SAUDIAN ARABIA – CROATIA | Wednesday 1pm
Qatar 2022 is just around the corner, the opening match of the World Cup is scheduled for Sunday, and the selections that will take part in it have only a few days to play the classic preparation friendlies. Matches that serve the respective technical commissioners to tidy up their ideas and try out tactics and modules in view of the debut. The times, as we said, are quite tight. The national championships, in fact, only ended last weekend. For example, the last official outing of 2018 world vice-champion Croatia in the Russian World Cup was last September.
The red-and-white chequered selection about two months ago beat Austria 3-1 in the Nations League, securing their fourth win in a row and snatching qualification for the continental event’s Final Four in a seemingly impossible group with Denmark and France. Modric and his team-mates have what it takes to do well at the World Cup, with coach Zlatko Dalic handling the generation change very well, making a near-perfect mix of youngsters and veterans. Lined up in Group F with Belgium, Morocco and Canada, they will make their debut next Wednesday with the North African national team.
Before travelling to Qatar, Croatia will stop in Riyadh to face Saudi Arabia, led by French selector Hervé Renard. The Sons of the Desert have snatched the pass to the final stage of a World Cup for the second time in a row, but they will really need a sporting miracle to reach the round of 16. They seem to have a derisory chance of qualification in the group with Argentina, Mexico and Poland. However, they are coming off seven positive results, in which they have conceded only two goals and avoided defeat against the likes of North Macedonia, Albania and Iceland.
Salem Al Dawsari
The Prediction
Dalic will probably keep the big boys rested or just give them a few minutes to ward off injuries. He may struggle to break through the defence of a national team that scores sparingly but is very organised in the non-possession phase. A Croatian victory is likely in a match where the total number of goals will be less than four.
The probable Saudi Arabia-Croatia line-up
- SAUDIAN ARABIA (4-3-3): Al-Owais; Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Al-Amri, Al-Shahrani; Al-Najei, Kanno, Al-Malki; Asiri, Al-Brikan, Al-Daswari.
- CROATIA (4-3-3): Livakovic; Stanisic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Barisic; Majer, Brozovic, Pasalic; Vlasic, Kramaric, Perisic.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-2
