Croatia and Scotland will battle it out in Glasgow with both sides desperate to qualify for the next round of Euro 2020.
Croatia managed to register a point after Ivan Perisic drew the Croats level through an absolute stunner. On the flipside, Scotland have yet to register a goal, but have looked threatening in both of their previous outings. Let’s delve deeper into this all-important Euro 2020 Group D clash.
Euro 2020: Group D
Tuesday 22 June
Hampden Park
To Win Match
Croatia 5/4
Draw 26/10
Scotland 19/10
Croatia
Croatia pieced together a better performance in their last fixture. Yet again, in the first half the eagerness and confidence of the opposition seemed to get the better of the Croats.
However, an intelligent quickly taken free kick saw Perisic in on goal with a little bit of work to do before hitting the back of the net with a shot fired by fury. A single goal coupled with a single point sees Croatia very much in the running for a round of 16 qualification.
Zlatco Dalic made sure to make some rotations in the squad to avoid any suspensions, bringing in the experienced Dejan Lovren, and the Wolfsburg winger, Josip Brekalo, on for Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic in a formation change.
The swap from 4-3-3 in the England fixture to 4-2-3-1 in the last game saw Croatia creating more opportunities as well as having a more free flowing look in the final third.
Scotland
The Scottish showed their determination and grit against England, managing to earn a draw but were perhaps deserving of more. Steve Clarke has rotated players and formation to leave no stone unturned in pursuit of a victory.
The addition of Kieran Tierney at left centre back and Billy Gilmour (who will miss this game after contracting Covid) in the engine room saw an improved overall performance. Clarke will be focusing on his forwards with Scotland being the only nation to not score, but his team sit fifth in attempts on goal overall.
Scotland are technically the away team, but play at Hampden Park in Scotland, where fans will be roaring on as they target their first-ever qualification should they collect all three points.
Verdict: Scotland (19/10)
Scotland showed against England that they’re not at this tournament to make up the numbers. They went toe-to-toe with the pre-tournament favourites and arguably deserved to win the match. Back them to beat Croatia here.
