UEFA Nations League: Croatia vs. France Preview, Odds, Prediction

Croatia and France square off in the UEFA Nations League this Monday night. The two sides that met in the finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia face off again, only this time, the stakes are much lower. Still, it doesn’t mean that these two units won’t be motivated to win. There are a lot of reasons for them to be fully focused on this battle, the most important their respective losses in the opening round of this competition. Croatia was blown away at home to Austria, while France lost at home too, only their rival was Denmark.

Preview

Croatia (+250) didn’t lose in nine straight games up until this Friday when Austria rolled over them. A 0-3 defeat was one of the toughest for the Croatian boys on home soil in a while, and it surely set the alarm off.

Though, we need to tell that top players like Modric, Brozovic, Perisic, etc, didn’t start this event, and that the head coach, Zlatko Dalic, summoned younger players, probably wanting to see their quality and potential. Modric entered the match at some point, but other stars weren’t even in the protocol.

Before losing to Austria, Croatia lost at home back in late 2020, but that was without the fans and everything. They are extremely confident when playing in a full squad, and we expect that Dalic will send his best team on Monday night.

France (-105) snapped their seven-game winning streak, losing to Denmark at home on Friday, 1-2. The Gauls took the lead but in the end, managed to waste it and shock their fans. How that happened, we simply don’t know.

Deschamps mixed the lineup as time went on, replacing some of the players, but in general, he played with the best possible team. Benzema scored the opener, on Nkunku’s assist. These two guys were among the top five strikers in Europe this year, noting that Benzema is the biggest favorite for the Golden Ball.

France’s games are mostly efficient, with six of the past eight ending with over 2.5 goals. The game against Denmark was the first after seven consecutive in which Mbappe and the guys couldn’t score at least two goals.

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We expect to see the hosts in their top shape, with all the best players starting. That means, Brozovic, Kovacic, Modric, etc will be on the pitch.

France doesn’t have any problems, and all the best players are available.

Head to Head Games

Croatia and France met in the 2020 UEFA Nation League, and the Gals won on both occasions. They were better in Paris, 4-2, and after that, at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, 1-2.

Prediction

France is stronger than Croatia. The World champs will be very motivated to bounce back following the loss to Denmark, and that’s why we expect them to win in Split. With all due respect to Croatia, they’ve shown on several occasions in the near past that they can’t compete with the Gauls. The disbalance between the Croatian defense and the French attack is way too big, and that’s why we bet on the guests’ triumph.

Pick: France -105