Kick-off: 2000, 22/06/2021
Stadium: Hampden Park
TV: ITV4
Croatia and Scotland both need to go all out for victory to qualify from Euro 2020 Group D and that should make for an interesting contest.
The World Cup runners-up have the edge in class, but the Tartan Army will be hoping to roar their team on to the knockout rounds at Hampden Park.
This is a tough one to call, so we’re taking 6/5 for either side to win by exactly one goal for our first Croatia vs Scotland prediction.
A Look At Croatia’s Betting Odds
Croatia struggled to cope with England’s energy in a 1-0 Wembley loss but showed plenty of spirit to come from behind and draw 1-1 with Czech Republic at this venue.
The pressure was on after Patrik Schick converted a controversial penalty but Inter Milan star Ivan Perisic levelled just after half-time with a terrific finish.
We enjoyed a trio of successful selections on that game, picking out the match result and both goalscorers!
Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic said: “After the penalty – I’m not quite sure what to say about that – we tried to up the intensity and missed 100 per cent chances in the second half.
“We were better than in the first half and somehow we got back into the game. We are going to try and win the last game and move on.
“First of all, we need to win on Tuesday. Four points is going to be sufficient to move on. We cannot talk about goal difference just now, the most important thing is to win.
“It can be complicated for the second position, but for the third one, victory will be sufficient.”
We feel this could be a cagey contest early on, but then spark into life as the need for maximum points becomes more and more pressing.
Looking at the Croatia vs Scotland odds, that makes 23/20 for the highest-scoring half to be the second period stand out.
A Look At Scotland’s Betting Odds
Scotland were bitterly disappointing when beaten 2-0 by Czech Republic here but made amends with a courageous 0-0 draw away to arch-rivals England.
In the first half, the Three Lions almost broke the deadlock when John Stones headed against the woodwork, but Stephen O’Donnell forced Jordan Pickford to make a fine save.
After the break, David Marshall had to keep out a fierce Mason Mount strike, while Lyndon Dykes had a shot cleared off the line at the other end.
Assistant coach Steven Reid said: “To produce a performance like that, hopefully it gives the lads a little bit more belief in their own ability, because sometimes they need to believe in themselves a little bit more.
“We have that feeling, a few of us spoke about it after the game, that we are not ready to go home yet. We want to go deeper into the tournament.
“As good as the performance was against a very good England side, ultimately it means nothing if we are heading home on Wednesday.
“We want to take the positives from the two games and hopefully get a goal or two as well. If we don’t get a goal, we are heading home.”
Che Adams was a handful against England without quite getting the rub of the green and he could be the man to inspire Scotland.
Let’s add 3/1 for the Southampton striker to score at any time to our Croatia vs Scotland betting tips, along with 6/1 he nets first.
Additional stats
Last result:
CROATIA 1-1 Czech Republic – Perisic
England 0-0 SCOTLAND
Head-to-head: Scotland 2-0 Croatia, Croatia 0-1 Scotland, Scotland 1-1 Croatia
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