Croatia vs Albania: Team News and Predictions
Blogs

Croatia vs Albania: Team News and Predictions

19/06/24 09:15

Croatia vs Albania Preview

Croatia look to bounce back after a disappointing 3-0 loss to Spain as they take on Albania tomorrow at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg for their second fixture of Group B at EURO 2024.

Zlatko Dalic’s side put out a poor performance against a seamless Spanish team who look favourites to top the group. The Vatreni cannot afford to drop points again if they want a chance at getting through to the Round of 16.

Not only has Croatia’s confidence been diminished by the previous match on Saturday, but also will have been detrimental further by the news that former West Ham man Nikola Vlasic has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a muscular injury. The midfielder was injured in training and will be heading home from Germany.

Despite being by far the favourites to finish bottom of Group B, Albania surprised many by scoring the fastest goal in the history of the European Championships against Italy on Saturday, when Nedim Bajrami netted an absolutely blasting shot into the top corner to stun the Azzurri, just 23 seconds into the match.

The clash with the reigning champions proved to be a lot tighter than many expected and with the manner in which the Eagles played, it wouldn’t be a complete shock if they were able to take a point or even three against a lack-lustre Croatian side.

TEAM NEWS

The everpresent midfield three for Croatia of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic could be broken up as it has been rumoured that Brozovic could be left out in order to make way for someone like Mario Pasalic to change up the style in midfield.

With Ivan Perisic still not being back to full fitness despite coming on for the final half hour of the first game, and Bruno Petkovic missing his penalty, you would expect to see the same front three start for the Vatreni tomorrow.

There is no fresh injury news from the Albanian camp, and you would probably expect a similar line up to the one that faced Italy.

PREVIOUS RESULTS

The two sides have never faced each other in a competitive match before.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Lily Perrill | Writer at Football Park

Discover Lily Perrill, a Football Park writer sharing insightful football content every week. Explore his experience here.

Videos

See more
Why Birmingham City’s Jay Stansfield is worth every penny!
Tom Williams and Ashley Adamson-Edwards give their thoughts on Birmingham City's win over Wrexham in League One.
West Brom are on FIRE as Notts County continue their dominance! | Extra-Time Football Park
Football Park is back with Episode 6 of Extra-Time, a weekly podcast dedicated to the EFL leagues and lower.
Why you CANNOT write off Sheffield United this season!
Tom Williams and Ashley Adamson-Edwards give their take after Sheffield United defeat Hull City in the EFL Championship.

Join our newsletter

Become a part of our community and never miss an update from Football Park.