In the final quarter final of the weekend, Russia take on Croatia and the whole of Russia is going to be tuned into this one. The hosts have done better than expected so far, and their fairy tale is not over with just yet. However, they do face a very talented Croatia team that have the potential to reach the final in this tournament, and for Russia to win this they need to perform to the best of their ability, and also hope that Croatia disappoint.

Both teams found their way here thanks to penalty shootout victories, so should this game go to a shootout, neither holds an advantage over the other team. In their last 16 games, both teams were not at their best and this was especially the case with Croatia who were very disappointing against Denmark compared to what we have seen during the rest of the tournament from them.

Croatia were one of just three teams to leave the group stages with a 100% record, and included in that was a fantastic 3-0 victory over Argentina. We have seen Croatia play brilliantly well at the tournament so far, but not in their most recent game and with a full crowd against them, they are going to have to play better.

Russia performed at their best in the first two games of the tournament, beating Egypt and Saudi Arabia with ease. However, since then they have been beaten 3-0 by Uruguay and although they won against Spain on penalties, they were far from convincing, Spain had much more of the ball and the better chances. They are going to have to perform better here to beat Croatia, and one thing they will have on their side is pretty much the whole crowd, who will be willing Russia on to victory.

Russia vs Croatia Betting Tips

We have seen the best and worst of Croatia in recent games, but the important factor that remains is that they have won all four games at the tournament so far. If they play like they did against Denmark, this will be tough for them, but there is a chance they could still win the game. Play like they did in any of their three group games and this should be a game they can win comfortably. They certainly have the class edge of Russia, and they just need to bring it all together on the field to make the semi-finals.

Russia will be hoping they can scrape through again, and will try and make themselves hard to break down like they did against Spain. The Spaniards had a lot of the ball and did nothing with it, which allowed Russia to sit deep and soak up all the pressure. I’m not sure the Croatians will allow Russia the chance to do the same, Croatia look good in midfield on the ball, and they can not only create pressure, but make it count.

I’m backing Croatia to play better than they did against Denmark and take this.