'It hurt': Italy's Mattia Zaccagni makes a surprising confession after his goal against Croatia

Italy hero Mattia Zaccagni admits some of his teammates suffered rib injuries during the Italian's 98th-minute winner against Croatia, which ultimately sent his team through and sent Croatia home.

According to the Football Italia website, Zaccagni said: "The celebration was fantastic. With all my teammates, the staff members, and all the guys. Some of us hurt our ribs because everyone crushed us. But it was really exciting."

What a game it was in the east of Germany, with two sides giving their all in what well could have been Luka Modric's last dance at a major tournament. The Croatian maestro was one of the protagonists during an unforgettable evening of Euros football, especially for the Italians.

Modric stepped up after Croatia were awarded a penalty for a handball by Frattesi, but were denied a goal by an excellent Donnarumma, Italy's best player in the tournament so far. One minute later, however, Modric did find the back of the net, scoring off a rebound and virtually sending Croatia into the next round.

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With a Croatia win, Italy would end third in their group, and Luciano Spalletti could only hope for a place in the last 16 as one of the best third-places teams in the tournament.

However, Italy never gave up and kept the drama for the final minute of extra time, with substitute Zaccagni netting an absolute beauty into the top corner to send Spalletti and his team into delirium. Luka Modric and Croatia were left heartbroken.

The eight minutes of added time was too much, according to the Croatians and their coach, Zlatko Dalic.

"You can't have eight minutes of added time after that game, it's nonsense," AP quotes Dalic. "There weren't so many breaks in play, or so many fouls to justify that."

"I don't want to cause a fuss but I think Croatia needs to be acknowledged and respected. We played for almost three hours," Dalic voiced his frustration.

Italy, meanwhile, are ready for the last 16, where they will face neighbours Switzerland, who came in second behind Germany in Group A.

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