Croatia vs Nigeria, Worldcup 2018 GROUP STAGE
Overview
Match Preview
Match Details
- Referee Hernan Maidana
- Referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio
- Referee Emerson Augusto De Carvalho
- Referee Marcelo Carvalho Van Gasse
- Referee Daniele Orsato
- Referee Antonio Mateu
- Referee Pau Cebrian
- Referee Artur Soares Dias
- Referee Sandro Ricci
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
Last 5 meetings
Recent Form
Key Stats
0%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (1 games)
H2H (1 games)
0%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
25%
Clean Sheets
Croatia this season
Croatia this season
Goal Timing (This Season)
Croatia
0-15
–/1
16-30
–/–
31-45
3/1
46-60
2/1
61-75
–/2
76+
1/2
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Events
Match Events
- 0' KICK OFF: Nigeria gets underway.
- 5' Francis Uzoho has been relatively quiet despite scoring 0 goals in his last 4 appearances.
- 10' Both keepers have barely been tested. Croatia and Nigeria are cancelling each other out in the centre of the park.
- 15' The referee is likely to let players tackle, as he already missed some meaty challenges during opening seconds. He is still to establish what should not be done by the players and what is acceptable on the pitch. It’s going to be a tough game for Ahmed Musa suffering a number of foals already.
- 20' Nigeria fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
- 25' While there is no rush on the pitch, let’s have a look at some stats. William Troost-Ekong made 464 appearances and scored 5 goals. He is very likely to score a goal today.
- 30' Ivan Rakitic catches the referee's attention in entirely the wrong way. Yellow card on 30.
- 32' Goal! Oghenekaro Etebo scores his 5 goal in 392 matches.
- 37' It looks surprising Croatia does not make any changes. Ivan Strinic has some obvious troubles when approaching to the goal.
- 42' We are waiting for someone to take the initiative. Who will be the first to commit to attack?
- 47' The travelling Nigeria supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
- 52' The Array continues to deliver drama. Both Croatia and Nigeria are desperate not to drop points on matchday .
- 57' Abdullahi Shehu, a Nigeria , has 0 bookings this season and will need to keep his discipline tonight.
- 60' Croatia ring the changes. Andrej Kramaric has done his job and it is now time for Marcelo Brozovic to step up.
- 62' Another substitution for Nigeria to replace Alex Iwobi by Ahmed Musa on 62 minute.
- 67' The referee has had an easy afternoon — neither side has been overly physical in the tackle.
- 70' That is a Yellow card for Nigeria. William Troost-Ekong will be fuming at that decision.
- 71' GOAL! Luka Modric fires home to make it 1-1!
- 72' The supporters are chanting for Kelechi Iheanacho. He replaces Odion Ighalo on 72 minute.
- 77' Nigeria come into this ranked in Array. They desperately need points to push themselves up the standings.
- 78' The crowd applauds Ante Rebic as he leaves the pitch. Mateo Kovacic steps in for Croatia.
- 83' A moment of individual brilliance could settle this. Both teams are waiting for that decisive action.
- 86' It is a substitution in Croatia team. Mario Mandzukic is replaced by Marko Pjaca on 86 minute.
- 88' Nigeria make a change. John Obi Mikel trudges off to be replaced by Simeon Nwankwo on 88 minutes.
- 89' Marcelo Brozovic has been a danger all night but risks an early exit having now seen a Yellow card on 89.
- The final score is 2-0.
Lineups
Croatia Lineups
Starting XI
- 6
- 23
- 9
-
18
Ante Rebic ↓ Mateo Kovacic 78'
- 7
- 10
-
17
Mario Mandzukic ↓ Marko Pjaca 86'
- 3
- 2
- 4
- 21
Bench
-
8
Mateo Kovacic ↑ 78'
- 15
- 13
- 16
- 14
-
11
Marcelo Brozovic ↑ 60'
-
20
Marko Pjaca ↑ 86'
- 19
- 22
- 1
- 12
- 5
Coach
Zlatko Dalić
Nigeria Lineups
Starting XI
- 23
- 2
- 5
- 6
- 12
- 10
- 11
-
18
Alex Iwobi ↓ Ahmed Musa 62'
- 4
- 8
- 9
Bench
- 22
- 17
- 3
- 16
- 15
-
7
Ahmed Musa ↑ 62'
- 21
- 19
-
13
Simeon Nwankwo ↑ 88'
-
14
Kelechi Iheanacho ↑ 72'
- 20
- 1
Coach
Gernot Rohr
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Oghenekaro Etebo | 1 |
| Luka Modric | 1 |
| Oghenekaro Etebo | 1 |
| Luka Modric | 1 |
Head to Head
Croatia Form
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
3 / 4
1.57
Croatia xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
0.67
Nigeria xG
I would bet for:
Under 2.5 goals 62% + Under — clean sheet likely 60%
Match Result
✓ CorrectActual: Croatia win
Both Teams to Score
✓ Correct
Avg goals/match: 2.24
Actual: No — clean sheet
Over / Under Goals
✓ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 87% |
|
13% |
| ± 1.5 | 65% |
|
35% |
| ± 2.5 | 38% |
|
62% |
| ± 3.5 | 19% |
|
81% |
| ± 4.5 | 8% |
|
92% |
Double Chance
Croatia or Draw
82%
Draw or Nigeria
44%
Croatia or Nigeria
73%
Half-Time Result
✗ WrongActual: Croatia win at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 0
15.8%
0 – 0
12.8%
2 – 0
Actual
1 – 1
12%
2 – 1
8.5%
3 – 0
6.5%
0 – 1
6.1%
3 – 1
4.6%
1 – 2
3.6%
2 – 2
2.9%
4 – 0
2.6%
0 – 2
2.3%
Asian Handicap — Croatia
| Handicap | Croatia covers | Push | Nigeria covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 13% | — | 87% |
| -2 | 13% | 18% | 69% |
| -1.5 | 31% | — | 69% |
| -1 | 31% | 26% | 43% |
| -0.5 | 57% | — | 43% |
| +0.5 | 86% | — | 14% |
| +1 | 86% | 10% | 4% |
| +1.5 | 96% | — | 4% |
| +2 | 96% | 3% | 1% |
| +2.5 | 99% | — | 1% |
Clean Sheet
Croatia keeps clean sheet
52%
✓
Nigeria keeps clean sheet
22%
✓
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.