Scotland and Croatia both need a result in Glasgow to likely keep their Euro 2020 hopes alive.
Both nations have collected just one point from their opening two games in Group, with 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia in disappointing form in particular – and a draw here would likely see each side exit the tournament.
After losing 1-0 to England and drawing 1-1 with the Czech Republic, Zlatko Dalic’s men must beat Scotland to reach the last-16 – and they could still finish second in the group if they win at Hampden Park and England beat the Czechs.
As for Scotland, an impressive 1-1 draw against England leaves them in with a chance of the knockouts, but they must also win to at least finish third – but could also finish second if England lose and they better the Three Lions’ goal difference.
Croatia vs Scotland: Kick-off time
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| Photo: Alley Sport |
Croatia v Scotland is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
The match will be held at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Croatia v Scotland team news
Croatia vs Scotland predicted lineups
Croatia XI: Livakovic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Gvardiol; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Ivanusec, Perisic; Petkovic
Scotland XI: Marshall; McTominay, Hanley, Tierney; O’Donnell, Gilmour, McGregor, McGinn, Robertson; Dykes, Adams
Suspension list
Brozovic, Caleta-Car, Kovacic, Lovren (Croatia) and McGinn, O’Donnell (Scotland) will be suspended if they are booked.
Croatia squad
Goalkeepers: Lovre Kalinic, Dominik Livakovic, Simon Sluga
Defenders: Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Sime Vrsaljko, Borna Barisic, Duje Caleta-Car, Josip Juranovic, Domagoj Bradaric, Mile Skoric, Josko Gvardiol
Midfielders: Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, Milan Badelj, Mario Pasalic, Nikola Vlasic, Luka Ivanusec
Forwards: Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Ante Rebic, Josip Brekalo, Bruno Petkovic, Mislav Orsic, Ante Budimir
Scotland squad
Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon, David Marshall, Jon McLaughlin
Defenders: Nathan Patterson, Stephen O’Donnell, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Greg Taylor, Liam Cooper, Grant Hanley, Declan Gallagher, Scott McKenna, Jack Hendry
Midfielders: Billy Gilmour, Callum McGregor, Scott McTominay, Stuart Armstrong, John McGinn, John Fleck, David Turnbull
Forwards: Che Adams, James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Ryan Fraser, Lyndon Dykes, Kevin Nisbet
Croatia vs England: Match preview
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| Photo: Getty Images |
For a side that only fell at the final hurdle at the World Cup three years ago, Croatia’s Euro 2020 campaign has been a truly miserable affair by comparison, as Zlatko Dalic’s men could not recover from their 1-0 loss to England against the Czech Republic.
Dejan Lovren’s expression said it all as his flailing elbow on Patrik Schick was deemed worthy of a penalty by VAR on matchday two, and the Czech hotshot converted to put his side 1-0 to the good, but a well-taken equaliser from major tournament veteran Ivan Perisic ensured that Croatia would not start their Euro 2020 campaign with back-to-back defeats.
It is mathematically impossible for third-placed Croatia to progress as group winners, and England’s victory over the Chequered Ones at Wembley means that they are out of sight, so Dalic’s men must hope for the Three Lions to do them a favour against the Czech Republic while they endeavour to sink Scotland.
However, a draw in Group D’s other fixture would see Croatia’s result against Scotland pale into insignificance, but there is still no better time for Dalic to end his side’s four-game winless streak as they aim to progress as one of the four best third-placed sides.
Then again, Dalic has only overseen two victories from his last 11 games in charge of the Croatian national team – quite the fall from grace after their inspiring summer of football at Russia 2018 – and failure to progress to the final 16 of the continental competition would be nothing short of disastrous.
Scotland’s encounter with England on Friday night certainly did not live up to the pre-match billing, but the ever-joyful Tartan Army revelled in their side’s performance in the English capital, as a motivated Scotland prevented England’s bright attackers from making the net ripple on the night.
Steve Clarke’s men had chances of their own but could not break the deadlock either, although they were full value for their point at Wembley and have been given a new lease of life at the Euros following their opening-day defeat to the Czech Republic.
However, with Scotland still waiting for their first goal of the European Championship, Clarke’s men remain at the bottom of the rankings and must pray for an exceptional set of circumstances to keep their last-16 hopes alive on the final day.
Croatia vs Scotland Prediction
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| Photo: Getty Images |
Both sides have struggled to perform so far in the tournament and will be desperate for all three points to keep their slim chances of qualifying for the knockout stages alive.
However, we predict they will cancel each other out and share the spoils as they are both evenly matched on paper.
Prediction: Croatia 1-1 Scotland
Croatia vs Scotland: Betting tips
Croatia to win
After analyzing the previous results of both sides, we firmly believe that Croatia is the clear favorite to end the negative head-to-head result that they have vs. Scotland and win the match. With the odds being at 2.15, this pick has quite a bit of value to it. One thing is sure here – the 2.15 odds won’t last long, being that high with the match getting closer.
Both teams to score – No
This pick has hit only a single time in the last five games in which Scotland featured. Their most recent fixtures produced very few total goals and often ended up being 1-0 in whichever direction. We believe that Scotland will find it hard, if not impossible, to net a goal vs. The Blazers, which makes the odds of 1.79 seem quite tempting.
Home team over 1.5 goals
Considering the fact that the Croats have scored at least once, in their last 19 matches, an excellent alternative to this bet can be over 0.5 goals for the home team. However, picking this tip would mean that the odds will plummet. At 2.38, tipping Croatia to score two or more goals seems more than worth it regarding the risk to reward ratio. This pick has hit in 3 out of the last five matches featuring Dali’s squad and has failed to do so versus France and Sweden – sites much superior to the Croats’ current opponents Scotland. Furthermore, if the Chequered ones want to advance in the competition, which they surely do, winning vs. Scotland is a must. We believe that Croatia will go into the match aiming for the two goals, in order to secure themselves room for error.
