Croatia has won one game and lost one game so far and sits second in the group. After narrowly losing to Portugal in their first group-stage game, they went on to beat Poland 1-0, with 39-year-old Luka Modric scoring the only goal.
Scotland, on the other hand, has lost both games so far, but both games have been by one-goal margins. In their first game, they lost 3-2 to Poland in a thrilling game in which they had a goal disallowed, and then they lost 2-1 late on against Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring an 88th-minute winner.
Croatia are looking to continue winning last time and after a disappointing European Championship where they didn’t get out of the group improving their form in the Nations League will be important.
Their opponents, Scotland also didn’t have a good European Championship after getting beaten heavily in the opening game to Germany 5-1 they only picked up a point and headed home with a -5 goal difference.
Zlatko Dalic remained the head coach of his national team despite exiting the European Championship early. He has been in charge of the side since 2017 and is one of the best managers in their history helping them finish second in the 2018 World Cup and 3rd in the 2022 World Cup.
He was also in charge of this side when they reached the final of the Nations League in 2023 where they finished runners-up to Spain after a penalty shootout loss.
The Scots were promoted to the top tier of this competition last year but have since gone on to have quite poor form. This is a crucial game as they look to stay in the top league as third place has a relegation playoff whereas 4th is automatic relegation.
Head2Head
The last time Croatia and Scotland faced each other was in the 2021 European Championship, where Croatia won 3-1. Nikola Vlašić opened the scoring for Croatia, Callum McGregor equalized before halftime, but second-half goals from Luka Modrić and Ivan Perišić secured the win for Croatia in Group D.
The two sides have met six times, five in international tournaments and once in a friendly. Although Scotland lost their most recent clash, they have a strong record against Croatia, with two wins and three draws.
Scotland's last victory in this fixture came during the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, where they won 2-0. Robert Snodgrass and Steven Naismith scored on either side of halftime, marking Scotland’s second win over Croatia in that qualifying campaign, having also beaten them 1-0 earlier.
Teams News
Croatia will be met with the boost of Martin Erlic who returns to the squad after missing out in the last International break through injury.
However, Josip Stanisic, who also missed out last time, is still sidelined with a knee injury that he picked up in the opening game of the season for Bayern Munich.
A player that has had a history of injury problems is Marin Pongracic and he has yet again suffered a setback at his new club Fiorentina. His versatility will be a big miss to the side as he can play center-back, right-back, and defensive midfielder.
Another player missing will be Lovro Majer after he got an injury to his right ankle in a game for his club Wolfsburg.
Igor Matanovic is a 21-year-old forward who made his debut a month ago for his national side and will be looking to add more minutes this time around.
For Scotland, Steve Clarke has a decision to make about who starts in goal as Angus Gunn the usual goalkeeper is out with an injury. 41-year-old Craig Gordon could start in between the sticks.
They are also missing several Premier League players with John McGinn, Aaron Hickey, Nathan Patterson, and Kieran Tierney all not available for selection in this game.
Lawrence Shankland and Greg Taylor both originally made the squad for this game but have since had to pull out with Jack Mackenzie and Kevin Nisbet replacing them.
Che Adams has been on fine form for his new club Torino since joining as a free agent and he is back in the Scotland squad after missing out in the last tournament a month ago.
• Predicted Line-Ups
Croatia: Livakovic, Erlic, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Pjaca, Kovacic, Modric, Baturina, Sosa, Matanovic, Kramaric
Scotland: Gordon, Ralston, Hanley, Souttar, Robertson, Gilmor, McLean, Christie, McTominay, Doak, Dykes
Players to watch
Croatia- Mateo Kovacic
At 30 years of age, Kovacic is one of the most experienced players in the Croatian side having played over 100 games for his country since he made his debut in 2013.
He signed a 4-year deal when he joined Manchester City last season and picked up his first Premier League title in his debut season for the club.
Kovacic has been in good form so far for The Sky Blues this season getting three goals in seven appearances and most recently scored two goals in a 3-2 win over Fulham.
When at Inter Milan Roberto Mancini was forced to sell the midfielder due to financial fair play rules as he made a move to Real Madrid for £24 million.
At Real, he shone and was part of the side that won 3 Champions Leagues in a row as well as a La Liga in the 2016-17 season.
This earned him a move to Chelsea originally on loan and in the 2019-2020 season at the club he won their Player of the Year award where he played under Frank Lampard.
Scotland- Ryan Christie
Christie is often deployed as a winger for his country but for his club ( AFC Bournemouth) he has played alongside Lewis Cook in a two-man midfield and was one of the club’s stand-out stars last season as The Cherries picked up their record points total.
After beginning his career at Inverness he transferred to Celtic and won 3 Scottish Premiership’s whilst at the club.
He joined Bournemouth whilst they were in the Championship and gained promotion with the club with them finishing second in the league under Scott Parker.
A good dribbler on the ball one thing Christie has lacked for Bournemouth is goals with only 4 goals in over 100 games.
However, he has got 6 goals in 54 games for his International side since making his debut in 2017.
When and how to watch Croatia vs Scotland
Scotland, for the first time this century, won’t be shown on TV despite the game being a competitive fixture.
