Croatia vs Russia

Croatia and Russia go head-to-head at the Stadio Poljud in the crunch World Cup Qualification Group H encounter to decide who ensures automatic qualification for Qatar 2022.

Seeking their third consecutive World Cup finals appearance, Croatia have hit the ground running in Group H since losing Slovenia in their qualifying curtain-raiser. They have since gone unbeaten in eight games in the competition (W6, D2), including a 7-1 thrashing of Malta last time out. Nothing but a victory will do the trick for Croatia, who have won three of their last five internationals at home (D2). Zlatko Dalic’s side had won their opening three 2022 World Cup qualifiers on home soil without conceding before being held to a 2-2 draw to Slovakia in their most recent such contest. After scoring 2+ goals in three of their four qualifying matches throughout this campaign, the Croats will be confident of beating Russia in competitive action inside regular 90 minutes for the first time (D4).

On the other hand, the Russians have hit a purple patch since playing out a scoreless draw with Croatia in the reverse fixture back in September, winning five World Cup qualifiers in a row since. Notably, four of those five triumphs have been accompanied by a clean sheet, including a 6-0 thumping of Cyprus at home last time out. Interestingly, none of Russia’s four 2022 World Cup qualifying matches on foreign soil have ended level (W3, L1), with three of them seeing over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring. Delivering action from the onset, Valeri Karpin’s men have opened the scoring by the 30th minute in each of their last five Group H fixtures, highlighting the potential for action-packed first-half football.