Iceland – Croatia

The one team have already qualified for the next round of the World Cup. The other one is dreaming to do it. This is the match between Iceland and Croatia from Group D of the competition. And these are our soccer betting tips for today.

Croatia are really merciless since the start of the World Cup. Right now they are leading the group with 6 points from two games and a goal difference of 5-0. They didn’t face any problem with beating Nigeria and Argentina, keeping a clean sheet in both games. Now they will try to make three in a row against Iceland and keep the first place in the group.

For Iceland this is a first participation at the World Cup in this nation’s history. The Vikings started with a 1-1 draw against Argentina, which was followed by a dissapointing 0-2 loss against Nigeria.  Now Iceland are in a complicated situation. In order to qualify for the 1/8-finals, Iceland need to beat Croatia. In same time they must hope that Nigeria won’t win against Argentina in the other game. And finally they have to worry about their goal difference being right, so they can clinch the second place.

Given the fact that they already qualified for the next round, most likely Croatia’s manager Zlatko Dalic will make some changes in his team for the match. Some players like Ivan Rakitic, Ante Rabic, Sime Vrsaljko, Mario Mandzukic, Marcelo Brozovic and Vedran Corluka were booked with yellow cards in the previous two games, so maybe they will be kept for the knockout phase. Meanwhile the striker Andrej Kramaric could return to the starting evelen, after being benched against Argentina.

Iceland’s head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson could be without the central back Ragnar Sigurdsson and the winger Johann Gudmundsson. Both players are recovering from injuries, so the medics of the team shall give the final word about their participation in the match.

Speaking to the press before the game, Iceland’s Heimir Hallgrimsson reminded everyone that Iceland finished above Croatia in the qualifiers and even beat them. “This is why we have confidence that we can win against them again”, said Hallgrimsson.

Croatia’s manager Zlatko Dalic said that his team will play for the win, despite of the fact that the Croats already reached the 1/8-finals. Dalic is aware that his team is still yet to win oficially the first place in the group, so they still have to make one final step towards it. And winning the first place is really important, because this would mean avoiding France in the 1/8-finals.

Croatia are close to a historical achievement here. If they win the first place in the group, this will be the first time in their history when they finish top of a World Cup group. And if they beat Iceland, it will be the first time they record three consecutive wins at the tournament. Clearly this Croatian team is very strong, so everyone in the Balkan country dreams of something big happening for them at this World Cup.

These are our soccer betting tips for today for the World Cup game from Group D between Iceland and Croatia at the Rostov Arena. Croatia could field a much different team in this game, but it doesn’t mean that this team will be weaker. They have a deep squad, filled with classy players. So whatever the manager Zlatko Dalic decides, it’s going to be hard for the Vikings. Iceland on the other hand have to fight and try to qualify, no matter how difficult this would be.