2018 World Cup Odds and Prediction: Croatia Team Betting Preview
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Jeremy Perry
They’re in the second or third tier of teams where they have some strengths that give them the opportunity to beat almost anyone on any given day, but they also have weaknesses that suggest that they won’t last long outside of the Group Stage. Let’s take a closer look at this team.
2018 World Cup Croatia Betting Odds
Odds to Advance: -201 Yes To Advance, +156 No To Advance
Odds To Win World Cup: +3400
7 World Cup Wins/Best World Cup finish: 3rd (1998)
FIFA world ranking: 18
Manager: Zlatko Dalic
Captain: Luka Modric
Croatia Players to Watch
Croatia’s entire midfield is excellent, but Luke Modric stands above the rest. He was fantastic in the Champions League final for Real Madrid. Many would say he was an integral part in them winning the all-important trophy. With Croatia, Modric might be allowed to play further forward than he does for his club because they need to extract as much as they can out of this midfield. That will also help out Mario Mandzukic, who needs some support. Mandzukic also is not afraid of the spotlight, as his bicycle kick in the 2017 Champions League final showed.
Croatia World Cup Formation and Projected Starting 11
- Formation: 4-2-3-1
- Goalkeeper: Danijel Subasic
- Defense: Sime Vrsaljko, Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Strinic
- Midfield: Andrej Kramaric, Milan Badelj, Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic
- Forwards: Mario Mandzukic
Croatia Strengths
Games can be won and lost in the midfield, and that is where Croatia shines. Modric leads a powerful group of Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Milan Badelj (Andrej Kramaric is a forward playing as a winger). Then they can bring Mateo Kovacic off the bench. Any country in the world would love to have these options in their midfield. Zlatko Dalic has to figure out how to get the best out of all of them. They’d love to have more balance across the roster but this is an embarrassment of riches in the midfield.
Croatia Weaknesses
On the flip side, they don’t have a ton of quality looking backwards. The defense can be a problem. Dejan Lovren got better as the season went on for Liverpool, but he does not inspire much confidence. The same goes for Domago Vida, and Vedran Crokula is just coming back from injury. Rakitic and Badelj (and Kovacic) will have to work hard to shield the back line. That should work against the weaker teams but when they go up against the better squads, they’ll probably stretch their midfield too thin and be exposed.
Croatia News
Croatia seems to have the pieces for a run to the quarterfinals, and maybe further. The challenge is their back end, so their success will likely be opponent-dependent unless their defense surprises.
Croatia Betting Prediction
The best-case scenario for Croatia is that they get to the semifinals. They would need a lot to go right, outside of their control, to win it all, but they are capable of a deep run. We’ve seen teams with one major strength go deep before.
At +3400 to win the World Cup, Croatia would be an intriguing pick but a better flier is their odds to win the group. Their head-to-head matchup with Argentina will decide that, so if you like this team, that might be the wise play.
In terms of props, Mandzukic is rated at +6600 to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer. Those are good odds as he will be their main goal threat. Modric is rated at +6600 for the Golden Ball as top player and if Croatia goes far, he will be a major reason why.
Croatia should have enough to get out of Group D, and they could possibly win it. If they play to their potential, Croatia could end up as one of the final four teams. Realistically, don’t expect them to last longer than a game or two past the Group Stage.