"This is truly a disastrous goal!"
At the Sky Sports commentary box, special guest Mourinho shook his head and said, "Italy focused their tactics on limiting Šuker, but from what we've seen so far, they completely failed to contain him. Šuker created dangerous breakthroughs on the wing and even managed to shoot."
"This isn't a small issue. It means Donadoni's tactics have completely fallen apart. They put their tactical emphasis on shutting down Šuker, but failed, and that means they can't show any tactical advantage elsewhere either!"
Mourinho was certain: 'Italy will only get messier as the game goes on.'
He added confidently, "Donadoni can only pray that Croatia won't push too aggressively in attack. But judging from the Croatian coaching staff's style, once they take the lead, the next 5 to 10 minutes will be a period of furious Croatian attacks!"
Mourinho's prediction was extremely accurate!
With the goal scored, Croatia relaxed some of their defensive efforts and increased their attacking commitment.
Croatia wasn't defending much—they had no habit of 'just holding on to a one-goal lead.'
Once in advantage, they pressed on relentlessly to completely crush their opponents.
As the match resumed, Croatia's attacks crashed against Italy's defense like wave after wave of a tsunami.
"Stop Šuker!"
"I got this!" Gattuso suddenly charged forward.
About four meters from Šuker, Gattuso slightly slowed, then advanced with small steps.
He hoped to suppress Šuker's speed, even force him to stop.
But Šuker flicked the ball sideways and accelerated again.
He showed no intention of stopping.
"Damn it!"
Gattuso darted sideways and reached out to grab Šuker's shirt.
As Šuker tried to force through, Gattuso gave a strong tug.
Bang!Šuker fell backward like a graceful swallow, landing on the ground.
Whistle!The referee blew.
Gattuso received a yellow card.
He bit his teeth and accepted it.
"Gattuso's card is not a good sign. From now on, his ability to limit Šuker will be greatly reduced. And it's only 35 minutes into the match! There's still a long way to go—how will Italy handle Croatia's offensive pressure?"
Croatia gained a set-piece opportunity in the attacking third.
Modrić carried the ball to the penalty spot—a perfect shooting distance.
But Modrić didn't feel confident and looked toward the penalty area, opting to cross instead.
"Modrić lofted the ball into the box. Mandžukić jumped to head it, but the ball slipped past him. Šuker!!"
Klaušić shouted loudly.
He saw Šuker flick his head to shoot.
The ball hit Buffon's chest.
Buffon scrambled awkwardly, wildly kicking to clear, finally getting the ball out.
"Position! Position! Watch your positioning!" Buffon roared in frustration.
As Croatia's attacks intensified, Buffon felt the pressure mounting.
Facing repeated goal-threatening moments, he felt like he might collapse under the stress.
The ball flew out of bounds.
Croatian players immediately ran to retrieve it.
Mandžukić controlled the ball with his chest, held off defenders, and quickly passed back to reorganize.
Italy players exhaled with relief.
But when they saw the Croats charging back, the pressure mounted again.
Back at the Sky Sports commentary booth, commentator Pesce looked at Italy's pressured players on the screen and recalled Mourinho's words.
"You really nailed it!"
Pesce asked, "What should they do then?"
Mourinho crossed his arms calmly and said, "If it were me, I'd switch formations to a dense defensive setup. But—"
"But what?" Pesce hurriedly asked.
Mourinho frowned slightly watching the big screen. "Croatia's fullbacks are pushing forward—the real assault is coming."
Pesce turned sharply.
He saw Croatia's attacks grow fiercer.
Especially as the wingers occupied the ribs area, the fullbacks surged up and down the flank, continuously harassing Italy's defense and sending crosses in.
Šuker and Mandžukić became like 'rabbits,' constantly jumping to contest headers.
Though Italy managed to hold off every aerial duel,
this kind of attack uses numbers to cause a qualitative change.
You can defend ten or twenty times, but one mistake means conceding!
Croatia's storm-like attacks continued relentlessly.
They pressed Italy's defense until it struggled to breathe.
They made Italian fans' hearts race wildly.
They expected Croatia to be strong but didn't expect this overwhelming force.
"Rakitić crosses; no one manages to head the ball. The ball reaches Kranjčar at the back post, who controls it and crosses back into the penalty area. Chiellini challenges for the header and clears, but all the defenders around are Croatian players. They regain control, the ball goes to the wing again, and Rakitić sends another cross!"
At this moment, Mandžukić suddenly pulled Chiellini at the near post.
He dragged Chiellini away, leaving Šuker marked by only one defender.
Rakitić completed the pass.
Šuker immediately jumped.
In the air, Šuker saw the ball flying toward his chest.
The cross was low!
Šuker clenched his teeth, hunched slightly, rotated his shoulders, and struck the ball sharply with his right shoulder.
The ball bounced off his shoulder and flew toward the right corner of the goal.
Buffon stepped sideways and dove.
He made a strong save attempt, fingertips brushing the ball but failing to hook it away.
Swish!The ball went into the net!
"Hey! Handball! Handball!"
As Šuker landed, Italian defender Panucci slapped his arm and pointed at Šuker, signaling a handball.
Šuker turned and angrily retorted, "Nonsense! I scored with my shoulder!" He slapped his shoulder and shouted at the referee, "Shoulder! I used my shoulder!"
"The players on both sides disputed the goal. The Italians believed Šuker handled the ball, but from our angle, it clearly struck the shoulder! Of course, different angles may cause some visual discrepancies."
Ultimately, the referee crossed his arms to signal disallowing the goal.
Šuker shook his head helplessly.
He knew this unconventional goal would cause controversy, but at the moment, he had no choice—he couldn't use his chest to strike the ball, so he used his shoulder.
On the sidelines, Bilić was pressuring the fourth official.
He repeatedly tapped his shoulder, signaling that the goal should stand.
He was also applying pressure on the refereeing team.
Croatian fans in the stadium booed loudly.
Slow-motion replay:
"Let's watch this goal from another angle."
Klaušić leaned forward and looked at the big screen: "I think it's a good goal. Šuker used his shoulder. There's a clear swinging motion of the shoulder."
In the replay, all Croatian fans clearly saw the ball hit Šuker's shoulder near his neck.
"This is a terrible decision!"
Klaušić sighed but knew there was nothing to be done.
The referee had to rely on his naked eye—within a split second, mistakes could happen.
The assistant referees also looked confused and clearly couldn't help much.
Šuker shook his head and retreated.
At this moment, he really wanted VAR to intervene!
This was clearly a valid goal!
Meanwhile, Italian players breathed a sigh of relief.
"A handball? We almost got blown away!"
Ambrosini said nervously.
Panucci remained silent.
He knew better than anyone that it wasn't a handball.
But he was helpless.
Italy couldn't afford to concede a bigger deficit, so he kept insisting it was handball.
"Is the first half almost over?" Panucci asked.
Ambrosini nodded. "Five minutes left!"
"Five minutes…" Panucci sighed.
He felt those five minutes had never been so long.
Croatia's continuous attacks had already overwhelmed them.
What next? How could they respond?
And the second half was still to come!
The first half was almost done, but 45 minutes remained.
If Croatia maintained this attacking momentum, how much longer could their defense hold?
The offense was ineffective!
The defense lacked sufficient security!
And they were already down by a goal—everything was going terribly!