Croatia, underrated except by its traveling fans, came from a goal down in rain-soaked Poznan on Thursday to draw with Italy, 1-1.  Later, Spain reminded everyone why it is the world champion by crushing Ireland, 4-0, in Gdansk.  Italy will probably beat the Irish, too, when they meet on Monday, but by then it may be praying that Spain and Croatia do not settle for a draw that could squeeze out the Italians on goal difference.  “We had a lot of problems containing Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano,” Croatia Coach Slaven Bilic said. “But we adjusted our strategy in the second half and threw more men forward.”  It was a logical thing to say, and the obvious response when any team is losing. In Croatia’s case, when its supporters never allow a cause to appear lost, it was almost compulsory. This, after all, is the small Balkan nation that came out of war to send a team to the 1998 World Cup — a team that had Bilic in its defense, and finished third in the tournament.  But Italy, as its coach, Cesare Prandelli, admitted, squandered enough chances in the first 20 minutes to have buried the Croatian dream.  “We should have wrapped it up earlier, for sure,” Prandelli said. “But we are still in it, we are still alive, and we will fight to the end.”  Tumultuous rain in Poznan was still falling some 220 miles north in Gdansk when Spain kicked off against Ireland. The Spanish had changed their lineup to include Fernando Torres, the Chelsea striker who has had such a long and lonely battle to regain his form and to look anything like a man who cost $78 million in a transfer fee.  Torres scored twice. His first, with just four minutes on the clock, justified the change of heart that Spain Coach Vicente del Bosque undertook by including him.  With alarming speed, Torres preyed on the relatively ponderous Irish defender Richard Dunne. Then, with what looked like another gear, Torres accelerated again, cruising past Stephen Ward and propelling a fearsome shot over the head of the Irish goalie, Shay Given, from an acute angle.  After that, David Silva, Torres and Cesc Fàbregas scored, and Ireland’s fans were left singing in the rain in Gdansk.  In Poznan, it may have been a stalemate, but it was laced with beauty and studded with drama.  Some people would pay just to see a goal conjured out of a man’s imagination, like the one Andrea Pirlo scored six minutes before halftime.  Imagine the scene. The ball is inert on the sodden turf, just outside the left corner of the penalty area. Croatia, one of the tallest teams in Europe, lines up a wall about as high as you will see.  No way through there? To ordinary players, maybe, but to Pirlo it was an invitation. His right foot is a wand, and the way he struck the ball, almost with no back swing at all, bent it to his will.  Maybe it brushed the sweat on the brow of one Croatian forehead as it swerved through the air. Maybe the two men covering the post should not have parted as the ball dipped between them. Maybe their movement caused the Croatia goalkeeper, Stipe Pletikosa, to see it late before he dived, flapped and got a hand to the ball when it was already inside his post and over the line.  Croatia has a player who approaches Pirlo’s quality, Luka Modric. But in a way it was the bypassing of its playmaker Modric that brought the equalizer.  “Croatia started putting up high balls in the second half,” Prandelli said, as if it were a sin to change tack.  One of those high balls, driven perhaps in hope rather than expectation from the left wing by Ivan Strinic, really should not have led to Croatia’s goal in the 72nd minute.  It did so because Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus’s big, raw central defender, misjudged the flight. Mario Mandzukic lurked behind Chiellini. One touch from Mandzukic’s right foot controlled the ball, and a second struck it venomously against the post from where it cannoned high into the net.  Super Mario was a goal scorer — but from an Italian perspective, the wrong Mario. Italy’s Mario Balotelli is a volatile enigma whose presence divides the tifosi, the followers of Italian soccer.  Long before the equalizer, Balotelli had squandered three clear chances. After that he looked ever more a misguided favorite of his coach.  By the time he was replaced, Croatia was running the show and running Italy mighty close to defeat. Italy has not beaten Croatia in seven tries.  There might be one last shot in this tournament for the Azzurri, and it will be interesting to see if the coach picks his Super Mario against Ireland in Poznan on Monday.
Andrea Pirlo scored for Italy and Mario Mandzukic equalized for Croatia in the 72nd minute. Fernando Torres scored two goals to lead Spain over Ireland.