Portugal vs Croatia: betting tip (cf 1.96) and bets on the World Cup match

Current form

The Portuguese national team played the group stage clearly below expectations and failed to take first place, passing Colombia ahead. A lot of questions arose after the first match with DR Congo (1-1). In that game, the Portuguese had possession of the ball 75% of the playing time, but at the same time they created practically nothing at the other's goal, they scored only seven shots, one of them on target. There was no speed in the development of attacks, Cristiano Ronaldo received a lot of criticism, which in many ways slowed down the team's game.

In the second round, the Portuguese played the most exciting match at the World Cup, defeating Uzbekistan 5-0. It is worth correcting for the fact that the opponent, unlike the Congolese, was not ready to defend reliably and calmly, and there was no experience of such matches. This time, Cristiano Ronaldo showed himself in full glory, scored a double in the first half.

In the third round, we had to face a well-organized defense again, this time the Colombian national team. There was no question of any advantage. Roberto Martinez's men scored only two shots on target during the entire match, and even lost to their opponent in possession of the ball (45% to 55%). The result was a zero draw, which largely satisfied the opponents. In general, the group stage matches revealed the problems of the Portuguese in matches against reliable defensive opponents. There is a game ahead against Croatia, which is not used to playing strictly defensively, and in many ways this is in Portugal's favor.

Disqualifications and injuries

The Portuguese national team has no losses.

Interesting betting trends

• In eight of the previous nine matches, the Portuguese scored more corners than their opponents.
• In four of the last five matches involving the Portuguese national team, a draw was recorded in the first half.
• There has been an exchange of goals scored in three of Portugal's previous five matches.

Approximate line–up: D. Costa – Cancelo, R. Dias, Veiga, Mendes – J. Neves, Vitinha, B. Fernandes - Neto, Ronaldo, Felix.

Current form

Croatia failed to compete with England and predictably finished in second place in the group. A lot was decided in the first round, when checkers lost to the British with a score of 2:4. Only in the opening 45 minutes was there an intrigue, the opponents went on a break with a score of 2:2. After the break, the Croats, primarily their age leaders, could not keep up the high pace that their opponent offered them and conceded two more goals.

The initial setback did not unsettle the Croats, but there are many experienced players in the squad who have repeatedly got out of difficult situations. In the second round, we managed to find and use our moment in the game against Panama (1-0). This was followed by a key match against Ghana, where the leaders had their say. With the score 1-1 at the end of the second half, Vlasic scored the decisive goal from Modric's pass and brought his team a 2-1 victory, which allowed them to finish in second place.

In general, the group stage demonstrated that the Croats are able to open up the saturated defenses of their opponents through experience at the expense of their leaders, and they perform well in positional attacks. However, in an open game with a high tempo, it is difficult for checkers throughout the match, which the British fully showed when they had a huge advantage in the second half and scored two goals.

Disqualifications and injuries

The Croatian national team has no losses.

Interesting betting trends

• In three of the last four matches of the Croatian national team, an exchange of goals was recorded.
• In three of the Croats' four previous matches, the first half ended in a draw.
• More than two yellow cards were not shown in four of the last five draughts matches.

Approximate squad: Livakovic – Shutalo, Pongracic, Guardiola – Stanisic, Modric, Kovacic, Perisic – Vlasic, Baturina – Budimir.