World Cup – Croatia-Denmark

Croatia and Denmark face each other in a World Cup 1/8-final game at the Stadion Nizhny Novgorod. Let’s have a look at this clash, which is going to be played on Sunday evening.

Croatia showed their strenght during the group stage of the competition. The Balkan team won all of its three matches, beating Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland. Zlatko Dalic’ team showed great class in these three games, proving that Croatia are a true dark horse in the fight for the world title. In 1998 this team reached the 1/2-finals of the World Cup in France. Now – once again, they have an incredibly talented generation, which dreams for something big at the World Cup.

Denmark reached the 1/8-finals after one win and two draws in the group stage. The Danish Dynamite started with a win against Peru, which was followed by draws against Australia and France. Being also unbeaten since the start of the competition, the Scandinavians are entering this match, motivated to replicate Denmark’s performance from 1998. 20 years ago the Danish team reached the 1/4-finals of the World Cup, which remains this country’s best performance in the competition.

Croatia’s current team is truly impressive. The manager Dalic have players like Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Mario Mandzukic, who play on top level for Europe’s biggest clubs. How we said, Croatia are enjoying their best generation since 1998. Two years ago they had a dissapointing European championship, but now they look more experienced and more ready to do something big at the World Cup.

Tottenham’s playmaker Cristian Eriksen is the soul of this Danish national team. Being supported by his teammates, Eriksen is the man who brings creativity and meaningful decision in Denmark’s play. You can be sure that the Croatians will pay special attention to Denmark’s number 10. If Eriksen is neutralized, then the Danish Dynamite would hardly make an explosion.

It’d be curiois to see how Eriksen will do against Croatia’s incredible midfield. With players like Real Madrid’s Luca Modric and Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic, the Balkan team can win any midfield battle. When you add up Mateo Kovacic, who also plays for Real Madrid, you can see how impressive this team really is.

This is going to be the sixth time when Croatia and Denmark meet each other. So far their head to head record is balanced – two wins for both teams and two draws.

We believe that Croatia are favourites against Denmark in this 1/8-final of the World Cup. We think that the Danish team will play more defensive than ever, because of Croatia’s firepower and potential to score a lot of goals. Don’t be surprised to see the Scandinavians sitting deep and trying to use their chances on counter-attack. The match between Croatia and Argentina showed us what Croatia can do, if they are allowed to play in the way they know. In same time, Denmark also have some potential in attack, so it’s going to be an interesting clash between these two sides.