"Rakitić surged forward rapidly along the wing. Grosso chased after him. Rakitić crossed the ball, which struck Grosso's foot and flew toward the penalty area. Mandžukić leapt to head it—Buffon! Beautiful! His judgment was spot on, and he caught the ball securely!"
Italian commentator Aldo Cerella pumped his fist enthusiastically, praising the defensive play.
This time, they successfully stopped Croatia's wing attack.
Grosso's blocking touch was crucial, and Buffon's proactive intervention was equally important.
Buffon looked a bit excited and was about to throw the ball out from the sideline, when he noticed Šuker stealthily drifting toward the wing, seemingly ready to press.
This made Buffon hesitate, holding onto the ball a moment longer.
Šuker saw Buffon's move and, realizing he had no chance to press, turned and retreated.
Once Croatia had pulled back, Buffon finally distributed the ball.
Possession switched, and Italy began their attack.
Compared to Croatia's probing style, Italy's offense was more direct.
De Rossi lacked Modrić's crafty play; his passes were straightforward, aiming to find the attacking midfielders—either Cassano or Perrotta.
They would then use their driving ability to break through Croatia's defense.
However, Croatia's defense was not easy to break, especially once everyone had retreated, leaving little space for Cassano to advance.
Helpless, Italy pushed forward as a whole, trying to exploit their numerical advantage and the overlapping fullbacks to stretch the field width and create threats.
But this also created large defensive gaps in midfield.
"Push it through! Don't hesitate!" Gattuso shouted.
He was constantly watching Šuker's positioning.
That guy's positioning was very sneaky, always just ahead of the defensive line, ready to launch counterattacks.
This made Italy's defenders reluctant to push too far forward.
Italy wanted to create threatening attacks upfront, but Croatia's defense was steady.
Cassano passed to Grosso on the flank, but during the pass, Vukojević read the intention, suddenly stepped up, and intercepted the ball, sliding it to Šuker.
Šuker received the ball and immediately turned.
He shifted the ball from left to right foot while stepping sideways, preparing to sprint.
A textbook "La Croqueta" move.
But Gattuso acted decisively.
The moment Šuker started, Gattuso's right foot shot out sharply to block the ball.
Šuker's breakthrough was stopped!
The ball, squeezed out, flew into Italy's half, and Buffon quickly secured it.
"Gattuso! What a brilliant tackle!" Aldo Cerella shouted excitedly.
"As expected, Gattuso knows Šuker best!"
Šuker got up and looked at Gattuso.
"You're really gambling!" Šuker said.
Gattuso grunted but said nothing.
In truth, he was sweating bullets.
Šuker was right—Gattuso was gambling!
In terms of agility, explosiveness, and speed, Gattuso was inferior.
He could only look for the moment to strike when Šuker began his move.
The key was to stop Šuker.
If it was during continuous movement, Gattuso would only get left behind.
He sought the chance to steal the ball when Šuker paused.
It was like gambling.
If he guessed right, he could intercept.
If he failed or missed the timing, he would have to foul to stop Šuker.
Šuker moved again to a central position to receive the ball.
By now, he had basically understood the opponent's defense.
The game had reached the 10-minute mark.
The probing phase was over!
Modrić's head spun like a fan, constantly scanning.
Between touches, he'd look around 2-3 times.
His eyes were mostly searching forward for chances.
Modrić passed to Rakitić and immediately moved up to support.
Before receiving, Modrić glanced at the attack.
He saw Šuker in the middle shifting weight toward the right.
At that moment, Modrić's eyes lit up.
He feigned a pass, then pulled the ball back, dribbled close to Cassano, and slipped past him.
With his left foot, he sent a through ball along the ribs area.
Šuker, meanwhile, continued lateral movement and, upon receiving, immediately started a run down the flank.
Rakitić and Šuker made crossing runs; Rakitić and Mandžukić sprinted centrally.
This increased numbers in the middle and helped draw defenders' attention away from Šuker.
Šuker slowed near the wing.
Grosso lowered his center of gravity, and the two were locked in a standoff.
"Grosso! A key contributor to Italy's championship. Can he successfully contain Šuker and shine again?"
With Šuker positioned near the baseline, there was a clear gap nearby.
Grosso noticed Šuker's gaze.
Šuker quickly flicked the ball sideways; Grosso followed swiftly.
Šuker dragged the ball sideways with his left foot, inching closer to the baseline.
Grosso barely kept up, trying to squeeze Šuker's path.
At that moment, Šuker pushed forward again.
"No space left!" Grosso stretched his foot to block the last gap.
But Šuker lightly flicked the ball over Grosso's lower leg, sending it behind him.
Šuker circled outside the baseline and managed a breakthrough by squeezing the tight space.
"He's past him! Danger!" Aldo Cerella's voice grew sharp.
Šuker was now at the side of the small penalty area.
Rakitić and Mandžukić were simultaneously marking their central defenders.
Chiellini gritted his teeth and made a decision.
As he rushed toward Šuker,
Šuker sideways passed the ball toward the penalty spot while looking up at the box.
"Oh no!" Chiellini's alarm bells rang.
He extended his leg to block Šuker's shot at the far post.
At that moment, Šuker's left foot suddenly struck the ball with a small flick.
The ball slipped through Chiellini's legs and flew toward the near post.
Buffon instinctively stepped right, but upon seeing the ball aimed at the near post, he immediately lowered his center of gravity and stretched his leg.
Bang!The ball hit Buffon's foot and bounced back, striking the goalpost.
Before the ball could leave the penalty area,
Mandžukić met the airborne ball with a header.
Swish!
The ball hit the net!
"Goal!!! Mandžukić's follow-up header scores!"
"Šuker's continuous dribbles on the wing created this extremely threatening attack, a goal made purely by his individual skill! Italy's defense couldn't stop Šuker, and although Grosso tried hard to squeeze the baseline, Šuker still beat him!"
"Chiellini failed to block Šuker's shot, and Buffon tried his best to block it but couldn't prevent the goal!"
"This is the impact of a Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player!"
"This is the power of Croatia's No. 9!"
Klaušić shouted joyfully.
"Of course, let's not forget, the scorer is Mario Mandžukić!"
"He appeared perfectly on the ball's trajectory and scored this goal!"
"A precious goal at 19 minutes — Croatia leads 1-0!"
The stadium erupted.
Croatian fans and even local Viennese fans cheered loudly.
Especially the locals, who had relaxed after Austria's elimination and were now just enjoying the Euro.
For them, with no pressure, a good match and flashy dribbling captured their attention.
Especially Šuker's brilliant wing attack.
Watching Croatia's goal, Italian commentator Aldo Cerella shook his head and sighed:
"Relying solely on the back line to defend is impossible. Donadoni's idea is too naive. Šuker's movement isn't limited to a zone, Gattuso can't keep up, and Ambrosini can't contain Šuker. The defense exposed itself to Šuker, and this result is exactly what happens!"
Italian fans in the stadium frowned.
They realized their defense had a problem.
Especially AC Milan fans finally understood the feeling of facing Šuker in the league:
Unstoppable!Absolutely unstoppable!