Croatia vs England
Seriously, who would have predicted a Croatia vs England semi-final in the World Cup 2018?
Ahead of the tournament, neither of the two teams were heavily favoured to make it deep in the quadrennial affair, with many even predicting that they would be eliminated early in the knockout rounds.
However, thanks to a string of impressive performances and favourable draws, they are now in the last four…and man oh man, it couldn’t get any better than this!
England are certainly brimming with confidence right now, and there’s renewed optimism in the land where the Beautiful Game originated as the belief that “football’s coming home” continues to grow.
Croatia, nonetheless, will be keen to spoil the party for the Three Lions and make history of their own by reaching their first-ever World Cup final and possibly lifting the trophy itself in Moscow.
Talking Points
England loves England again, that’s for sure. After their humiliation in the Euro 2016, the Three Lions seem to have a renaissance under Gareth Southgate and have impressed so far as they continue to wreak havoc with their deadly offence.
Harry Kane top scored the Englishmen with six markers and England remain as the second-highest scoring nation in the World Cup with 11 goals, only behind Belgium (14) who defeated them in the group stage.
Southgate’s side is coming off a convincing 2-0 victory over the defensive-minded Sweden, showing a more direct and fearless approach. They were not afraid of attacking the Swedish defence and it paid off big time as they pulled off what could be described as their best performance in the tournament.
Sure enough, such a win won’t be possible without Jordan Pickford’s heroics between the sticks. After playing an instrumental role in giving England their first ever World Cup penalty shootout victory, the Everton keeper produced another epic performance to keep the Swedes at bay.
Now, England head to the semi-finals with confidence at an all-time high, knowing for a fact that they can beat any team with their depth and quality.
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Croatia, on the other hand, won’t be a walk in the park for England. Not with Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic forming unarguably the best midfield in football.
They were the surprise winners of Group D, beating Nigeria, Argentia and Iceland to secure their spot in the knockout stages.
The Croats have not won a knockout game in regulation time, needing a penalty shootout in both of their games against Denmark and Russia to make it to the last four. While that showed they have some frailties on the defensive end, it also displayed their nerves of steel that should come handy in a World Cup game of such gravity.
It’s also worth noting that they have eight different scorers this World Cup and have been consistent on the offensive end.
Unlike England who had a six-goal outing against Panama in the group stage, Croatia have scored 10 goals already despite their highest scoreline being a 3-0 win over the Lionel Messi-led Argentina.
One pressing concern for Croatia, though, is the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Danijel Subasic who picked up a leg injury in the final moments of the second half of the quarter-finals. The 33-year-old Monaco star went on to play and made three saves to propel Croatia past Russia in the shootout, but he remains a doubt heading to the semis at Luzhniki Stadium.
History
The past Croatia-England results saw the Englishmen win four out of seven games, with two ending in a Croatia victory and the other a draw.
England have won their last two meetings, beating Croatia—5-1 (2009) and 4-1 (2008)—in the Europe qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.
Nevertheless, breaking the hearts of England fans is no longer new to Croatia. They beat the Three Lions 2-0 in the Euro 2008 qualifiers at Zagreb in October 2006, then made sure England wouldn’t qualify for the event by taking them down 3-2 in the return fixture at Wembley the following year.
It remains to be seen if England will continue their domination against Croatia or if the Croats will give another international heartbreak to the Three Lions. But one thing’s for sure: the two teams are up to the challenge!
What are the odds?
SBOBET has England winning the game with 1X2 odds that pay out at 2.35. Croatia, on the other hand, are a little bit behind at 3.05.
A draw, however, isn’t far-fetched considering that a Draw No Bet on England is at 1.61, with Croatia at 1.67 with Asian Handicap +0.50.
The other Croatia vs England betting odds also point to a tight affair and probably a low-scoring one. Over 1.75 goals is at 1.65 while Under 2.25 is at 1.70. Furthermore, a Correct Score 1-1 pays at 5.40 while a 1-0 England win is at 5.80.
Betting Tip
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Croatia vs England | England Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.36 |
| June 12, 02:00 (GMT+8) |
Croatia will be tough to beat for sure. They have shown the composure necessary to win on the big stage and actually produced positive results.
However, they have been weak when it comes to high balls in their recent games, something which should play right for England who have already scored five goals through headers.
In their game against Denmark, Croatia conceded a goal after a long throw caused chaos inside the box. Moreover, against Russia, they allowed the home team to equalise through a header off a free kick.
With that said, I expect England to dominate the set-pieces and use their strength to force their way to victory.
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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