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This is a vital fixture for Wales in Group D. With their Euro Qualification hopes hanging in the balance, Rob Page’s side simply must take points off Croatia on Sunday evening. This game kicks off 19:45pm and takes place at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Wales
Wales eased past Gibraltar on Wednesday night and produced a morale-boosting performance ahead of this crucial clash. Rob Page’s side have now won back-to-back matches for the first time since November 2021 and they will fancy their chances of taking at least a point from this Group D clash.
Match has ended
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Having taken seven points from their opening five qualifiers, Wales are still in the mix for qualification, and having taken a point off leaders Croatia back in March, they shouldn’t have anything to fear on Sunday evening.
Wales tend to be tough to beat in Cardiff, however, a 4-2 defeat to Armenia was potentially damaging and they will be looking to put that peformance firmly behind them.
Charlie Savage made his international debut on Wednesday evening and is set to remain with the squad ahead of this qualifier. The Reading midfielder claimed an assist and produced an eye-catching display. Wes Burns picked up an shoulder injury and has returned to Suffolk to be assessed. Aaron Ramsey remains on the sidelines with Ben Davies likely to captain the side in Cardiff.
Croatia have become fairly familiar foes for Wales with the two sides having been drawn alongside one another during the previous Euros qualifying campaign. The two sides played out a 1-1 draw here in October 2019.
Croatia
Croatia sit top of Group D although they also have a game in hand on Wales. Zlatko Dalic’s side will play their extra match on Thursday evening against second place Turkey. Both sides are locked on 10 points and a draw would arguably be the best possible result for Wales.
Croatia haven’t tasted defeat since their World Cup Semi-Final defeat at the end of 2022 and are notoriously tough to beat. With games against Latvia and Armenia scheduled for November, they will fancy their chances of securing their place at next summer’s tournament.
With a vastly experienced squad, Croatia will head into this game as clear favourites, however, they are without the injured Ivan Perisic for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, classy midfielder Luka Modric will captain the side once again as he picks up his 169th international cap. Mateo Kovacic and Josip Gvardiol provide plenty of quality whereas Andrej Kramaric has scored in three of his last six appearances and also notched in the reverse fixture.
in 2023, Croatia have managed to keep three clean sheets and have conceded just three times.
Head to Head
Games between these sides are rarely one-sided affairs and each of the last two matches have ended 1-1 with Croatia taking the lead in both encounters.
Croatia have won four of the last six meetings between these sides, albeit, they haven’t netted more than two goals in any of those victories. BTTS has landed in each of the last four meetings.
Wales are still searching for their first-ever victory in this match-up.
Key Betting Stats
- Croatia have scored the opening goal in five of the last six meetings between these sides.
- BTTS has landed in just one of six Wales matches across all competitions
- Wales’ only two clean sheets during this qualifying period have come against Latvia.
- Wales conceded just six goals during the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign. They’ve already been breached on seven occasions during this set of qualifiers.
- There have been six different goalscorers for Wales during this qualifying campaign
- Croatia have kept three consecutive clean sheets in Euro Qualifiers
Match Prediction
Wales enjoyed a straightforward evening on Wednesday, however, this is likely to be much tougher. Croatia are incredibly tough to beat, and although they are missing one or two key players, they should still be able to take three points, albeit narrowly.
Winning Combo
Croatia to Win by Exactly One Goals
13/5 with Betfair
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