Croatia vs Canada: Canada is a tough opponent for Croatia in their second World Cup group game on Monday afternoon.
The runners-up, led by Zlatko Dalic, started their quest to go one better with a calm 0-0 draw against Morocco on Wednesday morning. There was not much hesitation about Canada’s full-on attack on Belgium that night.
John Herdman’s team had 22 shots compared to the 2018 bronze medalists’ nine, but they lost 1-0 because Alphonso Davies missed a penalty in the first half.
Here’s what you need to know about Canada’s quest to score its first World Cup goal and get its first point.
Match Playing Location
- Location: Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
- Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium
- Date: Sunday 27 November
- Kick-off Time: 16:00 GMT / 11:00 ET / 08:00 PT
Croatia vs Canada H2H Results (All-Time)
Croatia and Canada have never met in men’s international football.
Current Form (Last Five Games)
- Croatia: WWWWD
- Canada: WLDWL
Croatia team news
Dalic lost Nikola Vlasic to a calf problem against Morocco. But fellow forward Marko Livaja came on in the second half after recovering from a quadriceps contusion which had hampered his buildup to the competition.
Croatia predicted lineup vs Canada
Croatia Starting 11 (4-3-3): Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic.
Bench: Grbic, Ivusic, Erlic, Vida, Sutalo, Barisic, Stanisic, Jakic, Sucic, Majer, Osric, Livaja, Petkovic, Budimir.
Canada team news
Doubts lingered over Davies, Stephen Eustaquio, and goalkeeper Milan Borjan before Canada lined up against Belgium. However, all three overcame various ailments to start against the Red Devils – positions they may well retain this weekend.
Canada predicted lineup vs Croatia
Canada Starting 11 (3-4-3): Borjan; Johnston, Vitoria, Miller; Laryea, Eustaquio, Hutchinson, Davies; Buchanan, David, Hoilett.
Bench: St. Clair, Pantemis, Cornelius, Waterman, Piette, Fraser, Larin, Kaye, Kone, Osorio, Millar, Wotherspoon, Cavallini, Ugbo, Adekugbe.
Croatia vs Canada score prediction
Luka Modric agreed with his manager when he said that Croatia played well against Morocco because they were themselves. Even though Canada lost, they couldn’t be accused of not doing their best, which made their head coach very happy.
“I told the players that they belonged here and that we were going to “F” Croatia. At the end of the game, Herdman said, “That’s as simple as it gets.”
Before Sunday’s game, this smart Croatia team is the favorite, but not by as much as many might have thought. If Canada can repeat the risky strategy that almost paid off against Belgium, they might get a better reward in this Group F game.
Prediction: Croatia 1-1 Canada
