Belgium and Croatia both earned bronze medals in the 2018 World Cup.
Both teams advanced to the semifinals in Russia, but advancing to the round of 16 in Qatar is far from certain coming into the last Group F encounter.
The second-place squad, coached by Zlatko Dalic, currently has four points and would advance with a draw. Belgium is in jeopardy as a result of their defeat to Morocco.
If Canada defeats Morocco by four goals but fails to win, Roberto Martinez’s squad will progress with just one point more. What happens in Morocco will be much more critical if Croatia loses to Belgium.
Belgium’s “golden generation” will face Croatia on Thursday.
Belgium’s loss to Morocco was the last nail in the coffin, while Croatia’s demolition of Canada over the weekend demonstrated how uninteresting the narrow win over Canada was.
Belgium advances if it wins or draws and Morocco loses. If Morocco wins, Belgium will be eliminated and would have lost its last realistic chance to win the World Cup.
After Nikola Vlasic was replaced by Marko Livaja, the Croats defeated the Canadians.
Livaja should keep his starting spot because he scored in the thrashing.
Romelu Lukaku is poised to start after helping Belgium defeat Morocco 2-0 late in the game. Then Batshuayi will most likely give up.
Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard, Youri Tielemans, and Yannick Carrasco are possible starters for Roberto Martinez.
Prediction
Despite the fact that Lukaku’s comeback may benefit Belgium, Croatia is convinced that it can repeat its 2014 performance.
Both teams produced medalists in 2018, but Belgium remains trapped in the past. Eight of these athletes have previously competed this year after falling in the semifinals to France in 2014.
Belgium have “no chance” of winning the World Cup, according to Kevin De Bruyne, because “we’re too old.” Kevin was correct. Two dull games showed that.
Martinez stated that his team’s first World Cup encounter will be aggressive and focused on winning. Belgium will be eliminated from the World Cup if they continue to perform poorly on Thursday.
While Croatia merely needs a draw to advance, Belgium must win on Thursday to avoid an early departure.
Belgium has individual talents who can make the difference when it matters, but Dalic’s unified Croatian team has looked better. Croatian could win the match by 2-1.
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