A late Wales equaliser stunned Croatia in their Euro 2024 qualifying opener, but they are back in action in Turkey on Tuesday night and look ready to ignite their campaign.
Though the two points dropped in Split on Saturday will not mean panic stations at such an early stage, last year’s World Cup semi-finalists know that further slip-ups will seriously jeopardise their chances of reaching the finals in Germany next summer.
And with that in mind, they could put an underwhelming Turkey side to the sword.
Football Bet of the Day – Tuesday 28th March, 2023
- Croatia to beat Turkey @ 6/5
*All prices correct at the time of writing.
The Croats dominated the first half against Wales and were made to pay for not putting their chances away, having removed their big guns towards the end after Andrej Kramaric put them into the lead just before the half-hour mark.
Blessed with the likes of Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric, Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic of Tottenham, a hot young prospect in Josko Gvardiol and a standout World Cup performer in Josip Juranovic, Croatia should still have more than enough star quality to outlast the competition in qualification Group D, with two automatic spots up for grabs.
With Latvia and Armenia likely taking up the bottom two rungs on the ladder, there looks to be a three-team shoot-out on the cards.
But while they likely pose the most danger of all four opponents, Turkey – who crashed out of Euro 2020 with no points and just one goal to their name – should still prove a relatively straightforward task for a Croatian unit who will be careful not to take their foot off the gas for a second time.
Head coach Stefan Kuntz saw his side limp past the Armenians 2-1 in their opener, a first win in three competitive internationals after their Nations League campaign ended in a defeat by the same scoreline against the Faroe Islands and a draw with Luxembourg, both of which almost deprived them of promotion from League C.
Croatia’s last competitive match-up pre-Wales was of course the World Cup semi-final defeat against ultimate winners Argentina, but they were unbeaten in their 11 games up to that encounter.
And they will go into Tuesday’s game with confidence against a side who started poorly against weak opposition, Ozan Kabak turning a cross into his own net.
The Crescent Stars recovered, but look to lack the firepower to threaten one of the continent’s top sides in Bursa. Their attack, manned by Getafe’s Enes Unal and supported by former Everton striker Cenk Tosun, now of Besiktas, leaves much to be desired.
The La Liga man has not scored in a competitive international since a brace against Andorra in a Euro 2020 qualifier back in November 2019.
At the other end, goalkeeper Mert Gunok, also a Besiktas player, has only kept three clean sheets for Turkey in his last 11 games – and they came against Gibraltar, Moldova and Guinea.
As they look to get back on track, Croatia – likely led by Marko Livaja again, who hit five goals in seven games for Hajduk Split through February and March – are favoured to breeze past their next opponents and a punt on an away victory at 6/5 looks to be the standout option from Tuesday’s programme.
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