Euro 2020: Group D – Croatia vs Scotland

Croatia meet Scotland in a must-win match at Hampden Park as both teams look to secure at least third in Group D at Euro 2020.

With both teams locked on one point apiece, victory for either team would see them finish third in Group D at a minimum.

 

Team News

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Borna Barisic could feature for Croatia after recovering from injury which has kept him out of their opening two Group D matches.

Marcelo Brozovic will return to the starting eleven after being dropped to the bench in Friday’s draw against Czech Republic, whilst manager, Zlatko Dalic could make changes up top following goalscoring difficulties for their usual strike force.

Scotland will be without Billy Gilmour after the midfielder tested positive for Coronavirus, which means that he must self-isolate for ten days.

Stuart Armstrong is therefore in contention to return to the starting lineup in Gilmour’s place, having dropped to the bench in Friday’s goalless draw against England.

 

Stat Attack

• This is Croatia’s first-ever meeting against Scotland at a major tournament.
• Croatia are winless in five previous meetings against Scotland in all competitions (D3, L2).
• Scotland have kept two clean sheets in three previous clashes against Croatia at Hampden Park (W1, D2).
• In Group D, Croatia have won the least number tackles in their opening two matches after winning just six of their 18 tackles.
• Entering the final round of matches in this Group Stage, no player has attempted more crosses than Scotland’s Andrew Robertson, who had attempted 23 crosses in his two appearances.

 

Prediction

With a humiliating early exit on cards for the 2018 World Cup runners-up, Croatia really need a top performance if they’re to advance because for all of their effort, they just lack any spark when on the attack and especially in their finishing.

Scotland meanwhile can take plenty of heart and confidence from an excellent performance in their goalless draw against England, in which they showed stronger passion and all-round attacking performance but they really need to score first here if they want to advance.

This game could therefore be cagey but if Scotland score first and can crack on whilst defending well with discipline, I can see them getting the win given their strong record over Croatia who have scored just once in three trips to Glasgow.

Prediction: Croatia 0-1 Scotland

Result: Croatia 3-1 Scotland