Two of Europe’s most experienced World Cup teams will play in the round of 32 on Wednesday at BMO Stadium in Canada. Portugal and Croatia will meet for the first time in tournament history, and to add more star power, two of the continent’s legends are near the end of their respective World Cup careers. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is 41 years old and getting starts, while 40-year-old Luka Modric is still regulating things in the midfield for Croatia.
Portugal’s health has been a silver lining for them. Head coach Roberto Martinez has a deep roster, and his biggest criticism is whether or not he makes the hard choices in rotating his players. The team had a lackluster group stage, an opening draw against DR Congo, a blowout 5-0 win against debutant Uzbekistan, and a scoreless stalemate against Colombia to finish.
With other attacking options, Martinez will likely rely on Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix to find the gaps in Croatia’s backline, though it might not be that easy, despite some doubts around the opposing side’s defense.
Croatia’s journey to the knockouts isn’t quite one that can eclipse Portugal’s. After conceding four goals to England in the group opener, they managed narrow wins against Panama and Ghana, and now they step into the knockout rounds with questions around their defensive efforts.
Like Portugal, Croatia also have a clean bill of health. Group games were mostly about how head coach Zlatko Dalic managed Modric’s minutes. Whether or not the midfielder will push through 90 minutes or more, Modric will also rely on collaborative play with Andrej Kramaric to keep Portugal honest in front of the goal.
How to watch Portugal vs. Croatia
Date: Thursday, July 2 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: BMO Field — Toronto, Ontario
TV: Fox (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Portugal +1250 | Draw +700 | Croatia -600
Portugal vs. Croatia predicted starting lineups
Portugal: Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha; Pedro Neto, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix; Cristiano Ronaldo
Croatia: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Josip Sutalo, Marin Pongracic, Josko Gvardiol; Petar Sucic, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic; Martin Baturina, Ante Budimir, Ivan Perisic
Keep up with the World Cup standings here.
Portugal vs. Croatia pick, prediction
While Croatia managed to turn things around in the group stage, they’ve struggled against European competition in the tournament, and Portugal has the pieces to jump through Croatia’s checkered board. Pick: Portugal 2, Croatia 1
Check out our World Cup expert predictions.
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