Finland take on the visitors Croatia in the round 3 match of qualification for the World Cup 2018. The match will be played on Sunday, October 9th at Tampere Ice Stadium (Tampere).
Finland have gained only one point after two matches of qualification played. The hosting side drew their first round match against Kosovo, 1-1, and this result came as quite surprise. The second round match ended with bitter loss at Iceland as Finland had a lead for the most of the match but conceded two late goals and were left with nothing, 2-3. As the results, Finland extended their streak without a victory to 11 games with four draws and seven defeats recorded.
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Croatia start this qualification campaign after another major tournament when they failed to fulfil their high potential. Round one match ended with 1-1 draw against Turkey and it was followed by 6-0 home win over Kosovo with Mandzukic scoring a hat-trick. Croatia are favorites of the qualifying group and they should have no problems beating their opponents in this match. Moreover, Croatia are on 13-match undefeated run (excluding extra times and penalties) with nine wins and four defeats recorded since September last year.
Finland and Croatia haven’t faced one another before. Neither of the teams can count on their leaders in this match as Yeremenko from Finland and Modric with Rakitic are unavailable. However, the level of the teams is incomparable and Croatia should settle for three points in this match.
Prediction for the match: Croatia to win.