Gibraltar vs Croatia prediction: EUROPE: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-06-05 18:45.
[p]Having never won a World Cup qualification (WCQ) game since being accepted as a member of FIFA back in 2016, few people will be expecting much from 196th-ranked nation Gibraltar here. That is especially true as they prepare to take on 11th-ranked Croatia, having already lost their opening two matches in Group L, including a comprehensive 4-0 home defeat to the Czech Republic last time out. [/p]
[p]Their record in such encounters makes for grim reading, as Gibraltar have lost all 22 WCQ matches that they have played, conceding at least three goals in all but one of them! They can at least fall back on some improved form in their last outings in major competition, where four straight unbeaten games (W1, D3) in the UEFA Nations League (UNL) gives them a chance of promotion into League C next year. [/p]
[p]That same competition saw Croatia’s WCQ campaign delayed until now due to their appearance in the quarter-finals. And even if many of the country’s stars have only just finished their domestic campaigns, manager Zlatko Dalić will not be accepting any false starts from his side after recently stating that “the club season has ended, and we need to take this seriously. Only the group winners go through.”[/p]
[p]Having finished in third place at the last World Cup, Croatia will be looking to qualify strongly and bounce back from a painful defeat on penalties to France in the UNL, which makes up part of a four-game winless run away from home (D1, L3). Considering their heavyweight status on the global stage, fans might be predicting another handsome victory for Croatia, who thrashed Gibraltar 4-0 in their only previous H2H in June 2015! [/p]
[p]Players to watch: With three goals in his last six encounters for Gibraltar, veteran Liam Walker will be hoping he can reclaim his spot in the starting XI. Luka Modrić’s Real Madrid career may be over, but the 39-year-old may start here on Croatia’s journey to another World Cup – he has two assists in his last three outings at club level. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Croatia have conceded first in five of their last six internationals (W2, D2, L2). [/p]
[p][i]Written by Luke Bridle[/i][/p]