Argentina vs Croatia Preview

On Saturday Argentina became the latest victims of Iceland’s meteoric rise in football when the tiny nation held Messi and his teammates to a 1-1 draw.

The Argentines were expected to walk all over Iceland in that game, but the northern Europeans came more prepared than we thought and they held firm to add another storyline to their fairytale run.

That draw means Argentina need a win to get their World Cup campaign up and running, and their players should be ready to get maximum points from this match.

Croatia currently top their group thanks to a 2-0 win over a Nigerian team that appeared confused throughout their first match last weekend.

The Croatians didn’t have much work to do in their first game and they will know how tricky their game against Iceland could be, so they will be looking to get a good result in this game and put themselves in pole position to make the round of 16.

Argentina should consider this game a win at all costs type of game.

They play Nigeria after this game who they lost to last year in a friendly and they will be keen to avoid pinning all of their hopes on that match.

Argentina have four wins from their last ten games, while Croatia have lost two in nine heading into this match.

This is one of the more interesting match-ups of the tournament so far and bookmakers tentatively make Argentina favourites to come out on top however the market is fiercely competitive and suggests Croatia have a real chance.

Results of each team’s last 5 matches across all leagues and competitions

Argentina

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
D	Argentina		1-1		Iceland	16 Jun, 2018	FIFA World Cup
W	Argentina		4-0		Haiti	30 May, 2018	International Friendly
L	Spain		6-1		Argentina	27 Mar, 2018	International Friendly
W	Argentina		2-0		Italy	23 Mar, 2018	International Friendly
L	Argentina		2-4		Nigeria	14 Nov, 2017	International Friendly

Croatia

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
W	Croatia		2-0		Nigeria	16 Jun, 2018	FIFA World Cup
W	Croatia		2-1		Senegal	8 Jun, 2018	International Friendly
L	Brazil		2-0		Croatia	3 Jun, 2018	International Friendly
W	Mexico		0-1		Croatia	28 Mar, 2018	International Friendly
L	Peru		2-0		Croatia	24 Mar, 2018	International Friendly

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