Croatia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Wembley on Sunday afternoon in the blistering sunshine and despite some early promise, they created very little. Zlatko Dalic’s side looked neat and tidy and the experienced Luka Modric did grow into the game, however, they fell drastically short in the final third, with Tyrone Mings and John Stones enjoying a relatively stress-free afternoon.
An xG of just 0.36 is desperately disappointing for a side who reached the final of the 2018 World Cup and have some quality players in their squad.
Czech Republic players reasonably well against Scotland, and managed to pick up a crucial 2-0 victory. Their squad is young and is undoubtedly improving. They may come undone against more experienced rivals, however, they showed enough nous and attacking intent in their first Group C encounter.
Croatia are heavy favourites for this one, however, their form over the last 12 months does not justify those odds.
The Czechs could easily get something from this contest.
