While the Czech Republic seeks to stay unbeaten in this event, anything else but a win for Croatia would be a disaster. Read our full preview
While the Czech Republic seeks to stay unbeaten in this event, anything else but a win for Croatia would be a disaster. Read our full preview
Croatia and the Czech Republic had a completely different start at the EURO 2020. The Croats lost to England after one mediocre performance, while on the other side, the Czechs surprised everyone beating Scotland in Glasgow. This means that they have the possibility of waiting and playing to get one point, which will probably be enough for them to advance to the next stage. As for Croatia, the situation is very tough. Three points are a mush. Otherwise, we might see the runners-up from the previous World Cup heading home already following a group stage.
Zlatko Dalic’s boys suffered a defeat in the opening match against England, 1-0, but we need to say that apart from certain stretches, the Croats haven’t been inferior against the Three Lions. Though the overall performance of both sides has been terrible.
Croatia’s midfield didn’t get to impose its style of play, and even in the moments when they had the ball in their feet, the attacks were sluggish and very slow. The attackers were cut off, while the backline had a lot of problems with pacey English strikers.
In this event, Dalic needs to send out a more offensive lineup because Croatia doesn’t have the luxury of waiting for the rivals’ mistake, but needs to force one.
Patrick Shick is the man in the middle now. Hertha Berlin’s attacker scored one of the best goals in the history of the tournament, once he hit the back of the net almost from half of the field. On top of that, he delivered a brace that took down the Scots and provided his team with three incredibly important points.
Overall, the Czech’s were extremely good on Monday, keeping the composure and focus for all 90 minutes. They have been closing the rivals all over the pitch, not allowing Andy Robertson and his teammates to breathe when having the ball.
Also, we need to say that this unit insists on playing very rational and efficient football, avoiding unnecessary passes or touches.
Croatia: Livakovic; Vrsaljko, Vida, Caleta-Car; Brozovic, Kovacic; Rebic, Modric, Perisic; Petkovic, Kramaric
Czech Republic: Vaclík; Coufal, Čelůstka, Kalas, Bořil; Král, Souček; Masopust, Darida, Jankto; Schick
The Czechs and the Croats met once in recent times, back in 2016 at EURO, and there were no winners, 2-2. Croatia had a two-goal lead, provided by Perisic and Rakitic, but the Czech Republic responded, scoring twice in the finish, Skoda and Necid.
After having a thorough analysis, we find that the best possible pick here would be to bet on low efficiency. These two sides don’t have some amazing firepower, and on top of that, one of them (Czechs) is going to close and try to win a point or utilize some mistake of their rivals. Because of that, the best possible pick here is under 2.5 goals. The odds are quite solid.