Croatia and Canada will play this Sunday, the 27th, a game valid for the 2nd round of Group F of the World Cup in Qatar. The confrontation is scheduled for 1 pm (Brasília time), at the Khalifa International stadium. The key also includes Morocco and Belgium.
The first meeting between Croatia and Canada in history will be in a World Cup. The two teams have never faced each other, not even in friendlies.
Zlatko Dalic wants a more aggressive team after the goalless draw with Morocco. For this, he will make a change in the attack sector: midfielder Vlasic, who played on the right wing in his debut, leaves for striker Livaja. The tendency is for Kramaric, who played as a central striker, to be moved to the right wing. The rest of the team will be the same.
By all indications, John Herdman will repeat the debut lineup (3-6-1) to try to beat the Croatians. Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies is confirmed and should remain in the left-wing position.
TOTAL GOALS: LESS 2.5 GOALS
Both teams arrive at the match accumulating some goal scoring in previous games. In nine of the last 15 matches, Canada has finished under 2.5 goals. Croatia have scored more in seven of eight recent matches.
Thus, it is expected that there will be goals, but not more than three. Since a team’s game can tie the other’s in view of the game scheme set up by each coach.
The Croatians have had some difficulty facing teams that defend in a low block, as is the case of Canada. However, it must be said that Canadian defensive players are far from inspiring confidence.
The real hope is due to the counterattack moves that Canada likes to make. Therefore, a good guess is that we will have goals in the match, but due to the aforementioned stalemates, there should not be many.
TOTAL FIRST HALF GOALS: NO GOALS
Despite the technical quality of Croatia and the Canadian team that does not inspire great prospects, the match should start tied, with game analysis, a lot of ball movement and few dangerous attacks.
That’s because, the Canadian coach, at first, must arm the team to play in the tactical scheme of the Swiss bolt, which can disturb the Croatian game, preventing them from scoring a goal right at the beginning of the match.
In addition, the Americans use the 3-4-1-2 formation, which leaves the midfield congested, and can prevent more incisive plays from the Croatian team. To get out of the closed game, Croatia must invest in high plays and fast counterattacks.
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE: NO
From afar, it is possible to see that the technical quality of the Canadian team does not inspire as much concern in Croatia and other world powers. One should not, of course, overestimate, after all we have already seen big surprises, such as Japan beating Germany.
However, what is expected of the match is that the Canadians will not be able to make successful plays that often put them in opportunities to score, due to the defense made by defender Gvardiol, called “the best young defender in the world”.
Even with chances of kicking on goal, the Canadian team has to pass by the Croatian goalkeeper who has his technical qualities to be recognized. Where, in the game against Morocco, he managed to defend even in the face of the strong offensive of the African team.
