The first World Cup meeting between Croatia and England will have huge stakes attached to it. It’ll take place on Wednesday at 20:00 in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
Croatia vs. England preview
The draw set up perfectly for these two to reach the semi-finals and now they’re here. It will be England’s first semi-final since Mexico 1990 and only their third one in history. As for Croatia, this will be their second trip to a World Cup semi-final. Last time it happened in 1998, when Davor Suker and Zvonimir Boban lost to hosts France 2-1.
The game in Sochi was a site to behold. Croatia managed to recover from going down a goal in the first half and dominated the second. Much like against Spain, Russia resisted Croatia’s attempts to break them. Unlike against Spain, Croatia scored in extra time thanks to Domagoj Vida, but a late Mario Fernandes header took us to penalties. There, Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic scored the winning goal for the second straight game and wrote Croatia’s name in history as only the second team to win two penalty shootouts in a World Cup (Argentina in 1990 was the first one).
Sweden was expected to give England a headache. Another set piece goal gave them the lead and the Swedes never looked capable of coming back after that. Dele Alli’s goal confirmed the inevitable – England was in the semi-finals. Jordan Pickford was amazing again, making three fabulous saves on Sweden’s three most serious threats.
Croatia vs. England head-to-head history
A total of 28 goals have been scored in the six meetings between Croatia and England, an average of nearly five per game. England convincingly won the last two during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, while Croatia won both encounters before that in the Euro 2008 qualification campaign. Their Euro 2004 group fixture ended in a 4-2 victory for The Three Lions.
Croatia vs. England injuries and suspensions
Gareth Southgate has no worries in this department and should have all of his players available.
Sime Vrsaljko suffered a knee injury in extra time against Russia and had to be replaced. Zlatko Dalic does not have a backup at the position, so the right back’s absence would be a big blow for his team. If Vrsaljko doesn’t recover, Verdan Corluka will likely be introduced to the starting lineup, with either him or Vida covering the right flank.
Croatia vs. England prediction
All the pieces are falling into place for England. No injuries, no suspensions, a random goal by Januzaj that sent them to the weaker side of the draw, a matchup against the Colombian side without their star, breaking the penalty shootout curse and now a clash with Croatia potentially without its only right back. Everything has gone right for Gareth Southgate and his players.
Believe it or not, this is a better matchup for Croatia than the previous two. Why? Because England likes to attack, unlike Denmark and Russia. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic had a difficult time finding ways to influence the previous two games because Age Hareide’s and Stanislav Cherchesov’s tactics were focused on stopping them. England will play its game. With Jordan Henderson as the only defensive-minded midfielder and with players who like to go forward, Modric and Rakitic could thrive, much like they did against Argentina.
On the other hand, Dalic’s defenders will have to be on top of their game. Neither of Nigeria, Argentina, Iceland, Denmark or Russia had as talented of an attacking group as England’s. Dealing with Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling (who’s poised to break his goalless streak), Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli will be extremely tasking, especially with Vrsaljko out.
Based on history, one thing we can count on is goals.
Croatia vs. England odds
