Who would’ve guessed? A team dubbed “the worst Russian team ever” and written off before the tournament even started will face Croatia in a World Cup quarter-final in its own back yard. Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi will be the venue where on Saturday night at 20:00, the hosts will try to keep the miracle run going and repeat what the USSR did in 1966, which is play in a World Cup semi-final.
Russia vs Croatia preview
When the 2018 World Cup Round of 16 bracket was finally completed, it seemed like Spain was in pole position to reach the finals. Between Russia, Croatia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Colombia and England, there wasn’t a single opponent who looked better on paper than the Spaniards. The house of cards came crumbling down before it was even built. Stanislav Cherchesov knew that the only way to stand beside a technically superior opponent was to build a brick wall and defend it for as long as it took. Two random goals were scored to avoid the 0-0 scoreline, but based on what we saw on the pitch, it was a 120-minute long cat and mouse chase. The Russians celebrated on penalty kicks thanks to two saves by experienced goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. Not to take anything away from their success, but Spain’s inability to attack rather than Russia’s ability to defend was what send Sbornaya to the quarter-finals.
The bracket set up nicely for Croatia as well. They were seen as the second favorite behind Spain to reach the final, mainly because of their performance against Argentina in the group stage. The Croatia we saw versus Denmark was more the Croatia against Nigeria than Croatia against Argentina. Denmark’s coach Age Hareide saw right through Zlatko Dalic’s men elementary tactic. The answer was obvious – stop Modric and Rakitic and you stop Croatia. That’s exactly what he did. Croatia’s superstar midfielders were invisible for most of the contest, especially in the second half, when Hareide took off his third central defender Andreas Christensen and sent Lasse Schone onto the pitch. He and Delaney completely shut down Croatia’s midfield duo. “Vatreni” progressed on penalty kicks (they could’ve been avoided if Luka Modric scored from the penalty spot in the 115th minute of extra time), but they were far from convincing.
Russia vs Croatia head-to-head
Russia and Croatia met during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and both matches ended 0-0. There was one other friendly back in 2015 which Croatia won 3-1.
Russia vs Croatia prediction
The Croatians don’t play good when they’re expected to win. They’ve shown that on numerous occasions over the years. This is a 50-50 game, but the atmosphere in Sochi will turn them into underdogs, which should be seen as a positive sign for their chances of moving on.
Most coaches like using a single formation and rely on a certain tactic. When searching for the answer how did Russia get here, that’s where you’ll find it. Stanislav Cherchesov knew that if he would use one formation and one tactic, his team wouldn’t get far. So, he had to improvise. The Russian coach adapts based on the opponent he faces and is not afraid to rotate his players and change formations in order to do so. It’s not something which usually works, but it has worked for his team, at least so far. Look to see something similar on Saturday. Russia will not be as defensive as against Spain and will copy Denmark’s approach in an attempt to suffocate Croatia’s creativity. Going to penalties (again) is a very real possibility.
