Croatia and Denmark will engage in a do-or-die match this Sunday with the winner getting a ticket to the World Cup quarterfinals. This may not be one of the more anticipated of the Round of 16 games but with a favorable price on this matchup there is some money to be made if Denmark pulls it off. Read on for a betting breakdown of this meeting below.
The Croatians are in a dangerous form right now. They have won all of their matches in the group stage, getting nine points, scoring seven goals, and allowing just one goal over that span. The Chequered Ones are feeding off their immense midfield, which is arguably the best in the field. Having someone like Luke Modric definitely helps Croatia get that kind of recognition, especially with the way they have been getting plenty of scoring opportunities in the tournament so far. That was very evident in their dominant 3-0 win over Lionel Messi and Argentina on Jun. 21 when Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Marcelo Brozovic preventing Argentina from getting any rhythm, thus crippling La Albiceleste’s attacks. Croatia still need to fix some of their issues on defense, however. In their 2-1 win over Iceland on Jun. 26, the Icelanders launched more shots and had six that went on target, four more than what the Croatians had.
Betting on Denmark (+332)
Denmark finished second in Group C with five points, thanks to a win over Peru, and a pair of draws to Australia (1-1) and France (0-0). In a sense, drawing with the French might have boosted Denmark’s morale and belief in themselves that they can win keep up with any team in the field in Russia. Denmark play a very deliberate style, as evidenced by the fact that they’ve scored just twice so far and allowed only one goal. The Danes opted to pack the retreat on defense instead of focusing on scoring against France, as they only had five attempts on goal. This coming Sunday, though, they are going to need to step it up a bit on offense. Midfielder Christian Eriksen can just be as good as any, which is also to say someone who could negate Croatia’s Modric. Eriksen has a goal so far in the competition, having netted Denmark’s lone goal in the meeting with Australia.
Writer’s Prediction
Croatia advance to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Denmark.
