The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group D fixture between Argentina and Croatia. The game kicks off on the 22nd of June at 4:00 AM AEST. It will be broadcast live by SBS, who now have the rights to all remaining group stage matches.
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Argentina
- FIFA World Rank: 5
- Elo Rating: 5
- Qualifying: Third place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with a 7-7-4 record.
Squad:
- Coach: Jorge Sampaoli
- Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Manchester United), Wilfredo Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate)
- Defenders: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Federico Fazio (Roma), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon)
- Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Giovani Lo Celso (Paris Saint-Germain), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Manuel Lanzini (West Ham), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Angel di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), C
- Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Recent results:
- Argentina 1 – 1 Iceland
16/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Argentina 4 – 0 Haiti
29/05/2018
Friendly, played in Argentina - Spain 6 – 1 Argentina
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Spain - Italy 0 – 2 Argentina
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in England - Argentina 2 – 4 Nigeria
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in Russia - Russia 0 – 1 Argentina
11/11/2017
Friendly, played in Russia - Ecuador 1 – 3 Argentina
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Ecuador - Argentina 0 – 0 Peru
05/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Argentina - Argentina 1 – 1 Venezuela
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Argentina - Uruguay 0 – 0 Argentina
31/08/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Uruguay - Singapore 0 – 6 Argentina
13/06/2017
Friendly, played in Singapore - Argentina 1 – 0 Brazil
09/06/2017
Friendly, played in Australia
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 26-14-9
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 42-7
- O/U 1.5 record: 30-19
- O/U 2.5 record: 22-27
- O/U 3.5 record: 16-33
- O/U 4.5 record: 9-40
- O/U 5.5 record: 6-43
- Wins
- Total wins: 26
- Won by 1 goal: 13
- Won by 2 goals: 4
- Won by 3 goals: 3
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 2
- Won by 5+ goals: 2
- Won to nil 18
- Losses
- Total losses: 9
- Lost by 1 goal: 3
- Lost by 2 goals: 4
- Lost by 3 goals: 1
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 1
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 7
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 49
- Clean Sheets: 25
- Held Scoreless: 14
- Both Teams Scored: 17
Croatia
- FIFA World Rank: 20
- Elo Rating: 17
- Qualifying: Runners up in Group I with a 6-2-2 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification. Defeated Greece 4-1 on aggregate in the UEFA Second Round playoffs.
Squad:
- Coach: Zlatko Dalić
- Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Lovre Kalinic (Gent), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo)
- Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Domagoj Vida (Besiktas), Ivan Strinic (Sampdoria), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Sime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Josip Pivaric (Dynamo Kiev), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen), Duje Caleta-Car (Red Bull Salzburg)
- Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter), Filip Bradaric (Rijeka)
- Forwards: Mario Mandzukic (Juventus), Ivan Perisic (Inter), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Marko Pjaca (Schalke), Ante Rebic (Eintracht)
Recent results:
- Croatia 2 – 0 Nigeria
16/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Croatia 2 – 1 Senegal
08/06/2018
Friendly, played in Croatia - Croatia 0 – 2 Brazil
03/06/2018
Friendly, played in England - Mexico 0 – 1 Croatia
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in USA - Peru 2 – 0 Croatia
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in USA - Greece 0 – 0 Croatia
12/11/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Greece - Croatia 4 – 1 Greece
09/11/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Croatia - Ukraine 0 – 2 Croatia
09/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Ukraine - Croatia 1 – 1 Finland
06/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Croatia - Turkey 1 – 0 Croatia
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Turkey - Croatia 1 – 0 Kosovo
02/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Croatia - Iceland 1 – 0 Croatia
11/06/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Iceland
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 26-10-9
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 43-2
- O/U 1.5 record: 32-13
- O/U 2.5 record: 16-29
- O/U 3.5 record: 9-36
- O/U 4.5 record: 5-40
- O/U 5.5 record: 4-41
- Wins
- Total wins: 26
- Won by 1 goal: 11
- Won by 2 goals: 7
- Won by 3 goals: 3
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 0
- Won by 5+ goals: 3
- Won to nil 20
- Losses
- Total losses: 9
- Lost by 1 goal: 4
- Lost by 2 goals: 4
- Lost by 3 goals: 1
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 7
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 45
- Clean Sheets: 22
- Held Scoreless: 9
- Both Teams Scored: 16
Commentary
Argentina had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Iceland in their opening fixture. Lionel Messi missed a penalty in the second half, which was the fourth time he’s missed from the spot in his last seven efforts for club and country. Argentina out-shot Iceland 16 to 0 in the second half and had another strong penalty appeal waived away and not referred to VAR, so they will be frustrated to have missed out on all 3 points. This was the first time Argentina have failed to win their opening match at a World Cup since 1990, but they can take heart from the fact that they reached the final of that tournament. In team news, there are rumours that coach Jorge Sampaoli will switch to a 3-4-3 formation in search of victory. Argentina have no new injury concerns.
It wasn’t a classic performance, apart from a strong showing by Luka Modric, but Croatia did enough to beat Nigeria 2-0 in their opening fixture to take the lead in Group D. Their goals game courtesy of a fortuitous own goal in the first half and a converted second half penalty, but in reality Croatia always looked in control as they dominated possession. They will be pleased to have picked up 3 points despite not playing at their best. Another positive is their clean sheet, which came on the back of a qualifying campaign in which they conceded just 4 goals in 10 games. In team news, striker Nikola Kalinic has been sent home after he refused to come on as a substitute against Nigeria, citing a back complaint. Croatia opted for an aggressive 4-3-3 formation that didn’t feature a defensive midfielder against Nigeria, but are expected to take a more defensive approach for this clash. History is against Croatia. They have lost all four of their previous World Cup meetings against South American sides and they haven’t won back to back World Cup games since 1998.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Argentina vs. Croatia
There will be a clash of priorities in this fixture. Argentina will be pushing for all three points, while Croatia can afford a draw. I’m going for two selections, based on which side gets its way. Croatia’s last 6 defeats were to nil while 9 of Argentina’s last 10 wins were to nil, so if Argentina do win this, there will be value in the win to nil market. At the same time, Croatia have more than enough quality to pick up a point here, so I will put something on that too. Croatia have scored in each of their last five World Cup games while Argentina have scored more than once in just 2 of their last 10 competitive games, so if Croatia do score then Argentina will be hard pressed to get the win.
Betting tip: back Argentina to win to nil at 3.55 (Betfair) and Croatia +0.5 in the Asian handicap at 1.82 (Betfair). If wagering 1 unit on this fixture, place 0.34 units on the Argentina bet and 0.66 units on the Croatia bet.
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more