Wales welcome Group E leaders Croatia to the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday, with both teams still in contention to qualify for Euro 2020.
The hosts kept their qualification hopes alive by drawing with Slovakia on Thursday, while a win for Croatia would all but secure them a place in next summer’s tournament.
A first international goal from Kieffer Moore gave Wales the lead over Slovakia as he converted a clever cross from Daniel James.
However, Slovakia pulled a goal back in the second half to deny Wales all three points.
The draw means that Wales remain 4th in Group E – 3 points behind second-place Slovakia – but Wales have a game in hand and a better head-to-head record over Slovakia.
On the other hand, Croatia sit at the top of the group following a convincing 3-0 win over Hungary in the previous round.
Luka Modric opened the scoring for Croatia on 5 minutes before a brace from Bruno Petkovic wrapped up the victory.
The World Cup finalists completely dominated the possession and remained a constant threat to the Hungary goal throughout the match.
Croatia have lost just 1 of their 6 Euro qualifiers and are in pole position to finish at the top of Group E.
🇭🇷🇭🇺✅ Excellent performance🤗 Deserved celebrations#BeProud #Croatia #CROHUN #EURO2020 #Vatreni🔥 pic.twitter.com/Hk9DuHCHLL— HNS (@HNS_CFF) October 10, 2019
🇭🇷🇭🇺✅ Excellent performance🤗 Deserved celebrations#BeProud #Croatia #CROHUN #EURO2020 #Vatreni🔥 pic.twitter.com/Hk9DuHCHLL
They have scored 13 goals so far (at an average of just over 2 goals per game) and have only conceded 5.
Head coach Zlatko Dalic will be boosted by the fact that he has no fresh injury worries heading into Sunday’s clash.
As for Wales, star pair Harry Wilson and Tom Lawrence were deemed not fit enough to start the match against Slovakia, but both could return to face Croatia.
Captain Ashely Williams is likely to continue to stand in for the injured Chris Mepham in defense, while Aaron Ramsey’s continued absence means Jonny William could get another start.
Wales have never beaten Croatia. In their 5 previous meetings, Croatia have recorded 4 wins, with the other match ending in a draw.
It is also worth mentioning that Croatia have scored exactly two goals in each of their 4 wins over Wales.
The last two meetings between the teams have ended with a 2-1 scoreline in favor of Croatia, and this trend looks set to continue on Sunday.
Forebet predicts a narrow away win with both teams likely to score.