On Sunday, at 19:45 pm, Wales and Croatia meet in the 8th round of the Euro 2020 preliminaries. The Welshmen come after a draw in Slovakia, where they led 1-0. This time, Bale’s mission is harder.
In Cardiff there are two groups with claims. Croatia is 1st in Group E, with 4 wins in 6 matches and 13 points. In second place is Slovakia, with 10 points, while Wales is 4th in the group, with only 7 points (two wins in five games). Azerbaijan, the last-placed leader, does nothing but indirectly “arbitrate” the fight for the first places.
Thursday night, Wales performed an excellent tactical score in Slovakia, but Gareth Bale and his colleagues saw themselves tied at the start of the second half, to Kucka’s goal (’53). Moore had opened the scoring for the visitors, in the 25th minute. Slovakia remained in 10 people in the 88th minute, but it was too late for the Welshmen to take advantage. It was still a good match for the British, after the recent successes with Azerbaijan (2-1) and Belarus (1-0), but Croatia has a very high level and benefits from the services of superstars like Modric and Rakitic.
Also Thursday night, Croatia won 3-0 in front of Hungary, on their own ground, thus managing to score a new victory on their own ground. The Croats have won the last 4 straight duels with Wales (twice with 2-0 and twice with 2-1), but this time we expect a close duel. The Welsh will be cautious on the defensive and therefore rely on few goals in Cardiff. It is possible that the game will only open in the second half, when the British will be forced to exit the game, if they do not score in the first half.
Wales Lot: Wayne Hennessey, Danny Ward, Adam Davies, Chris Gunter, Ashley Williams, Ben Davies, Neil Taylor, Connor Roberts, Ethan Ampadu, Chris Mepham, Tom Lockyer, Joe Rodon, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Jonny Williams, Harry Wilson, Matthew Smith, Daniel James, Will Vaulks, Joe Morrell, Gareth Bale, Sam Vokes, Tom Lawrence, Tyler Roberts, Rabbi Matondo, Kieffer Moore.
Croatia’s Lot: Dominik Livaković (Dinamo), Lovre Kalinić (Aston Villa), Simon Sluga (Luton Town), Vida Domagoj (Besiktas), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Tin Jedvaj (Augsburg), Borna Barišić (Rangers), Matej Mitrović ( Club Brugge), Dario Melnjak (Rizespor), Mile Škorić (Osijek), Carlos Bartolec (Copenhagen), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozović ( Inter Milan), Mario Pašalić (Atalanta), Nikola Vlašić (CSKA Moscow), Ivan Perišić (Bayern), Ante Rebić (AC Milan), Bruno Petković (Dinamo), Josip Brekalo (Wolfsburg), Mislav Oršić (Dinamo).
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1,84
