Croatia suffered a narrow defeat to England in their opening match and now face a Czech Republic side high on confidence after running out 2-0 winners against Scotland.
European Championship 2020
Date: 18/06/2021
Kickoff: 17:00
Venue: Hampden Park
Croatia’s form heading into the summer tournament was not particularly grea; they had only won three of their last ten games and the 1-0 defeat to England in their opening group game has now made them winless in three.
Yet, they offered very little going forward against the Three Lions, but that was down to England’s strength at the back and their general control of the game. Thankfully, the Czech do not have the same defensive structure and ability as the English, so Croatia may well fancy their chances in this one.
Scotland might have given the Czech Republic a good game, and probably should have taken something from that loss but the ability of the Czechs to finish their chances ultimately proved just enough.
Schick got his Euro 2020 campaign off to a fantastic start with two excellent finishes, one an absolute stunner from afar, and which is already up there for the goal of the tournament.
Thus, Czech Republic have now nicely set themselves up for a place in round of 16 and one point from their next two games may be enough to secure one of the four places available to the best third placed sides. They will want to secure qualification with a win at the first attempt against Croatia here though, rather than having it all to play for in their final group game versus England.
Team news
Croatia
All 26 players should be available for selection.
Czech Republic
Goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka is out with a back injury.
Team form
Croatia’s last five games: WWDLL
Czech Republic’s last five games: DLLWW
Match stats
Croatia are unbeaten in three previous meetings against Czech Republic
Each of the Czech Republic’s last three matches produced a goal in the 42nd minute.
Betting tips
Both teams have scored in each of the three previous meetings between these two countries, and the Czech Republic have never beaten Croatia before.
Both teams have also scored in three of the last six internationals involving Czech Republic and apart from a three game spell in March 2021, both teams had scored in Croatia’s last 11 games. With the Both Teams To Score market available at 20/23, it’s well worth the gamble.
You can view all other betting markets for this game here
Odds subject to change – 18+|BeGambleAware.org – Please gamble responsibly
