With 6 points after first two rounds and an impressive goal difference, Croatia are likely to finish on the top of the Group D. This means that they might not care too much about the game with Iceland, played this Tuesday evening. Their coach, Zlatko Dalic may decide to give some of his key men rest and get them ready for the Round of 16. Their opponent, Iceland, still have a chance to get to the knockout stage, but for that, they need to do very well at the Rostov Arena.
Croatia
In the previous round, Croatia simply destroyed Argentina 3:0 and now seem like one of the favorites for winning a medal. Of course, there’s still a long way to go, but if they perform like they did in that game, they can hope to achieve big things on this tournament.
Unless their form suddenly drops. And there’s a chance for that, if they don’t take the game against Iceland seriously. If Dalic decides to rest some of his key players, Croatia may lose or play draw with Iceland, which could potentially have a bad impact on their morale. So, the question is will Dalic risk the form of his team or the fitness of his best players?
I think he’ll try to find a middle ground. He’ll probably give rest to Modric or at least sub him early in the second half. But, his team is going to try to beat Iceland with a big goal difference, the same way they did against Argentina.
Furthermore, Croatia have a pretty strong bench, with lots of players hoping to showcase their talent on such a big tournament. There are a couple of top-class players in this team who still haven’t seen any action at the World Cup 2018. Milan Badelj from Fiorentina is one of them, as well as Tin Jedvaj from Bayer Leverkusen and Filip Bradaric from Rijeka NK.
Iceland
After losing to Nigeria 2:0, the chances that Iceland would go to the knockout stage have dropped significantly. They have 1 point right now and in order to qualify for the Round of 16, they need to beat Croatia. But, even if they manage to do that, it won’t mean that they’ve achieved their plan. Their fate also depends on the Nigeria vs. Argentina game.
Still, this doesn’t mean they won’t try to win it. They’ve come to the World Cup to fight till the end and they’re going to have a lot of support from the stands. But, will that be enough to snatch a win against Croatia?
To achieve something like that, you need to have amazing players in the team, but this crew doesn’t look too powerful. Surely, there are a couple of players whose talent no one can dispute, but they don’t seem as talented as those playing for Croatia.
Possible Lineups
Croatia:
Subasic – Lovren, Vida, Vrsaljko, Strinic – Brozovic, Badelj, Kovacic – Perisic, Rebic, Pjaca
Iceland:
Halldorsson – Arnason, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Eyjolfsson, Skúlason – Hallfredsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Gudmundsson, Bjarnason – Sigurdason, Finnbogason
Croatia vs. Iceland Match Prediction
Even if they played with reserves, Croatia would still be the favorites against Iceland. Not only do they have the quality, but they also now have really high confidence after beating Argentina. You can expect them to have no problems getting past Iceland on Tuesday evening.
Croatia vs. Iceland Betting Tips
- Croatia @2.25 (bet365)