Ace Football previews the Group D match between England and Croatia in Euro 2020 and offers betting tips, predictions, odds, and stats.
England take on Croatia at Wembley, where an exciting match is shaping up. It is one of 12 matches in round 1 of the group stages at the Euro 2020 and takes place on Sunday. The Three Lions are placed 4th in the FIFA world ranking and 10 spots above their 14th-placed opponents.
Heading into their opening match at the tournament England are highly expected to win their group and challenge for a spot in the European Championship final. The hosts hammered their way to a powerful 1st place in the qualifying phase and are among an elite group considered favorites for the title.
1st place in the group is perhaps too much to hope for Croatia. But according to bookmakers, the 2018 World Cup finalists should at least see the first knock-out stage.
Stats and Analysis
England get their Euro 2020 campaign going with whopping stats in their previous 10 internationals. Gareth Southgate’s men averaged 3.8 goals per game, scoring 38 times and conceded a meager 8 goals. That makes an average of 0.8 per game, as they pulled off a clean sheet in 6 of the matches.
Croatia have not exactly set the world on fire lately when it comes to goal scoring. The Vatreni scored a mediocre 19 times in the last 10 internationals creating an average of just 1.9 goals per game. They held on for a clean sheet in 2 of these matches, conceding 9 goals which is an average of 0.9 per game.
Heading into their opening match at the tournament England will be disappointed not to come out the other end with a win. They should have enough quality to see off Croatia as they look for plain sailing in the group stages.
The Croatians could not have been presented with a tougher assignment in their first encounter at the Euro 2020, but from a positive perspective they have very little to lose.
Stats and facts for England and Croatia.
Fun stats England
- England has won the last 3 matches in a row;
- England has won the last 4 matches in a row at home;
- England has won in the last 7 of 8 matches;
- England has won in the last 5 of 6 matches at home.
Fun stats Croatia
- Croatia unbeaten the last 6 matches in a row;
- Croatia unbeaten the last 3 matches in a row when playing away;
- Croatia scored in the last 13 of 15 matches;
- Croatia conceded in the last 9 of 11 matches.
Form Guides
Three Lions keep on winning.
England look to have found a rich vein of form right now with yet another win last week. In their previous 3 internationals, Southgate’s men claimed a 2-1 win against Poland after which they witnessed a 1-0 win against Austria. The most recent international for England’s finest served up a 1-0 win against Romania.
Croatians continue to look blunt.
Croatia go into this encounter on the back of some poor performances in the league. In their 3 latest outings, Zlatko Dalic’s side claimed a 3-0 win against Malta and went on to a 1-1 draw with Armenia. Their latest game produced a 1-0 defeat against Belgium.
England v Croatia Fixture History
The last time the two nations squared up against each other, which was back on 18 November 2018, England ran away with a 2-1 victory.
England have won 56%, while Croatia have won 33% of their last 9 encounters in the European Championship resulting in a total of 5-1-3.
Top marksman
It is hard to look past Harry Kane when searching for a goalscorer. The England captain managed to hit the target 2 times in 6 previous outings at international level. Ivan Perisic is on 2 goals in the last 6 internationals for Croatia and he will be hoping to expand on that tally here.
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