Croatia hosts Russia in round 10 of the World Cup qualification. The match will be played on Sunday, November 14th at Stadion Poljud (Split)
Croatia is on the 2nd line in the qualifying group with 20 points. The Checkered Ones chalked up six victories, two draws, and one defeat in nine rounds. After the drawing, the Croats were considered the main favorites of the group. Dalic's footballers regularly scored points in the current qualification, but misfires in the matches against Slovenia (0-1), Russia (0-0) and Slovakia (2-2) did not allow them to be the leaders of the standings before the final match. Last Thursday, the vice-world champions did not regret the Malta national team, hammering it away with a score of 7-1. The hosts were upset by Lovro Majer, who scored a double, Ivan Perisic, Duje Caleta-Car, Mario Pasalic, Luka Modric, and Andrej Kramaric. The only conceded goal happened thanks to Marcelo Brozovic, who hit his own net.
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Valery Karpin's footballers take 1st place in the standings with 22 points. In nine rounds, the Russians gained seven victories and one draw and suffered one defeat. The Russian national team lost only to Slovakia away (3-2), but then Stanislav Cherchesov was at the helm. After Karpin was appointed head coach in September, Russia showed a 6-match streak without defeats, consistently gaining three points in the last five games. On November 11, Russian footballers played their last home match in the current qualification. Karpin's team achieved a major victory over Cyprus in St. Petersburg (6-0), scoring five goals after the 55th minute. Aleksandr Erokhin arranged a brace, and Fedor Smolov, Andrei Mostovoy, Aleksei Sutormin, and Anton Zabolotny scored one goal each.
The Croats are the favorites of the upcoming game. They have a more solid and experienced squad and a slight advantage over the Russians in head-to-head matches. However, the visitors can stop the Checkered Ones by using counterattacks. The preconditions for the Russians' goal are based on the statistics of the previous qualification matches. The Croats are not reliable in defense: on Thursday, they managed to concede from Malta, and the last home match ended with two goals conceded from the Slovak national team. The Russians, who have left the field with a goal scored in five games in a row, can convert at least one chance near the opponents’ penalty area. On the other hand, the home team must score at least one goal either. The Russians rarely conceded in recent matches, and this happened not without the help of luck. Even in the last meeting against Cyprus, the visitors could level the score at the beginning of the second half if they were a little cooler in the box of Matvey Safonov.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score — yes
