France, the reigning world champions, will aim to lift themselves off the foot of League A Group 1 when they welcome Croatia to the Stade de France on Monday night with kickoff at 9:45 pm.
It doesn’t seem to be working for France at the moment. They need to improve, or they may drop into League B of the Nations League.
Zinedine Zidane’s connections with Paris Saint-Germain aren’t popular with fans who feel he should be replaced as coach. France could only draw 1-1 with Austria last time out.
Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to score, cancelling Andreas Weimann’s opener. France has only taken two points from their first nine games in this tournament.
Despite their recent defensive struggles and lack of ruthlessness, France scored at least once in their last 23 matches in all competitions and can move ahead of upcoming opponents by getting a much-needed win at the Stade de France.
Croatia and France arrived at the World Cup, having yet to win a qualifying victory. Still, Croatia’s fortunes would change after Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric were substituted into their squad’s starting XI during the second half of their friendly match against Denmark. Mario Pasalic scored in the 69th minute of the game, which Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic felt was “a deserved win” for his side.
France vs Croatia Head to Head
Both sides have six games against each other, with the hosts taking three wins while the hosts are winless. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Austria 1-1 France
- Croatia 1-1 France
- France 1-2 Denmark
- France 5-0 South Africa
Away
- Denmark 0-1 Croatia
- Croatia 1-1 France
- Croatia 0-3 Austria
- Croatia 2-1 Bulgaria
France Team News
Deschamps was counting his lucky stars that Mbappe was fit enough for 30 minutes of action against Austria, while N’Golo Kante had left the camp due to a knee injury, and Lucas Hernandez had left the camp due to the imminent birth of his child.
Croatia Team News
Croatia still has injury concerns in defence after losing two players this month, but Domagoj Vida and Duje Caleta-Car could return for their clash against Denmark on Friday. Josip Juranovic can fill in at left-back again if Borna Barisic and Borna Sosa are not fit.
Prediction and Odds
Deschamps’s side will still face a tough challenge with Modric and Kovacic dictating play from the middle, but Croatia’s frontline is not as frightening.
- France Win
- Double Chance
- Goals Under 3.5
