FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers: Croatia vs. Montenegro
Kick-off Time (Local): 8th September, 20:45
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Handicap Prediction: Croatia -2 (Asian Handicap); Home Win (European Odds)
Expected Scores: 3-0, 4-0, 4-1
Expected Total Goals: 3, 4, 5
Comprehensive Prediction Analysis:
In their last World Cup European Qualifier, Croatia played away against the Faroe Islands. Due to the opponent's artificial turf and poor weather conditions, the team made certain adjustments to the starting lineup and eventually took all three points with a 1-0 victory, thanks to a goal from Andrej Kramarić. Regardless of the circumstances, securing three points means completing the qualification task, though the narrow 1-0 win over a weaker opponent has raised some questions among fans. In this match, Luka Modrić and Ivan Perišić, who did not start in the last round, will return to the starting lineup. Attacking midfielder Mario Pašalić fell ill before the previous qualifier and was therefore not included in the squad, but he will be available for selection tonight. In fact, Croatia made some personnel rotations when playing away against the Faroe Islands, and for this home World Cup qualifier, the team will definitely field their full-strength starting lineup and go all out.
Montenegro is facing an unfavorable situation in the qualification campaign. In the last round, they lost 0-2 to the Czech Republic at home, which means they were defeated 0-2 by the same opponent in both home and away legs of the qualifiers. Currently, they are ranked third in the group with 6 points. In this group, Croatia's strength is beyond doubt, so Montenegro's original competitor in the qualification race was the Czech Republic. After being swept by the Czech Republic, Montenegro's prospects of qualifying for the World Cup have become quite bleak. During the home qualifier against the Czech Republic, Montenegro's die-hard fan groups stopped cheering for the team and stated after the game that they would boycott the national football association. When asked about this detail, Montenegro's captain Stevan Jovetić also expressed helplessness and said he could not make too many comments. The quality of Montenegro's national team squad is average. Only the attacking line has relatively well-known players like Stefan Katai and Stevan Jovetić. Stefan Katai, who has just joined Atalanta BC, has good physical fitness but average shooting skills, while Stevan Jovetić is already in the twilight of his career. Therefore, Montenegro's attacking threat in the World Cup qualifiers is actually not significant.
