GDANSK, Poland — Spain and Croatia have both made it clear that they won't play for a 2-2 draw on Monday. If both teams just happen to score two goals, however, neither may try very hard for a winner.
With a European Championship quarterfinal spot on the line, both teams deny they will willfully play for a scoreline that would eliminate Italy regardless of its result against Ireland in the other Group C match.
The topic of the possible collusion has been raised numerous times in the last few days, mainly by Italian media who speculate that a preconceived result would benefit both conspirators by taking away Italy's chances altogether.