Croatia faces an uphill battle in their quest to fend off relegation battles from League B in the Nations League. The World Cup finalists will take on high flying Portugal in their final group game. The match schedules for Wednesday at the Stadion Poljud with kickoff at 10:45 pm.
The visitors have little to play for this week after their hopes of finishing on top of League A Group 3 came to a halt by France on matchday 5.
For a country that reached the World Cup finals in 2018, it is proving to be a hard battle for the Nations League’s side after horrid performances. The side picked three points from a possible 15. The hosts run the risk of dropping down to League B ahead of the group’s final matchday.
Landing in the same group with World Cup winners France and European Champions Portugal proved a daunting task for Zlatko Dalic’s side. The only victory in the group came from their League A Group 3 win against Sweden last month.
The hopes of winning the Nations league again for Portugal keeps fading away. The defending champions missed out on the finals spot after suffering a 1-0 defeat to France last weekend. Rui Patricio’s mistake saw the defining goal of the match by Ng’olo Kante. Portgular overcomes Croatia in their first encounter by four goals to one.
Croatia vs. Portugal Head to Head
Both sides have five games against each other, with Portugal taking home three wins while Croatia without a win. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
Sweden 2-1 Croatia
Turkey 3-3 Croatia
Croatia 1-2 France
Croatia 2-1 Sweden
Switzerland 1-2 Croatia
Away
Portugal 0-1 France
Portugal 7-0 Andorra
France 0-0 Portugal
Portugal 0-0 Spain
Luxembourg 0-2 Portugal
Croatia Team News
Dulic will make various alterations to the starting XI with unexpected changes expected for the side. Marseille center-back Duje Caleta-Car was suspended after picking a second booking in their last time out. Dejan Lovren missed their clash against Sweden after picking a suspension.
Portugal Team News
There are no injuries or suspensions for the side heading into the clash. Jota could receive a starting head after an eccentric start for Liverpool. Wolves trio Neve, Moutinho, and Semedo could receive starting nods this Tuesday. Ronaldo will be looking to recover his form after missing to score against France.
Prediction and Odds
Croatia plays to win with odds stacked against them, while Portugal is playing for nothing but pride this Tuesday.
Draw
Both Teams to Score
Goals Under 3.5