Euro 2024: Croatia Vs Albania Match Preview
Written by Patrick Echatah
Croatia and Albania fell to Italy and Spain respectively, thus, Wednesday’s matchup presents a chance for both countries to gain ground on one or both of their group-stage rivals.
However, Croatia comes into this match with strong confidence that they can win this time. Not to belittle the Eagles, who against Italy scored the quickest goal in Euros history, but Albania are unquestionably the underdogs in the group.
Preview
Croatia finished second in their qualifying group, one point behind Turkey and four ahead of Wales, securing their participation at Euro 2024. They tied Turkey with five victories, however they lost to Wales and Turkey again, as well as draw and a loss. However, they did win consecutive games to close out the group, and they have since defeated Egypt and Tunisia in the inaugural FIFA Series.
In contrast, Albania emerged as the unexpected winners of their qualifying group despite finishing on the same number of points as Czech Republic, they were ranked higher because of their superior head-to-head record. Albania had only one loss—to Poland in Warsaw in their opening group match—while winning four of their eight games, including three draws. However, 2024 hasn’t started out well for Albania, losing to Sweden and Chile in friendlies.
Head To Head
This will be the first-ever matchup between both countries.
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Key Performers
Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and Marcelo Brozovic—the reliable midfield tandem—will start. Even though they had offensive struggles, Ante Budimir and Andrej Kramaric are still the superior choices to head the line. It wouldn’t surprise you if the back underwent alterations.
Armando Broja’s position might be in jeopardy following a largely lethargic performance. Nedim Bajrami entered Euros history book after scoring the fastest goal ever in just 23 seconds.
Verdict
The second Group B match between these countries has already raised the stakes because a loss would almost surely mean elimination from Euro 2024. Despite their lacklustre first game, Croatia’s wealth of experience should allow them to overcome a determined Albanian team that is probably headed for elimination.
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