Albania scored a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser to deny Croatia a victory that severely dents the 2018 World Cup finalists’ hopes of reaching the knockout stage of Euro 2024.
In what was a chaotic but entertaining end to the game, the Albanians rescued a point when Klaus Gjasula side-footed home in the 95th minute to send their supporters wild.
It had looked like the game would finish in heartbreak for Albania, having let slip another early lead.
Qazim Laci struck in the 11th minute and his side then defended superbly for over an hour as they looked on the verge of producing a major upset.
But Croatia turned around an incredible game at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion when former Leicester forward Andrej Kramaric drove in an equaliser, before Luka Sucic’s shot deflected off Gjasula and into the Albanian net.
But Gjasula had the final say with his late strike, which means Croatia will now need to beat defending champions Italy in their final Group B game to have a chance of progressing.
Albania face a tough test in their next game against Spain, but this is a performance and result that will live long in the memory of their fans.
Albania rewarded for no-fear display
There have been some hugely entertaining games at this European Championship and this stands among the best of them.
That is in a large part down to Albania and the determination their side has put in so far in Germany to show they are not here to make up the numbers.
This is their second appearance at the Euros after qualifying in 2016, and their fans have certainly made the most of their return.
In Hamburg, before kick-off, supporters packed out walkways on the harbourfront, and when in the stadium, they produced incredible noise throughout the game.
That energy was clearly transferred to the players, whose fast-paced counter-attacking football had Croatia rattled, and their 1-0 lead at half-time was fully deserved.
When Croatia scored twice to turn things around, it will have sparked a sense of deja vu among the Albanian fans, having seen Italy fight back to beat them in their first game.
But this time they did not wilt and instead pushed hard for the equaliser in the closing stages, before Gjasula got the reward his side’s battling display deserved.
End of an era approaching for Croatia?
Having finished runners-up at the World Cup in 2018, then reaching the semi-final of the tournament four years later, it seems unthinkable that this Croatian team could fall at the first hurdle in Germany.
Granted, they were drawn in a tough group with Spain and Italy but they would have targeted this game as a must-win to at least give them the chance of progressing as one of the best third-placed sides.
They are a side brimming with talented players, led by the talismanic Luka Modric, who have taken them far at past tournaments.
But many of those are now over 30 and it is starting to look like time might be catching up on the veteran players.
For too long in this game, they failed to match the mobility and tempo of their opponents and, while the turnaround was impressive—if somewhat fortunate through their own goal—they should then have had enough to see the game out.
But instead they sat back and that proved costly as Albania once again found their energy to push on and snatch the dramatic equaliser.
