Croatia v Italy: Euro 2024 – live

Neither of these teams have particularly impressed so far. Italy conceded a goal after 23 seconds against Albania, then were thrashed 1-0 by Spain; Croatia put up a slightly better show against the Spanish in a 3-0 defeat (funny old scoring system, football) but shipped a late, late, late equaliser against the Albanians. All of which means this …

… which in turn means Croatia almost certainly need to win tonight if they’re to make it through to the knockout stage. This is most likely the last hurrah for their golden generation, who have come second and third at the last two World Cups, and were runners-up in last year’s Nations League. But Croatia have never quite made it at the European Championships: their deepest run, to the quarter-finals in 2008, is best remembered for the wild celebration of a 119th-minute “winner” against Turkey that was equalised in stoppage time before the subsequent inevitable penalty loss. So perhaps the Euros owe them a little something.

The reigning champions Italy face plenty of jeopardy of their own. A draw will be enough to see them through to the knockouts, but if they lose tonight they’d go out should Albania shock Spain – who have already qualified as group winners and could be forgiven for easing off the gas, so nothing’s off the table. Worryingly for the Azzurri, their record against Croatia is not great: in nine matches they’ve only won once, losing three. They’ll gain succour from the fact that the last three meetings between the countries have ended 1-1, which would be more than enough tonight. So with both sides in vague states of desperation, this is poised deliciously. The fun in Leipzig begins at 8pm BST. It’s on!