Croatia vs France Match Analysis and Prediction

3 years ago 498

Croatia and France will both be seeking to bounce back from poor starts in League A Group 1 of the UEFA Nations League during their clash at Stadion Poljud on Monday.

Monday’s hosts were beaten 3-0 by Austria on Friday, while Didier Deschamps’ side France were handed a surprise 2-1 defeat by Denmark.

Croatia were humbled by Ralf Rangnick’s side in Osijek, as the visitors put three goals past Zlatko Dalic’s team without reply.

That defeat unsurprisingly leaves Croatia at the bottom of the rankings with a lot of football still to be played in the Nations League, so fears of an unlikely relegation to League B should not come into Dalic’s mind just yet.

Dalic’s team had managed to score in all of their previous Nations League matches before the defeat to Austria, which also marked the fourth game in a row in the competition that Croatia had shipped at least two goals.

In the absence of Didier Deschamps, who is mourning and left the camp following the death of his father, France were seemingly on course for a slim victory against Denmark after Karim Benzema scored the opener.

However, things went south after Kylian Mbappe and Raphael Varane left the field with injuries, as Andreas Cornelius came off the bench to grab a second-half brace for Denmark.

However, a first loss since their Euro 202 exit to Switzerland is no cause for panic for the reigning world and Nations League champions, who prepare for the first two upcoming encounters with Croatia down in third in the rankings during their bid to secure back-to-back trophies in the competition.

Les Bleus at least managed to keep up their magnificent run of scoring in every game since their surprise friendly loss to Finland in November 2020, now scoring in each of their last 21 matches.

Croatia vs France head to head

The two national teams have previously met on eight occasions across all competitions, where France have claimed six victories while they have drawn twice. Croatia have scored eight goals and conceded 19 in the process. France claimed a 2-1 away win in their last meeting in the UEFA Nations League.

Croatia 2-2 France 17/06/04

France 0-0 Croatia 29/03/11

France 4-2 Croatia 15/07/18

France 4-2 Croatia 08/09/20

Croatia 1-2 France 14/10/20

Croatia latest home form

Croatia have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They lost 3-0 to Astria in their last home game in the UEFA Nations League. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded seven.

Croatia 2-2 Slovakia 11/10/21

Croatia 1-0 Russia 14/11/21

Croatia 1-1 Slovenia 26/03/22

Croatia 2-1 Bulgaria 29/03/22

Croatia 0-3 Austria 03/06/22

Croatia latest away form

Croatia have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They managed to defeat Malta 7-1 in their last away game in the World Cup Qualifiers. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded two.

England 1-0 Croatia 13/06/21

Russia 0-0 Croatia 01/09/21

Slovakia 0-1 Croatia 04/09/21

Cyprus 0-3 Croatia 08/10/21

Malta 1-7 Croatia 11/11/21

France latest home form

France lost their last home game 2-1 to Denmark in the UEFA Nations League. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their five matches prior to that. In their last five matches, they have scored 18 goals and conceded three.

France 2-0 Finland 07/09/21

France 8-0 Kazakhstan 13/11/21

France 2-1 Cote d’Ivoir 25/03/22

France 5-0 South Africa 29/03/22

France 1-2 Denmark 03/06/22

France latest away form

France have recently been on a good run of form on the road, and have been unbeaten in their five most recent matches. They defeated Finland 2-0 in their last away game in the World Cup Qualifiers. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded six.

Portugal 2-2 France 23/06/21

Ukraine 1-1 France 04/09/21

Belgium 2-3 France 07/10/21

Spain 1-2 France 10/10/21

Finland 0-2 France 16/11/21

Croatia news

Luka Modric was fit enough to come off the bench against Austria after his Champions League final exploits, but Ivan Perisic missed out through injury and remains a doubt.

Modric and Marcelo Brozovic will not be able to complete all four matches this month, while Borna Barisic and Mislav Orsic could be reintroduced here.

France news

Guy Stephan will expect to be working without the duo of Varane and Mbappe here, which could open the door for Christopher Nkunku and Presnel Kimpembe to start on Monday.

France must take care over N’Golo Kante amid the packed schedule given his struggles to stay fit in recent times.

Prediction and Odds

We are expecting to see more resolute defensive showing from Croatia as Dalic is likely to make some changes, but France’s goalscoring streak is not likely to end anytime soon.

Despite losing Mbappe, a side possessing Benzema and Nkunku up front would be intimidating, and we see an away win coming.

Odds: 1 2.35 X 2.05 2 1.89