Thursday , 2 July 2026

Argentina vs Croatia, Worldcup 2018 GROUP STAGE

FIFA World Cup · 2018
Argentina
0 – 3
Full Time
Croatia
Thu 21 Jun 2018 · 18:00 UTC HT 45' · FT 45'
Y 39' Ante Rebic
Gabriel Mercado 51' Y
Y 59' Mario Mandzukic
Y 67' Sime Vrsaljko
Nicolas Otamendi 85' Y
Marcos Acuna 87' Y
Y 90' Marcelo Brozovic
Y 90' Vedran Corluka

Overview

Match Preview

Argentina vs Croatia — Worldcup .

Match Details

  • Referee Bastian Dankert
  • Referee Felix Zwayer
  • Referee Danny Makkelie
  • Referee Norbert Hauata
  • Referee Bertrand Brial
  • Referee Ravshan Irmatov
  • Referee Abdukhamidullo Rasulov
  • Referee Jakhongir Saidov
  • Referee Corey Rockwell
16 games this season 🟨 0.4/game ⚽ 4.1 goals/game

Standings

# Team P Pts
1 Mexico 3 9
2 South Africa 3 4
3 South Korea 3 3
4 Czechia 3 1
5 Switzerland 3 7
6 Canada 3 4
7 Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 4
8 Qatar 3 1
9 Brazil 3 7
10 Morocco 3 7
11 Scotland 3 3
12 Haiti 3 0
13 United States 3 6
14 Australia 3 4
15 Paraguay 3 4
16 Turkey 3 3
17 Germany 3 6
18 Ivory Coast 3 6
19 Ecuador 3 4
20 Curacao 3 1
21 Netherlands 3 7
22 Japan 3 5
23 Sweden 3 4
24 Tunisia 3 0
25 Belgium 3 5
26 Egypt 3 5
27 Iran 3 3
28 New Zealand 3 1
29 Spain 3 7
30 Cape Verde Islands 3 3
31 Uruguay 3 2
32 Saudi Arabia 3 2
33 France 3 9
34 Norway 3 6
35 Senegal 3 3
36 Iraq 3 0
37 Argentina 3 9
38 Austria 3 4
39 Algeria 3 4
40 Jordan 3 0
41 Colombia 3 7
42 Portugal 3 5
43 Congo DR 3 4
44 Uzbekistan 3 0
45 England 3 7
46 Croatia 3 6
47 Ghana 3 4
48 Panama 3 0

Head-to-Head

1
1
Argentina 2 games · Avg 3.0 goals Croatia
Last 5 meetings
2018-06-21 Argentina 0–3 Croatia

Recent Form

Argentina
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
21 Jun Croatia H 0–3 L
16 Jun Iceland H 1–1 D
20 Aug Karlsruher SC H 0–7 L
Croatia
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
21 Jun Argentina A 3–0 W
16 Jun Nigeria H 2–0 W
05 May Belgium A 0–3 L
28 Apr Slovakia H 1–2 L
21 Apr Sweden A 1–4 L
17 Apr Czechia A 1–2 L

Season Stats

Argentina Croatia
#37 Position #46
9 Points 6
3 Played 3
3 / 0 / 0 W / D / L 2 / 0 / 1
8 Scored 5
1 Conceded 5
+7 GD +0
3.00 PPG 2.00
100% Win % 67%

Key Stats

0% Both Teams to Score
H2H (2 games)
100% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
67% Clean Sheets
Argentina this season
33% Clean Sheets
Croatia this season

Argentina are 37th (9 pts). Croatia are 46th (6 pts).

Goal Timing (This Season)

Argentina
0-15
–/–
16-30
2/–
31-45
2/–
46-60
1/1
61-75
–/–
76+
3/–
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Croatia
0-15
–/1
16-30
–/–
31-45
3/1
46-60
1/1
61-75
–/1
76+
1/1
■ Scored ■ Conceded

Events

Match Events

  • 0' What a night it is going to be! Argentina welcome Croatia for this crunch clash at .
  • 5' Argentina are happy to let the opposition have the ball in their own half. The trap is set.
  • 10' Willy Caballero is a natural and has been asked to do a very specific job for Croatia tonight.
  • 15' Argentina are enjoying more possession but struggling to find a way through a disciplined Croatia backline.
  • 20' Croatia started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 20.
  • 25' Luka Modric has certainly something to prove this evening. He made 20 appearances with only 1 goals this season.
  • 30' It’s high time Jorge Sampaoli made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
  • 35' Croatia fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
  • 39' The referee does not hesitate — a Yellow card for Ante Rebic on 39 minutes.
  • 44' Croatia is showing some good football. However, Croatia are ready to play back every minute. It might result in some problems for the home side. The game will hardly remain goalless.
  • 49' Argentina seems to be on a short break. The game is mainly concentrated in the center. It’s high time they got back to action. Otherwise, it looks like a goalless game.
  • 51' The referee reaches into his pocket. Out comes the Yellow card for Gabriel Mercado.
  • 53' The Croatia Ante Rebic breaks the deadlock on 53 minutes. 0-1!
  • 54' Another substitution for Argentina to replace Sergio Aguero by Gonzalo Higuain on 54 minute.
  • 56' The crowd applauds Eduardo Salvio as he leaves the pitch. Cristian Pavon steps in for Argentina.
  • 57' It is a substitution in Croatia team. Ante Rebic is replaced by Andrej Kramaric on 57 minute.
  • 59' Mario Mandzukic is having his name booked by the referee on 59.
  • 64' The teams are not in a rush to score plenty of goals. It might look strange considering Croatia that had 168 games and scored 45 goals.
  • 67' Controversy at the stadium! Sime Vrsaljko argues furiously but the Yellow card stands.
  • 68' Argentina manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Paulo Dybala is hanging Enzo Perez on the field on 68 minute.
  • 73' Enzo Perez has been one of the livelier players on the pitch with 0 goals to his name this season.
  • 78' Although teams showed high tempo form the start, they seem to slow down a bit. Both sides really need to catch a fire. Otherwise, we have another goalless match.
  • 80' What a strike from Luka Modric! The score is 0-2.
  • 82' Mateo Kovacic is replacing Ivan Perisic for the Croatia side.
  • 85' The referee has no hesitation. Nicolas Otamendi is booked for Argentina — Yellow card on 85.
  • 87' Marcos Acuna picks up a Yellow card and will need to be extremely careful for the remainder of this match.
  • 90' Ivan Rakitic makes no mistake. The score reads 0-3 and Croatia are in front.
  • 90' Marcelo Brozovic has been a danger all night but risks an early exit having now seen a Yellow card on 90.
  • 90' Croatia make a change. Mario Mandzukic trudges off to be replaced by Vedran Corluka on 90 minutes.
  • Game over. The scoreline of 0-3 tells the full story of an entertaining encounter.

Lineups

Argentina Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Jorge Sampaoli

Croatia Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Zlatko Dalić

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
2 / 4
2.08 Argentina xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.57 Croatia xG
I would bet for: Argentina or Croatia 75% + Over 2.5 goals 69%

Match Result

✗ Wrong
Argentina44% Draw25% Croatia31%
Actual: Croatia win

Both Teams to Score

✗ Wrong
Yes69% 0% No31%
Avg goals/match: 3.65
Actual: No — clean sheet

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 96%
4%
± 1.5 88%
12%
± 2.5 69%
31%
± 3.5 49%
51%
± 4.5 30%
70%

Double Chance

Argentina or Draw
69%
Draw or Croatia
56%
Argentina or Croatia
75%

Half-Time Result

✓ Correct
Argentina37% Draw39% Croatia24%
Actual: Draw at HT

Correct Score

✗ 0–3 not predicted
0 – 3
Actual
1 – 1
9.3%
2 – 1
8.5%
2 – 2
6.6%
1 – 2
6.5%
3 – 1
5.9%
2 – 0
5.7%
1 – 0
4.9%
3 – 2
4.6%
0 – 0
3.9%
3 – 0
3.8%
0 – 1
3.5%
2 – 3
3.5%

Asian Handicap — Argentina

Handicap Argentina covers Push Croatia covers
-2.5 14% — 86%
-2 14% 15% 71%
-1.5 29% — 71%
-1 29% 20% 52%
-0.5 48% — 52%
+0.5 71% — 29%
+1 71% 15% 14%
+1.5 86% — 14%
+2 86% 8% 5%
+2.5 95% — 5%

Clean Sheet

Argentina keeps clean sheet
22% ✓
Croatia keeps clean sheet
13% ✗

Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.