Croatia vs Scotland Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 UEFA Nations League | League A Group 1
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Croatia are not the force that they once was a few years ago when they reached the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup but remain strong enough to be competitive as they now welcome a poor Scotland side to Zagreb this week.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 12th October, 2024 - UK – 5:00pm / US ET – 12:00pm / US PT – 9:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – FOX Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – ViaPlay International on YouTube / US – FOX Sports streaming platforms
CROATIA PREVIEW: THE AGEING CROATS
Zlatko Dalic remains in charge of the Croatian national team with Luka Modric still the captain of the Croats. They underperformed at UEFA EURO 2024 with a group stage exit but have decided to persist with a similar plan and the same personnel.
Last month they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Portugal at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon before then edging past Poland by a goal to nil with the aforementioned Modric scoring a 52nd minute winning free-kick.
SCOTLAND PREVIEW: SUSTAINED BAD RUN OF FORM FOR SCOTS
Since confirming qualification for UEFA EURO 2024 with a 3-0 win in Nicosia against Cyprus in September 2023, Scotland have underperformed ever since with just one win in their last 14 matches in the last 12 months.
The Scots’ one victory came against Gibraltar and they have been extremely underwhelming ever since. In their most recent outing, they were beaten late on by Portugal just a few days after being beaten late on by Scotland.
CROATIA TEAM NEWS: RELIANT ON EXPERIENCE
As mentioned, the Croatian national team is reliant on the experience that they have developed over the last few years and they still have the likes of Ivan Perisic and Luka Modric in the squad as Zlatko Dalic does tactically involve and become more flexible with the systems he uses.
PREDICTED XI (3-5-2): Livakovic; Sutalo, Caleta-Car, Gvardiol; Pjaca, Sucic, Modric, Kovacic, Sosa; Kramaric, Petkovic
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
SCOTLAND TEAM NEWS: SEVERAL ISSUES
Angus Gunn is the freshest injury concern for Scotland this week with defenders Scott McKenna and Greg Taylor also potentially unavailable. The likes of Aaron Hickey, Lewis Ferguson and John McGinn are all missing due to injury.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Gordon; Ralston, Hanley, Porteous, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; Christie, McTominay, Doak; Adams
UNAVAILABLE: Hickey (Injured), Ferguson (Injured), McGinn (Injured), Conway (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Gunn (Injured), McKenna (Injured), Taylor (Injured)
CROATIA VS SCOTLAND PREDICTION
Croatia are rarely ever convincing and even when they have done well in terms of going far in tournaments they have done so with dramatic penalty shootout or extra-time victories in pretty much every match. However, they should have more than enough quality to see off a Scotland side that can be described as injury-ravaged as well as in horrible, sustained bad form, especially with their home advantage.
CROATIA VS SCOTLAND TIP: CROATIA TO WIN
