Spain vs Croatia
After winning the classic at Wembley, Spain head home with high hopes of continuing their bright start in the UEFA Nations League, against a Croatia team that has surprised the football world in the past months.
La Furia Roja came from behind to beat England in the Group A4 opener, but they know World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia pose a different kind of challenge—something that may be far more difficult than the Three Lions.
Croatia have their top stars back and ready to pick up where they left off from the World Cup, and Spain certainly cannot let their guard down even though they are playing at home where they haven’t lost for two years now.
Talking Points
It had been a confusing year for La Furia Roja, particularly after their disastrous World Cup stint that saw them lose their manager early and exit the competition in the Round of 16—despite the hype that they were one of the favourites to win the grandest football tournament on Earth.
Fortunately for Spain, they seem to be over that ugly phase now as they usher into a new era under manager Luis Enrique. While their victory over England was far from perfect, they showed enough to make fans believe that the national team is on their way back to elite status.
Spain were really in chaos after Julen Lopetegui’s sacking just a day before the World Cup. Fernando Hierro stepped in as caretaker manager during the tournament, and as expected, the team ended up a mere shadow of themselves—bogged down by plenty of unnecessary passing.
The 2010 World Cup winners, however, were no longer like that today. With Enrique at the helm, Spain showed more pace, purpose and direction that were severely lacking two months ago.
They fell behind to a Marcus Rashford goal against England, but they stayed composed and hit back 120 seconds later to cancel out the lead. They eventually took the front seat after 30 minutes and never looked back.
Spain conceded six goals throughout the World Cup, and while Spain allowed one against England, their defence still showed much improvement. David de Gea looked like the Premier League Golden Glove winner again, while Sergio Ramos anchored the backline brilliantly as they held on and survived a late England charge.
If Spain can stay consistent and break down Croatia’s defence like they did against Gareth Southgate’s men, they could be in for a good time at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
Croatia, on the other hand, will be playing their first game in the competition. However, they had the best preparation for the match after pulling off a 1-1 draw with the Cristiano Ronaldo-less Portugal last week.
As usual, the player to watch for Croatia is Luka Modric. The World Cup’s Golden Ball winner and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year has been a revelation for the Croats, and his ability to score and create for his teammates is something that Spain will hope to neutralise.
While Modric will surely hoard the spotlight, Zlatko Dalic will also rely on the likes of Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Rakitic to deliver and help them get positive UEFA Nations League 2018 results.
History
It hasn’t been long since these two nations last met each other. They were drawn in the same group in the Euro 2016 and were, in fact, the top two teams to move on to the Round of 16 of the tournament.
Croatia topped that group, beating Spain in the group phase with a 2-1 scoreline. Interestingly though, that was the Croats’ only win against Spain over the past 18 years, with La Furia Roja winning three times and drawing one in their previous four meetings since 1999.
On the other hand, it should be noted that Spain haven’t lost a home game since a 0-1 defeat to Georgia in a friendly in 2016. They have hosted nine fixtures since then, winning seven times and drawing the other two.
More amazingly, in that nine home games, Spain conceded just four goals while also averaging four goals per match.
Betting Tip
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Spain vs Croatia | Spain First Half 1×2 @ 2.29 |
| September 09, 02:45 (GMT+8) |
The UEFA Nations League 2018 odds on the SBOBET page put Spain as the overwhelming favourites, thanks to their recent victory. However, I think the game will be tighter than what most fans expect.
Spain clearly have the talent to win any game, but Croatia’s run to the World Cup finals is no fluke and they have proven that they can step up their game when it matters.
My only concern about Croatia is their habit of conceding goals early in the match. We saw it in their games against Denmark, Russia, England and France when they allowed their opponents to score first.
I believe Spain will take advantage of Croatia’s tendency to start slow to dictate the pace of the game in the first half. Besides, their playing at home too!
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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