Tonight’s match between France and the Croatian national team in Paris is important for the guests not only because of its survival in the Nations League top-tier, but also because of breaking that barrier that the Croats have had against the World champions ever since they are an independent state. Mathematically, a point from Stade de France would be very valuable for Zlatko Dalic’s team, but looking at a broader picture, the whole of Croatia would react positively only to victory.This will be the 10th time that these two squads meet, and Croatia has not won one single time. The Chequered Ones do not have such a negative tally against any other national team on the planet.Out of the nine clashes so far, six ended in favor of France. Of course, the most important was the victory in the final of the World Cup in Russia (4-2). The Croats held to a draw on three occasions, concluding with a match a week ago in Split, when they played 1-1, also in the Nations League.Switzerland stun Portugal as Spain tops the group with a win over Czech RepublicEven then, Didier Deschamps’ team was closer to triumph, although they did not play with the best they have to offer – Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, Lucas Hernandez, Hugo Lloris and Kingsley Coman all skipped that match at Poljud. Andrej Kramarić scored a goal for Croatia, his first in the tournament, from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute – earning his team an important point.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Since then, both teams have played one match each, the Croatians defeated Denmark 1-0 in Copenhagen, while France played 1-1 against Austria in Vienna. That outcome brought Croatia a jump to the third position on the table, they have two points more than Les Bleus, who are now in the disappointing 4th place that leads to the B division.”If we repeat the engagement, approach, pace and aggression, we have great hope and faith to oppose the strongest national team in the world. The last three games against them were close but we didn’t succeed. It will be a difficult match, and an opponent who feeds off of your every mistake. Whatever France puts on the field will be top notch. They are top class. The best team in the world is waiting for us”, said Dalic.🇫🇷 FRANCE 🆚 CROATIA 🇭🇷It’s the final game of the season for our Bleus, who’ll be playing at a sold-out @StadeFrance tonight 🏟📺 Kick-off is at 8:45pm CEST #FRACRO | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/lxWGS98H61— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 13, 2022 According to some announcements from France, we can expect the host to play with their strongest team. This will be the last game of the season and an ideal opportunity for the players to spend all the reserves they have left after extremely hard competitive matches.After all, the French have to go for the win if they don’t want to move to a lower rank. They were practically left without a chance to be first in the group, after two draws and one defeat. Therefore, we can expect Mbappe, Benzema, and Antoine Griezmann on the pitch of Stade de France, but also a new member of Real Madrid Aurelian Tchouameni, whom the Royal Club bought from Monaco a few days ago for 100 million euros.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUESundaySwitzerland – Portugal 1-0 (1-0)/Seferovic 1/Spain – Czech R. 2-0 (1-0)/Soler 24, Sarabia 75/Monday21.45: (2.00) Denmark (3.50) Austria (4.10)21.45: (1.60) France (3.80) Croatia (7.25)Tuesday21.45: (1.32) England (5.40) Hungary (12.0)21.45: (1.85) Germany (3.70) Italy (4.60)***odds are subject to change
