Euro Qualifiers Croatia vs Azerbaijan: The Champions Start Their European Conquest

Euro Qualifiers Croatia vs Azerbaijan: The Champions Start Their European Conquest

Croatia vs Azerbaijan

Plenty of eyes will be in Zagreb as the qualifiers for the biggest competition in Europe is about to get underway.

Euro Qualifiers: Croatia vs Azerbaijan may look like a one-sided rout for many casual football fans. The bill screams of an upset: a match between the World Cup runners-up and a nation playing in League D of the Nations League is supposed to be a walk in the park for the Vatreni.

However, football games are not as predictable as that. Anyone can beat a giant on a good day, and Azerbaijan have the motivation to pull off a shocking run of form to steal themselves a spot in the main event.

Despite the fact that they have to beat world-class players like Luka Modric in the process, there’s enough reason to think that this has the potential to be an entertaining affair.

Talking Points

Croatia want to start with a bang

Every European footballer wants an opportunity to play in the European Championship, and Croatia’s talented players aren’t exempted. They know that they have the players to succeed and will be determined to prove that their superb run to the World Cup final last year wasn’t a one-off.

First of all, it’s hard to forget the fantastic run the Vatreni have pulled off on the way to final in June 2018. Thanks to the heroics of Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic,  and Danijel Subasic, the team completed an improbable run that saw them take down giants such as Argentina, Denmark, and England.

However, the international retirements of Mandzukic and Subasic saw the quality up front take a hit. Lovre Kalinic is yet to perform at a level Subasic showcased in Russia, and Zlatko Dalic is yet to find a first-choice striker that can fill the Juventus striker’s boots.

The talent drain was evident during their rather miserable Nations League run. While they managed to get back at Spain for their terrible 6-0 opener, England sent them packing from League A of the Nations League in a do-or-die showdown at Wembley.

However, the Vatreni‘s future doesn’t look that grim for Dalic. He believes that he has addressed the gaps exposed during Croatia’s Nations League run and will be ready for a qualifying group that also featured Hungary, Slovakia, and Wales.

It will now be up to Modric and the rest of the players on the pitch to validate their manager’s beliefs and pull off a big win at the Stadion Maksimir.

Are the Milli gunning for the impossible?

Any reasonable SBOBET punter would look at Azerbaijan’s chances of qualifying and chuckle at the thought of the Milli cracking results against Croatia and Wales to secure a spot in the main tournament.

The fact that there aren’t any Azerbaijani players that are popping out of the list is evidence alone of how behind the team is compared to the rest of the playing field. The mere fact that they missed out on promotion to League C of the Nations League is also a good indicator.

However, there are whispers that Nikola Jurcevic can will his underdogs to make an inspired run in qualifying. All of it has to do with the format of the 2020 competition.

Instead of only one nation hosting the entire tournament, 14 cities across the continent were chosen to become venues for the hotly anticipated contest. Azerbaijan’s own Baku Olympic Stadium is going to be one of those venues, and they will be hosting the group stage and quarter-final games.

With such an opportunity, the entire Azerbaijani community will be expecting their lads to at least have a chance at playing in the group stage of the main tournament. It will be a shame if the host country cannot participate, so expect inspired football from the team.

Players to watch out for among the Azerbaijani XI include Qara Qarayev, Richard Almeida, and Dimitrij Nazarov. They were instrumental in the team’s second-place finish in the League’s Group C.

History

There aren’t a lot of Croatia vs Azerbaijan results to look at since these two teams have been playing on very different levels of football. However, they did meet twice during the qualifying stages for the 2016 tournament.

Their first-ever game was a one-sided rout in 2014 that saw the Vatreni overwhelm the Milli and finish the game with a superb 6-0 score. Ivan Perisic got a double while Andrej Kramaric, Luka Modric, and Marcelo Brozovic scored each of their own. Resad Sadiqov scored an own goal to cap the game.

The second match was a bore draw.

Betting Tip

Croatia First Half Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.00

As much as neutrals would love to see an upset happen in Zagreb, there’s no way Croatia would buckle at the opening stages of qualifying. It’s hard to imagine a team with the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner struggling right out of the gate, and I believe that the game will be as lop-sided as their first encounter.

There are more interesting Croatia vs Azerbaijan odds available at SBOBET, and the particularly interesting markets to check out will be the Over-Under and Total Goals markets. Croatia will be winning by some margin, and predicting the correct final score promises big winnings.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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