Will Canada finally score their first World Cup goal?
Before the first matchday at this World Cup in Group F was completed, we would have placed a clear bet between Croatia and Canada on a win for the World Cup runners-up.
Meanwhile, we have already seen both teams play in Qatar and witnessed some surprises in this tournament. All of a sudden, the situation ahead of this clash seems anything but clear-cut.
After the first day of play in this pool, the situation is as follows. Belgium lead the standings after their 1-0 win against Canada. Conversely, this means that the North Americans are at the bottom of the table. In between are currently the teams from Croatia and Morocco, which parted with a goalless draw.
Now, of course, you can argue that the table doesn’t lie, but if we look at the performances of the four teams on the first matchday, Canada was the best team, followed by the Moroccans. The two European heavyweights, on the other hand, have been rather disappointing in terms of play, and so between Croatia and Canada, we would make a prediction for the North Americans to win the point.
John Herman’s team is also under pressure. If Belgium wins against Morocco and the Canadians also lose against Hrvatska, then they will be heading home after the preliminary round. But we expect the Maple Leafs to show similar courage as in their opening match and then something should be possible against the runners-up of the World Cup.
Croatia – Statistics & current form
The showpiece of the Croatian team is certainly the midfield. However, the midfield is getting a bit long in the tooth. Mateo Kovacic, at 28, is still the youngest in this squad of top stars. Marcelo Brozovic, Ivan Perisic and above all Luka Modric are all beyond 30. Certainly, these players still have great qualities, but the climatic conditions in Qatar are not the best for players in the late autumn of their careers.
Hard to beat Croats
In the Nations League, however, the Croats still performed very well and secured first place in a group with France, Denmark and Austria and thus a place in the Final Four. Hrvatska are now unbeaten for seven games and therefore there is not much to suggest that you should play the odds on a defeat of the runners-up between Croatia and Canada.
However, Zlatko Dalic’s team did not convince in their opening match against Morocco. In total, the Croats scored just five goals. That is too few for a team that wants to build on the good World Cup 2018. As a result, they only managed a goalless draw against the Atlas Lions, which was fair in the end. But the Croats would not have been able to complain if the shot had backfired.
Zlatko Dalic trusts a well-rehearsed team. We therefore do not expect any changes in the starting eleven on Sunday. Mario Pasalic or Marko Livaja are perhaps the first candidates who could bring some fresh wind into the offensive. In general, however, Hrvatska have more options, as there are no injured players in the line-up ahead of the second group match.
Predicted line-up of Croatia:
Livakovic – Sosa, Gvardiol, Lovren, Juranovic – Brozovic, Kovacic, Modric – Perisic, Vlasic, Kramaric – Coach: Dalic
Last matches played by Croatia:
World Cup Group F
23/11/2022 – Morocco 0 – 0 Croatia
Friendlies
16/11/2022 – Saudi Arabia 0 – 1 Croatia
UEFA Nations League A Grp. 1
26/09/2022 – Austria 1 – 3 Croatia
23/09/2022 – Croatia 2 – 1 Denmark
14/06/2022 – France 0 – 1 Croatia
Canada – Statistics & current form
When you travel to a World Cup, you have to set goals. The predominant ones the Canadians carried with them were to score a goal and record a win. Thirty-six years ago, in the North Americans’ first World Cup appearance, they failed to do either. After the opening game against Belgium, it remains to be said that nothing has changed in this regard.
Bitter opening defeat
However, John Herdman’s team dominated one of the supposed World Cup favourites for long stretches. 22 shots on goal against the Belgian goal speak for themselves. However, even from the penalty spot it was not enough to score, because Alphonso Davies failed. Two other clear penalties were also denied to the Maple Leafs for unknown reasons.
So it came as it had to come. The Belgians took advantage of one of their few chances and won the match 1-0. From the Canadians’ point of view, it’s probably hard to lose a match more bitterly. We expect John Herdman’s team to put in a similar performance on Sunday and therefore we can already imagine placing a bet on a point win for the North Americans between Croatia and Canada.
However, the Canadian coach has made some unpleasant comments that will make the Croatians really hot for this game. As a coach, you should carefully consider whether it makes sense to give your opponents an extra portion of motivation. In terms of personnel, we expect a similar formation from the North Americans. Perhaps Cyle Larin would be an alternative for the starting eleven.
Projected Canada line-up:
Borjan – Miller, Vitoria, Johnston – Davies, Eustaquio, Hutchinson, Laryea – Hoilett, Buchanan, David – Coach: Herdman
Last matches played by Canada:
World Cup Group F
24/11/2022 – Belgium 1 – 0 Canada
Friendlies
17/11/2022 – Japan 1 – 2 Canada
11/11/2022 – Bahrain 2 – 2 Canada
27/09/2022 – Uruguay 2 – 0 Canada
23/09/2022 – Qatar 0 – 2 Canada
Croatia – Canada Direct comparison / H2H record
If we look through the history books of international football, we look in vain for a duel between Croatia and Canada. Sunday will be the first meeting between these two nations. Hrvatska, however, have won only one of three World Cup matches against teams from the CONCACAF zone, and that was against Jamaica in 1998. The Canadians have even lost all their World Cup matches against Europeans.
Croatia – Canada Tip
Croatia’s first match against Morocco did not generate much enthusiasm. Zlatko Dalic’s team looked as if they had passed their zenith. Five shots on goal against an outsider do not exactly speak for Hrvatska’s offensive power. If the runners-up in the world championship do not improve significantly on Sunday, it could be a tight spot in the last 16.
The Canadians, on the other hand, played a great game. We haven’t seen many teams perform better at the World Cup in Qatar so far. Nevertheless, the Maple Leafs are still empty-handed and still waiting for the first World Cup goal in the association’s history. But we think that if John Herdman’s team can perform like this on Sunday, a point is definitely possible.
The Croatians are comparable in age and quality to Belgium. If the Canadians have a bit more luck in the second group game, we don’t even think a win for the underdog is out of the question. Therefore, we have decided to play the betting odds on the double chance X2 between Croatia and Canada.
