Croatia vs France – Croatia and France face off in a rematch of the 2018 World Cup final on Monday night at Stadion Poljud in the UEFA Nations League’s League A Group 1. There were heavy defeats for Zlatko Dalic’s Austria and Didier Deschamps’ France at the hands of Denmark on Friday night.
Croatia were humiliated by Ralf Rangnick’s team in Osijek on Friday as the visitors put three goals past the Chequered Ones without reply in their Nations League opener.
Croatia suffered their first home defeat since November 2020 as Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch, and Marcel Sabitzer all netted for Austria in the Euro 2016 qualifier, which was hardly reassuring ahead of the World Cup.
Croatia’s 3-0 defeat means they’re now at the bottom of the rankings, which isn’t a surprise given the circumstances. As long as the Nations League continues, it’s unlikely that Dalic will be dropped to League B. However, Denmark is a formidable foe.
For the fourth time in the competition, the Chequered Ones conceded at least two goals before being humiliated by Austria, who had scored in each of their previous three Nations League meetings.
While the quality of Croatia’s opponents in League A must be taken into consideration, the hosts have already suffered three consecutive home defeats in the Nations League, and France also have a point to prove when they play against Croatia on Monday.
After the death of his father, Didier Deschamps departed the camp, and as a result, France was unable to defeat Denmark without his assistance. France’s first-half goal by Karim Benzema appeared like it would be enough to give them a narrow victory.
France’s seven-game winning streak in competitions came to an end when Andreas Cornelius scored a hat trick for Denmark after Kylian Mbappe and Raphael Varane were forced off the field with injuries.
For the reigning global and Nations League champions, their first defeat since their exit from Euro 2020 to Switzerland is no cause for alarm as they prepare for the first of two upcoming meetings with Croatia, down third in the rankings, in their effort to win back to back championships.
The good news for France is that they have now scored in all 21 of their games since their shocking friendly loss to Finland in November 2020, while their winning streak in the Nations League away from home now stands at five games.
Croatia vs France – Betting Analysis
After defeating the Chequered Ones 4-2 at home in the 2018 World Cup final, Croatia defeated France by a score of 2-1 in October 2020, and the hosts are still looking for their first win over France as an independent nation.
While Luka Modric came off the bench in Croatia’s loss to Austria, Ivan Perisic was ruled out with an ankle injury and is a question for the rest of the World Cup qualifying campaign.
Jasmin Modric and Marcelo Brozovic are both doubtful for the rest of the month because of injuries they sustained in the opening match of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.
There had been concerns about Brozovic’s fitness before the match against Austria, but he played the whole 90 minutes anyway. Borna Barisic and Mislav Orsic could return to the lineup if he loses his starting spot to Luka Modric.
Injuries to Varane and Mbappe, two of France’s most valuable players, occurred on Friday night. Varane suffered a hamstring injury, and Mbappe was forced to leave the field with a knee injury.
Even though the full degree of their injuries are still unknown at this time, Guy Stephan expects to be working without Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku for the foreseeable future.
N’Golo Kante has struggled to maintain his fitness in recent weeks, so either Adrien Rabiot or Matteo Guendouzi could be called upon by the visitors.
Croatia vs France – Head -to -Head
Our Prediction: Away Win or Draw
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