19:45 Saturday

Croatia and Wales get their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign underway and the hosts look well placed to claim victory against a Wales outfit that can no longer depend on a Gareth Bale masterclass after he retired from football. Can Rob Page’s men claim a shock win or will Croatia prove too good?

Croatia vs Wales Stats

  • Gareth Bale has retired and in 2022, Wales lost all four games in which he did not feature
  • In those four games, Wales conceded at least twice on every occasion and conceded twice or more in six of their 10 games in 2022
  • Croatia have never tasted defeat in a home Euro qualifying match (W27, D8)

 

Croatia vs Wales Prediction

Betting Tip: Croatia win to nil

Croatia have been impressive in recent tournaments, particularly in the World Cup having finished as runners-up in 2018 and third in 2022. But the European Championship is a tournament they have struggled in and they’ll be hoping they can improve this time around.

They boast an excellent record in terms of qualifying having never lost a home Euro qualifying game and since the start of 2021, they have conceded just once or not at all in seven of their nine games on home soil, and that’s a record they possess in each of their last three games against Wales.

The visitors performed pretty miserably at their first World Cup finals appearance as they exited at the group stage. They’ll be hoping to give a good account of themselves here but with talisman Gareth Bale now retired, it remains to be seen how they cope. In 2022, they lost all four games when he was unavailable and an away trip to Croatia will be a tough test.

I’m just not sure where the goals will come from and given how dominant Croatia are at home in these games, I think there is plenty of value to be had on a home win to nil.

Croatia win to nil - 1pt @ 7/5

Betting Tip: Croatia to score 2+ goals

Croatia are clear favourites coming into this clash and they will be expected to get their qualifying campaign off to the perfect start by claiming a victory here against Wales. Zlatko Dalić’s side have lost just once across their last 13 outings and they have hit the back of the net in nine of those.

Many of those matches were in the World Cup against some tough opposition but they have got on the scoresheet in every single meeting with Wales and it would be a shock if they weren’t able to here.

Rob Page has called up four uncapped players in an effort to freshen up his side and take a new approach after Bale’s retirement. So they’re something of an unknown quantity but it will certainly take time to learn how they want to play moving forward.

I think Croatia will maintain their phenomenal home record in these qualifiers and claim victory, but I think they can also hit the back of the net at least twice here and that will be my second pick for this clash in Split.

Croatia to score 2+ goals - 1pt @ 17/20

Croatia vs Wales Results

Date Result Competition
13/10/2019 Wales 1-1 Croatia European Championship Qualification
08/06/2019 Croatia 2-1 Wales European Championship Qualification
26/03/2013 Wales 1-2 Croatia World Cup Qualification
16/10/2012 Croatia 2-0 Wales World Cup Qualification
23/05/2010 Croatia 2-0 Wales International Friendly

 

Croatia vs Wales Team News

Croatia:

  • Croatia should have no injury concerns

Wales:

  • Ben Davies and Wayne Hennessey were forced to pull out of the squad owing to injuries
  • Tom King, Morgan Fox, Liam Cullen and Mark Harris have been added to the squad
  • Brennan Johnson will need to be assessed before the game, owing to an injury sustained against Tottenham

Croatia vs Wales Lineups

Predicted lineups are brought to you by WhoScored.com.

Croatia 

Livakovic, Juranovic, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Kramaric, Livaja, Perisic

Wales

Ward, Williams, Mepham, Rodon, Roberts, Ampadu, Morrell, Wilson, Ramsey, James, Moore

Croatia vs Wales Score Prediction

Croatia 2-0 Wales