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Croatia were sensational in the 2018 World Cup, where they managed to reach the final but sadly lost to France. They will now return to action just under two months after their success, and will travel to Portugal for an international friendly on Thursday. Portugal didn’t make a very good run in the World Cup, as they exited in the round of 16.
Date/Time: 9-6-2018, 14:45 EDT
Spread: Croatia +0.25
Total: 2 Goals
Portugal were mediocre at best in the 2018 World Cup in Russia despite going through the group stage. They played a spectacular 3-3 draw in the premiere against Spain, but they were really bad after that.
They were destroyed by Morocco in the second match but luckily won by 0-1, and were held to a 1-1 draw against lowly Iran. Portugal were actually very good in the round of 16 against Uruguay but lost by 1-2 and their run was over. Coach Fernando Santos is still at the helm and he made 10 changes to the squad since the World Cup.
Key man Cristiano Ronaldo will sit out in the two September matches, along with Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Quaresma among others. The team that he will deploy in this friendly consists of mainly younger and talented players, who play in the best teams in Europe.
Croatia were simply great in the 2018 World Cup in the summer. They started off with an easy 0-2 against Nigeria, but it was in their second match that they exploded. It was a magic moment when they destroyed Argentina by a massive 0-3, before brushing off Iceland by 2-1 in the final match.
They had a seemingly easy job against Denmark in the round of 16 but needed the penalty shoot-out in order to qualify. They also needed the shoot-out in the next round, when they overcame Russia. Croatia put an end to England’s amazing run by defeating them in the semi-finals but finally fell in the final against France by 2-4. That team is history now, as Mandzukic, Subasic and Corluka have retired. Moreover, Lovren, Strinic, Rebic and Kramaric are all injured and coach Dalic has VERY few options here.
Portugal have remained undefeated in four matches against Croatia over the years. Moreover, they have yet to concede a single goal against this opponent. The two teams last met in the 2016 EURO Cup round of 16, where Portugal won in the extra time.
Both teams are missing key players for this match, and the next one for the UEFA Nations League. But Portugal have a ton of talent in their team, much more than Croatia. Croatia lacked depth in the World Cup, and now they will be missing at least six starters. I will gladly go with Portugal to cover the spread on this one.
