to the back from Pelle! The referee is having none of it and issues a booking to the Atletico striker before pointing to the spot!
33'
De Sciglio, in his best moment since coming on, opens up his stride down the right-hand side and ends up earning a foul as Rakitic comes in with a poorly-time challenge just a few yards outside the box. A useful position for Pirlo to get a delivery into the area.
31'
Awful finish from El Shaarawy! Marchisio darts ahead down the left channel and releases Pelle in behind the Croatia defence, who reverses a perfect cross into the danger area near the penalty spot. The Milan attacker meets it but fluffs his shot terribly which allows Subasic to make the comfortable save! It should be 1-1!
29'
Pirlo swings Italy's first corner of the match into the box and Kovacic is on hand to clear out of the danger area. The ball eventually comes back to the feet of the Juventus midfielder but his subsequent cross deep to the far post lacks his usual class and ends up floating behind for a goal kick.
27'
M. De Sciglio enters the game and replaces L. De Silvestri.
First change of the match and it comes from Italy as De Silvestri is replaced in defence by Mattia De Sciglio. The Milan defender will just slot in at right-back, but it is possible that Darmian may just swap over at some point in the match.
25'
Some very worrying scenes for the Azzurri at the moment as it doesn't look like De Silvestri will be able to continue after buckling down horribly after blocking that strike from Kovavic. The Italian's knee looks to be the issue, and he is currently down receiving treatment from an assortment of physios.
23'
Fantastic block from De Silvestri! Mandzukic gets the better of his marker down the right touchline and drives forward at pace before reversing a pass into the box from Kovacic. The Inter midfielder turns a strike towards goal, but it is heroically charged down by the Sampdoria man!
21'
Subasic is caught horribly off his line and Pelle loops the ball over his head and it looks like it may just sneak into the net. El Shaarawy attempts to make sure by nodding over the line during an aerial challenge with Srna, but the linesman once again penalises the AC Milan attacker with an offside. On this occasion, looks like the right decision.
19'
Rakitic has been at the heart of everything productive for Croatia so far. The Barcelona star, who scored the opening goal in the Champions League final last week, seems to be carrying on his impressive form from that night as he is pulling the strings in this Euro 2016 qualifier. No signs of fatigue, then!
17'
In an almost carbon copy set-piece from a couple of minutes ago, Pirlo once again sends a brilliant cross into the box from a free kick from the left wing. On this occasion it is El Shaarawy who fancies glancing a header towards goal, but the goalscorer, Mandzukic, is back helping out his defence and clears with a commanding header.
15'
Pirlo stands over a free kick from the left wing and swings the set-piece wickedly into the area. Pelle rises high and attempts to get on the end of it, but just times his header a little too early which allows Subasic to come off his line to claim out of the air.
13'
That was quite an unbelievable couple of minutes! Antonio Conte will certainly not be happy on the Italy bench, as replays have shown that El Shaarawy was onside not only from the initial cross into the box, but also the following touch from Pelle for the disallowed goal! Plenty of controversy and we are only 13 minutes in!
11'
M. Mandžukić has scored a goal for Croatia! Assist by I. Rakitić.
G. Buffon gets yellow.
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL FOR CROATIA! A slick counterattack from the hosts! Incredibly, as Italy complain about their disallowed goal, Croatia take a quick free kick and power down the pitch! Rakitic ends up receiving possession inside the box and subsequently tees up Mandzukic to net his first goal of qualifying! One-nil!
10'
GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL FOR ITALY! WAIT! NO! OFFSIDE! El Shaarawy latches on to a De Silvestri cross from the right-hand side to bullet a strike past the keeper, but the linesman had his flag up! That certainly looked a close one!
9'
Mandzukic has featured in every match for Croatia in this qualifying campaign so far, and even though Kovac's outfit top Group H, the former Bayern Munich striker is yet to chip in with a single goal. That penalty probably summed up his campaign up until this point!
7'
Penalty saved by G. Buffon!
SAVE BY BUFFON! Mandzukic steps up and doesn't seem confident at all as he sends a weak strike down to the left for the grateful Buffon to gobble up! A pretty awful spotkick from the Atletico Madrid man, but a relatively solid save too!
6'
The opening proceedings have saw Croatia enjoy the majority of possession, particularly in the defensive area. Italy are well drilled in their defending but are also quick to press high up the park, particularly through Candreva and El and El Shaarawy.
PENALTY KICK TO CROATIA!! Srna attempts to latch on to a speculative ball inside the box and Astori comes in with a ridiculous challenge to trip the leg of the captain of the home side near the byline!
4'
One duel that we haven't mentioned so far is that of Rakitic and Pirlo in the middle of the park for their respective nations. Only one week ago the playmakers were facing each other in the Champions League final in Berlin with Barcelona and Juventus respectively. Will any revenge be gained by the former AC Milan star for the loss six days ago?
2'
With the game commencing, we are met with what only could be described as an eerie atmosphere as each individual shout from the players can be clearly echoed and heard. Very unusual circumstances for a competitive match, so we'll see how each side responds as the game goes on.
1'
WE ARE UNDER WAY IN THIS EURO 2016 QUALIFIER!
Good evening football fans! Welcome to LIVE coverage of the Euro 2016 qualifier between Croatia and Italy from Stadion Poljud!
I'm Martin Macdonald, and I'll be taking you through the action!
This clash between the Group H nations will have a different feel to it than the rest of the European Championships qualifiers this weekend, as this will be played behind closed doors with no fans in the stadium. Alleged racist chanting from the Croatia fans in the 5-1 win over Norway in March has saw the home nation football federation hit with a sanction, which will see an empty stadium on show this evening.
Indeed, there was also crowd trouble between Croatia and Italy in the reverse fixture in this competition in November. Incidents in the stands meant that the play was delayed for a lengthy period, but the game eventually resumed and ended in a 1-1 draw, with Antonio Candreva and Ivan Perisic both getting on target for their respective countries.
The crowd incidents that have came before this match have almost overshadowed what is in fact a top-of-the-table clash between Croatia and Italy and Group H. Niko Kovac's outfit currently top the qualifying table with an impressive record of 13 points taken from the opening five matches. Antonio Conte's men are just in behind though, with 11 points taken in the same amount of games. Indeed, both sides head into the match with an unbeaten record in the group so far!
The teams featuring tonight both faired rather differently in their last qualifying matches. As mentioned before, Croatia ran out 5-1 winners over Norway, with Brozovic, Perisic, Olic, Schildenfeld, and Pranjic all getting on the scoresheet. The Azzurri, meanwhile, could only manage a 2-2 draw away at Bulgaria, with a Minev own goal and an Eder strike seeing Conte's men on their way to a point.
Italy (4-3-3): Buffon; Darmian, Bonucci, Astori, De Silvestri; Marchisio, Pirlo, Parolo; El Shaarawy, Pelle, Candreva.
Croatia have two key players missing this evening. Vedran Corluka is suspended while influential midfielder, Luka Modric, is sidelined with a knee injury. For Italy, there were doubts over the fitness of Champions League finalist, Gianluigi Buffon, but the Juventus goalkeeper doesn indeed start. However, Marco Verratti misses out from the starting XI with a calf injury.
Looking at the starting line-ups, it seems we are seeing a clash between two relatively evenly matched nations this evening. Normally, Croatia would have the home advantage, but with the empty stadium ban in place, do Italy travel to Split with an advantage over their Group H rivals? We will see soon enough! Certainly an intriguing clash in store!
The teams have made their way to the pitch and we are almost ready for kick-off!
As you can imagine, there is a very strange atmosphere in Stadion Poljud at the moment as the national anthems sound out in the stadium with no fans singing along!
Half time in Split. A highly entertaining first half comes to an end as Croatia and Italy head into the break all-square at 1-1. In a dramatic few moments just 10 minutes into the half, Italy thought they had took the lead only for their goal to be wrongly disallowed for offside, which gifted Croatia the opportunity to counterattack and grab a goal just seconds later through Mandzukic, who had previously missed a penalty. Conte's men rallied well, though, and eventually clawed an equaliser back through Candreva's wonderfully taken penalty. All to play for in the second half!
Full time in Split. It was probably the most likely result before play began and two very evenly matches sides in Croatia and Italy have indeed played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in Euro 2016 qualifying Group H. Mario Mandzukic has had an eventful evening as he missed a penalty, made up for it with a close range finish, then gave away a penalty moments later. Antonio Candreva netted the spotkick with a beautiful finish to make it 1-1 and that result remained the same in what was a fair result overall. Niko Kovac's men maintain their two-point lead over the Azzurri in the group! I'm Martin Macdonald, thanks for joining us, see you next time!
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