Overview
The Croatian team has made a strong comeback after a disappointing EURO 2024 competition. They won second place in Group 1 League A (only behind Portugal) in the Nations League this season. Croatia still retains its identity as excellent ball circulation and high innovation.
However, Croatia's problem is that they are still too dependent on veterans like Luka Modric or Ivan Perisic. They could not maintain stability throughout the match, leading to some times, Croatia became vulnerable and easily losing control.
Meanwhile, France are also facing a headache in midfield. Les Bleus have many excellent attacking stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele or Antoine Griezmann, but lack a midfielder who can control the rhythm of the match. That made it difficult for them to attack and prevented them from making the most of the stars' abilities in attack.
Croatia has technical midfielders and helps them control the ball well. Meanwhile, France has strong and muscular midfield players, which promise to cause difficulties for Croatia's senior midfield. Therefore, this match is expected to be tight and tense.
The key is that the French team has many stars with high potential for breakthroughs such as Mbappe or Dembele. In particular, Dembele is having an explosive season playing for Paris St Germain.
The two teams have previously met 9 times, in which France won 6 matches. However, it is worth noting that Croatia have avoided defeat in the last two meetings with Les Bleus, including a 1-1 draw in 2022.
Personnel situation
Croatia head coach Dalic will not be able to have the services of midfielder duo Igor Matanovic and Luka Sucic due to injury.
On the other side of the front line, after serving a 1-match suspension, Eduardo Camavinga is expected to be returned to the starting lineup of the French team.
Expected lineup:
Croatia: Livakovic, Stanisic, Sutalo, Caleta-Car, Gvardiol, Modric, Kovacic, Perisic, Sucic, Baturina, Kramaric.
France: Maignan, Kounde, Konate, Saliba, Hernandez, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Dembele, Olise, Barcola, Mbappe.
The match between Croatia and France takes place at 2:45 am on March 21 (Vietnam time).
