Croatia and Portugal will meet in the 7th round of the UEFA Nations League. Portugal, the reigning champions, have failed to retain their title after a 1-0 home defeat to France condemned them to a second-place finish in Group 3. Croatia is in bad shape after losing 2-1 away to Sweden in their last UNL outing, their fourth defeat of a disastrous campaign.
November 17th, 2020 – 20:45
Croatia vs Portugal Betting Tips & Predictions
Reason for Croatia vs Portugal Predictions
Croatia
The hosts remain in third place in the group despite that defeat, ahead of the Swedes thanks to their superior goalscoring record. Sweden will have their hands full against France, but Croatia can’t rely on the World Cup holders to inflict a heavy defeat on their relegation rivals. They need to get a better result against Portugal to ensure they shirk demotion to League B. Marko Rog is a tremendous defensive midfielder who knows what he is doing at all times, he is strong, and it isn’t easy to take the ball away from this guy. Josip Brekalo enjoys on the pitch, when he receives the ball and moves towards the goal, the opponent has problems, and his most significant strength is speed. Mislav Orsic plays great in Dinamo Zagreb, he has improved a lot, and this youngster is doing great in the penalty area. He has excellent movement, and he is the future leader of the national team.
Portugal
Defending champions Portugal seemed in pole position to qualify for the finals again before going down 1-0 to France in Lisbon. Jose Fonte headed against the bar as Portugal tried to hit back and Joao Moutinho’s long-range effort forced a save from Hugo Lloris. However, Portugal had to endure the first defeat in 22 home games and saw their 10-match unbeaten run in Nations League fixtures come to an end. Fernando Santos admitted his team “struggled a lot, and it would be no surprise to see him make a number of changes for this third outing in seven days. Danilo Pereira is a modest player who works a lot on the field, plays without mistakes, all praise for him. Cristiano Ronaldo is the national team’s biggest star. He is a football machine, and it is a real pleasure to watch this man. He had an excellent individual season with Juventus, as they won the Serie A title. Joao Felix is a great player, he started the season phenomenally in Atletico Madrid, he scores goals and is the real leader of the team, all praise for him.
Conclusion
Portugal is the favorite in this match, although they have lost their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. We believe they are going to get back on the winning track.
We can expect a great fight between these two teams, and both should be able to score. One thing is for sure – football fans should enjoy this game.