Italy vs. Croatia Preview - Euro 2012

Match Details:
Group:        C
Match:        Italy vs. Croatia
Date:        Thursday, June 14
kick-off times:    18:00 GMT
Venue:        Municipal Stadium, Poznań.

It's back to Euro 2012 Group C as Italy take on Croatia in their second group matches. This game will be played at the Municipal Stadium, Poznan on June 14th 2012 at 17.00 BST and it will be broadcast on BBC in the UK.

Croatia have qualified for every major football competition since 2002. The Blazers have made a good name of themselves on the international stage. They are among the top nations to watch at Euro 2012.

Croatia occupied Pot 1 ahead of the group stages draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers. They fell in a section containing minnows like Malta, Georgia and Latvia. Israel and Greece completed the 6-team table.

Euro 2008 quarter-finalists Croatia started off their qualification campaign on a high. They produced a convincing performance and triumphed 3-0 in Latvia. The Blazers’ two defeats in the 2012 European Championship qualifiers came away to Georgia and at home to Greece.

In Georgia, Kobiashvili netted a 90th minute winner for the hosts to down the Croatians. On home soil, the latter suffered a late demolition against Greece with Samaras and Gekas scoring within the last 20 minutes of the game to clinch a 2-0 victory.

These negative results came at a cost for the Croatians who finished second by 2 points behind Group F winners Greece. In the play-offs, Croatia beat Turkey 3-0 on aggregate. Olic, Mandzukic and Corluka did the job in the first leg with a goal each at the Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul.