We are edging closer to knowing which nations are going to qualify for the 2024 European Championship and on the 15th of October we have a meeting between Wales and Croatia.
The match will be played at the Cardiff City Stadium and the host are currently 4th in the group on 7 points while the visitors are in second place on 10 points.
Back to work. ⚒️#EURO2024 #Family #Vatreni❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/qOjDZ8Mwlz— HNS (@HNS_CFF) October 13, 2023
Back to work. ⚒️#EURO2024 #Family #Vatreni❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/qOjDZ8Mwlz
Wales come into the game on the back of a 4-0 home win over Gibraltar in a friendly. It was a match Wales were expected to win comfortably and they did not let the fans down as they opened the scoring in the 22nd minute.
Wales continued to attack in the first half and scored 3 more goals before the interval to put the result beyond doubt at half time.
The win over Gibraltar was the second successive victory for Wales having beat Latvia 1-0 away in European Championship qualifying. Wales are undefeated in their last 3 matches having been held to a 0-0 draw at home by South Korea in a friendly match prior to the win in Latvia.
Trends show Wales have won only 3 of their last 15 fixtures in all competitions. However, they are undefeated in 8 of their last 10 European Championship qualifiers. Home form shows Wales are undefeated in 12 of their 13 most recent European Championship qualifying games on home soil and have seen under 2.5 goals in 3 of their last 4 at home.
Croatia make the trip to the Cardiff City Stadium having lost 1-0 at home to Turkey in European Championship qualification on Thursday night. It was a disappointing defeat at home for Croatia and puts them under pressure coming into this match. The only goal of the game was scored in the 30th minute and Croatia failed to break down the Turkish defence.
The loss to Turkey was only the second defeat in 8 matches in all competitions for Croatia. They have won 4 of their last 6 matches, with 3 of the wins coming over Turkey and Armenia away plus Latvia at home in 2024 European Championship qualifying.
Trends show Croatia are undefeated in 10 of their last 11 European Championship qualifiers. They are undefeated in their last 5 European Championship qualifying matches on the road and have seen under 2.5 goals in their last 4 away trips.
Team news and Wales are without experienced midfielder Aaron Ramsey and forward Brennan Johnson due to injury. Kieffer Moore is expected to start up-front with support from Daniel James and Harry Wilson.
Croatia could make a few changes from the defeat against Turkey, with Lovro Majer, Nikola Vlašić, and Bruno Petković pushing for a place in the starting XI.
Both teams need a win to put themselves in a strong position for automatic qualification. Wales are usually difficult to beat when playing at home and Croatia are tough opposition on the road.
That means we could see a drawn game, with under 2.5 goals scored in total.