Croatia vs Czech Republic Preview

Croatia will get their World Cup qualifying campaign under way on Monday when they face Czechia in their Group L clash, with the visitors already sitting on six points after winning their opening two games.

Croatia have never lost to Czechia, and will have that in the front of their minds as they take to the pitch, eager to maintain their impressive record, while opening their qualifying campaign with a win is equally important.

As the game approaches, here is everything you need to know about both sides ahead of kick-off.

Key Statistics

• Former World Cup finalists Croatia come into this game with just one win in their last five, with the sole victory being a 2-0 win against France in March.
• Alongside Czechia, Croatia are considered the strongest team in the group, with the rest of the group comprising Gibraltar, Montenegro and the Faroe Islands.
• Czechia come into this game as the form team - they have won five of their last seven, scoring 14 goals in the process.
• It marks a superb turnaround after a dismal Euro 2024 campaign, where they lost two and drew one of their group games.

Croatia Preview

Croatia Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Dominik Livakovic (GK); Josko Gvardiol, Marin Pongracic, Josip Sutalo, Josip Stanisic; Mateo Kovacic, Luke Modric; Ivan Perisic, Lovro Majer, Luka Sucic; Ante Budimir.

Boasting a squad studded with quality, Croatia’s poor recent form comes as something of a surprise. Sure, the teams they have faced in their last five games include France, Portugal and Scotland, but even so, the value of their squad indicates that on paper, their results should be better.

However, the World Cup qualifying campaign provides a clean slate, an opportunity for coach Zlatko Dalic to experiment and work out what works best for him and his team ahead of the biggest competition in world football next summer.

Boasting the likes of Gvardiol, Kovacic, Modric, Perisic and many more, Croatia have more than enough to reach the World Cup, but they need to find an effective way to use their talent if they are to make a deep run at the tournament.

Czech Republic Preview

Czech Republic Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Matej Kovar (GK); Jaroslav Zeleny, Ladislav Krejci, David Zima, Vladimir Coufal; Lukas Cerv, Tomas Soucek; Lukas Provod, Alex Kral, Vaclav Cerny; Patrik Schick.

After a lull in the last decade or two, this Czechia side is one of the most talented in recent memory. Goalkeeper Kovar and star striker Patrik Schick ply their trade at last season's invincibles Bayer Leverkusen, while Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek are timeless players who still have a spring in their step despite their age.

Their recent form has started to reflect their talent - they dispatched of Gibraltar, Georgia and the Faroe Islands, drew to Ukraine and Albania in the Nations League group, games which came after victories over the same nations in their first meetings.

Czechia have started to gain momentum at just the right time, and with a host of up-and-coming stars in the pipeline, can use this qualifying stage as a litmus test, helping future stars to find their place in the team and developing them for big stage, tournament football.

Croatia vs Czech Republic Head to Head

Recent Meetings:

• 18/06/2021: Croatia 1-1 Czechia.
• 17/06/2016: Czechia 2-2 Croatia.
• 09/02/2011: Croatia 4-2 Czechia.

Croatia vs Czech Republic Betting Tip

Prior meetings between the two nations have produced a host of goals, and given Czechia’s run of scoring (they have found the net in seven of the last eight) and Croatia’s home advantage, we seem to be set for another eventful clash.

That is why our experts have decided that the best tip for this fixture is to back both teams to score. Odds of 1.81 on Highbet mean that a £10 stake would return over £18 if the bet comes off.

Croatia vs Czech Republic Prediction

Croatia 2-2 Czech Republic

With their two most recent results against each other ending in a stalemate, it seems there is very little to split the two. Four years on from their last meeting, this seems to be the case once again, and we reckon they will play each other to an exciting score draw.