Match Preview: Portugal vs Croatia - Expert Analysis

The UEFA Nations League kicks off this Thursday with an intriguing fixture between Portugal and Croatia set to be one of the headline fixtures.

Portugal vs Croatia Standings

In the last Nations League campaign Portugal finished second in League A Group 2 only behind eventual winners Spain. In fact they scored the joint second most goals in League A having scored 11 goals in 6 games. However unfortunately they only missed out on advancing by a single point.

Croatia on the other hand managed to win their group going through ahead of Denmark, France and Austria. In fact they finished second in the competition only being beaten by winners Spain in the final. Will they replicate that this time around?

Portugal vs Croatia Head To Head

These two nations have faced each other 8 times since 1996.

Portugal have won the majority of those games claiming 6 victories to Croatia’s 1. There has also been 1 draw.

Croatia though were victorious in the most recent meeting coming away 3-1 victors in June.

Portugal vs Croatia Top Scorers

(Stats from the last UEFA Nations League campaign)

Portugal -

João Cancelo - 5 Goals Cristiano Ronaldo - 5 Goals Diogo Dalot - 2 Goals Bruno Fernandes - 1 Goal William Carvalho - 1 Goal

Croatia -

Luka Modric - 3 Goals Mario Pasalic - 2 Goals Andrej Kramaric - 2 Goals Lovro Majer - 1 Goal Borna Sosa - 1 Goal

Portugal vs Croatia Predicted Lineups

Portugal - Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Ruben Dias, Antonio Silva, Nuno Mendes, João Palhinha, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leão, Cristiano Ronaldo

Croatia - Dominik Lavakovic, Marin Pongracic, Josip Sutalo, Josko Gvardiol, Borna Sosa, Luka Modric, Luka Sucic, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic, Andrej Kramaric, Luka Ivanusec

Portugal vs Croatia Player To Watch - Cristiano Ronaldo

Whenever Portugal plays it is hard to argue against Cristiano Ronaldo having a good game.

So far this season for Al Nassr he has 4 goals in 4 games and if he can continue that form into this match Portugal will surely dominate. He will be hard to beat - as per usual.

Where To Watch Portugal vs Croatia

This game is set to get underway on Thursday 5th September 2024 at 19:45 pm UK time. And in the UK you can check out all of the action live on DAZN with the appropriate subscription.