History will be made in Toronto as two outfield players in their forties face off at the World Cup for the first time, as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal faces Luka Modric’s Croatia in the round of 32. We’ve got a 5/1 bet builder for you to follow as one football legend prepares to say goodbye to the World Cup for the final time.
- Croatia to qualify
- Under 3.5 goals
- Over 2.5 total cards
- ODDS: 5/1
– Portugal vs Croatia – All Markets
Portugal vs Croatia Match Details & Preview
Date: Thursday, July 2/Friday, July 3
Kick-off: Midnight
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto
Stage of Competition: Round of 32
TV channel: RTE 2 & RTE Player, BBC One & iPlayer
– View our 41/1 Round of 32 Six-fold accum.
The last dance, but for whom? This is surely the last time we will see Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric on football’s grandest stage, and only one can advance to the last 16. Time catches up on everybody, and both of these all-time greats have displayed signs of their advancing years at stages of this ultra-demanding tournament.
Ronaldo declared he was “back” following his brace against Uzbekistan, but the same old questions quickly resurfaced after a lacklustre display against Colombia. As for his former Madrid teammate Modric, he struggled in the opener against England but quickly found his feet in the remaining group matches, registering an assist last time out in the win over Ghana.
For all their star power, Portugal have looked blunt in the final third at this tournament. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve failed to fire when the chips are down, as three of Portugal’s last five games at major tournaments have ended scoreless. Portugal also took just ten corners across their three group stage matches.
This may be an ageing Croatia team, but they know what it takes to put tournament runs together. Runners-up in 2018 and bronze medalists four years ago, Zlatko Dalić’s team may have one final push left in them.
There’s clearly a togetherness about Croatia; despite the presence of a global star in Modric, he doesn’t command the spotlight in the same way his old teammate does for Portugal. When things aren’t going well for Portugal, they often go very badly, as illustrated by the fact they have failed to score in each of their last four defeats.
Only two of Portugal’s last ten matches produced over 3.5 goals, and given Croatia’s strong defensive displays at this tournament (just two shots on target faced in their last two games), this could be a slow burner with a bright finish, as five of Croatia’s last six internationals featured a goal being scored after the 80th minute.
Croatia will have no concerns about taking this tie all the way if needs be, given they are the nation with the best penalty shootout record in World Cup history. Croatia are a perfect 4/4 when it comes to the dreaded spotkicks at World Cups.
Speaking of penalties, the man in the middle for this round of 32 tie will be Espen Eskås from Norway. The 38-year-old handed out four yellow cards in his only other game at this tournament so far, while Portugal picked up three cautions in their opener with DR Congo. They also received a booking in each of the other two group games. Croatia have received bookings in two of their three games.
– Read our ultimate World Cup guide.
Team News & Predicted Line-ups
Neither side appears to have any major injury concerns.
Portugal predicted XI: Costa; Cancelo, Dias, Veiga, Mendes; Vitinha, Joao Neves; Neto, Fernandes, Felix; Ronaldo
Croatia predicted XI: Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongracic, Gvardiol; Sucic, Modric, Kovacic; Baturina, Budimir, Perisic
Portugal vs Croatia Recommended Bet Builder
- Croatia to qualify
- Under 3.5 goals
- Over 2.5 total cards
- ODDS: 5/1
