Croatia vs Czech Republic Match Preview

Croatia is ranked at 3rd place in group D without any points after losing the opener against England. The real problem here is not just the fact that they lost but they did so while playing quite badly especially in attack. They never were a threat to England and the superiority of their rivals was rather expected until a certain point but the thing is in attack they miss a striker like Mandzukic since the last edition. Now they are expected to change some things as Petkovic is expected to lead the attack while backed up by Rebic - Perisic - Vlasic.

In defense, they do not also have the same solidity as in the past years with Gvardiol who is 19 years old while Vrsaljo has played only 14 games with his team in the last two seasons. This is a do-or-die game for them but the task ahead is quite difficult.

The Czech Republic, on the other hand, is ranked at 1st place of the group with 3 points, after getting a solid win 0-2 against Scotland. They were lead by Schick who scored a brace in a dominating performance on both defense and attack. They were able to concede almost nothing to their rivals while making the best use of their chances and counterattacks. Their position on group D is more favorable now as they can aim also for a draw here which would secure as a minimum the third place.

Schick is expected to play again in attack with the help coming from Darida - Jankto - Masopust. But the key player in their midfield is Soucek who was great against Scotland and should be partnered by Kral giving that extra help on the defense but also support the attack when they have the ball.

In conclusion, I think that the Czech Republic can win this match or get at least a draw out of it. Croatia comes nervous here as they know that another loss would mean they are out of the European Championship so they will try to attack more but could leave spaces behind. The Czech Republic has proven to be quite solid and having a fast player like Schick they will try to hit them with the counters.