da stake casino： Albania scored a dramatic late equaliser to claim a 2-2 draw against Croatia and keep their slim Euro 2024 dreams alive.
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Albania scored early yet againCroatia fought back in second half to leadHuge drama in final moments sees Gjasula equaliseGetty ImagesTELL ME MORE
Another game and another early goal for Albania! Qasim Laci was brought into the starting line-up for this fixture and wasted no time in making an impact, as he latched onto a tantalising cross from Jasir Asani in the 11th minute to glance his header home.
One of the shock stories in this tournament weren't done there, either. Nedim Bajrami found himself free in the box and forced Dominik Livakovic into a smart save down to his right. Albania were pushing for a second.
Croatia did, however, attempt to address the issues within their line-up at half-time as they made a flurry of changes. Mario Pasalic and Luka Sucic were introduced and they did look more threatening following the changes. Indeed, the goals were coming and they eventually arrived as Andrej Kramaric slotted an equaliser past Thomas Strakosha, before Sucic's effort cannoned off an Albanian defender and gave Croatia the lead.
Now 2-1 ahead, it looked as if the game was over and the points were in the bag for Croatia. How wrong were we! Albania continued to push and eventually found a stoppage-time equaliser through Klaus Gjasula, keeping their Euro 2024 dreams alive.
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Croatia and Albania had never met in a competitive match prior to their clash in Hamburg on Wednesday – despite the two sides only being separated by just over 500 kilometres.
CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty ImagesTHE MVP
With all the odds stacked against them yet again, Albania simply a found a way to get something from this fixture. They dominated the first half and were forced to adapt after the break – and eventually they got their reward. Hard work, perseverance and belief have kept their Euro 2024 hopes alive as they sit third in Group B.
Getty ImagesTHE BIG LOSER
You can't look past Croatia as a collective being the big losers here. For all their promise in the second half of this fixture, and how threatening they looked in attack, they failed to hold out and secure all three points in the dying embers of the game.
It looks like this tournament is going to be a step too far for the old guard, and Monday's final group-stage fixture against Italy may well be the last time we see Luka Modric in a Croatia shirt. Sad times.