Croatia vs Portugal prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League A betting tips on match 2024-11-17 19:45.
[p]Last term’s UEFA Nations League (UNL) runners-up Croatia are still not entirely sure of their place in the quarter-finals of this year’s tournament. A shock 1-0 loss to Scotland on Friday night not only extinguished their hopes of finishing top of Group A1, but also means that they could still drop to third in the table, should they suffer a second successive defeat in this fixture against in-form Portugal.[/p]
[p]The good news for Croatia is that a draw will be enough to book a spot in the last eight, and supporters can take comfort from the fact they have been on the end of back-to-back defeats only once since June 2021. A big reason for that impressive record is that Zlatko Dalić’s side have been very tough to beat on home soil, where they have lost just two of their 16 international matches over a four-year period (W10, D4).[/p]
[p]Portugal have every reason to be confident themselves though, given they have been beaten just once in nine previous H2Hs (W7, D1). That includes a 2-1 win earlier on in this UNL campaign, a result which has helped the Iberians, who won the inaugural tournament back in 2018/19, secure top spot in the group.[/p]
[p]Indeed, a thumping 5-1 victory over Poland on Friday means that Portugal have remained unbeaten since their quarter-final exit at UEFA Euro 2024, winning four times in five outings (D1) and scoring a dozen goals in the process! They also have a staggeringly good away record in the UNL, with just one defeat to their name in ten fixtures on the road in this competition (W5, D4), a run that includes a 3-2 triumph in Croatia in 2020.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: It would be a good sign for Croatia if Andrej Kramarić scored, given that he has only lost one of the 28 internationals in which he has found the net (W22, D5). Attempting to outgun him will be Rafael Leão, whose last four goals for Portugal have all been the first or last of the game and have been in matches where his country have scored at least five times. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: There have been 3+ goals in four of Portugal’s five games during this year’s UNL.[/p]
[p]Written by Matt Jones[/p]