Croatia is hosting the Czech Republic in a match for the World Cup European qualifiers at the Opus Arena in Osijek.
What We Know
- Four of Croatia’s last five matches have ended with under 2.5 goals.
- Czechia has led at halftime in seven of its last eight games.
- Croatia has had five straight games with over 10.5 corners.
- Their last three duels have ended with BTTS.
Betting Tip Croatia - Czech Republic
This is a match between the two clear-cut best teams in the group, and it will therefore be decisive for how the group shakes out in the end. They both have the attacking talent and disposition to score at least once, making our pick BTTS.
- Betting tip: BTTS
- Odds: 1.83 (at the time of writing)
- Stake: 5
Croatia
Croatia faced hardly any resistance from lowly Gibraltar on Friday evening, departing the Iberian peninsula with a dominant 0-7 win. Pasalic broke the floodgates in the 28th minute, followed by Budimir’s goal just a minute after that.
Zlatko Dalic saw his players turn up the pressure in the final half hour of the game, scoring five goals in a twenty-minute span. Forwards Kramaric and Ivanovic contributed a fair bit to this result after entering the game as substitutes - they each scored two goals, while veteran Ivan Perisic, one of the standouts of the contest, added another, while dishing out three assists.
This was a positive result for Croatia in their first game of the group stage, but things are about to get significantly more difficult, as they will now face the Czech Republic. The Czechs are the only team in the group that has the quality and experience to threaten their quest for first place.
The Croats will be playing catch-up against the Czechs, as the latter have started with three wins in their three group stage games.
Czechia
The Czech Republic did their duty in the third round of the group stage, defeating Montenegro 3-0 at home. They put up a solid performance and rightfully came away with a win. First, Hlozek scored in the 23rd minute with a long-range effort.
The 23-year-old forward has been in fine form this year, coming off a solid season with Hoffenheim. Right after the goal, the Czechs narrowly avoided conceding, as a Montenegro goal was deemed marginally offside.
The same happened in the second half to Czechia, as Cerny’s goal was disallowed by the VAR. In the end, Patrik Schick was the one who doubled their lead, scoring a close header after a quickly taken corner (65’).
The Leverkusen man reached 24 goals in 45 appearances for the national team. He missed two big chances in the final stage of the game and couldn’t get the brace. Overall, Ivan Hasek’s team created 13 goal attempts worth 1.35xG.
They remain first in the group without any missed points, having won all three games. The first two came against the Faroe Islands (2-1) and Gibraltar (0-4).
