Croatia vs Norway

March 27, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Group H leaders Croatia have a perfect opportunity to cement a place in the top 2 by defeating Norway and no doubt the hosts are the favourites to claim maximum points. The Nordic side have done surprisingly well of late, and they are now searching for the fourth successive win in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

Luka Modric is back

Croatia may have failed to get past the group stage at the 2014 World Cup, but they gave a very good account of themselves at the tournament finals, matching hosts Brazil for large periods of the opening match before hammering Cameroon 4-0. Coach Niko Kovac rallied the troops ahead of the start of the Euro 2016 qualifiers and his side in turn produced some very good showings. Croatia defeated Malta, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan without conceding a single goal in the process, before proving their worth by holding Italy to a 1-1 draw at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. However, in spite of some impressive results, Vatreni sit just one point clear of third-placed Norway and they need to win this match if they want to remain in the driving seat for one of the top two positions. With key midfielder Luka Modric having recovered from injury and other important players fit to play, Croatia can be trusted to end Norway’s excellent run and make a big step towards the tournament finals.

Luka Modric should be fit to start after recovering from a bout of flu, but Mateo Kovacic has been ruled out with a knee ligament injury.

Unique opportunity for Norway

It’s now been fifteen years since Norway last played at a major tournament, but Per-Mathias Hogmo’s men aim to make things right this time out. The experienced coach has seriously rejuvenated the national team of late, with Tom Hogli now the highest-capped player in the squad with 43 appearances for the side. It would appear as though Norway lack some talent in the final third, but they’ve got some exciting prospects coming through the ranks, with Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard already in the first team plans. The Scandinavian side did not have a perfect start to the Euro 2016 qualifiers, losing at home to Italy, but they have since defeated Malta and Azerbaijan on the road as well as beaten Bulgaria at home. However, having failed to avoid defeat when facing top European side on the road for some two and a half years, I fully expect them to experience problems against Croatia’s star-studded squad. It will not be easy for Norway’s back line to contain some of world’s top forwards, while the lack of a proven goalscorer will further damage their hopes.

The likes of Joshua King, Tore Reginiussen and Per Egil Flo have been left out of the squad, but there are no fresh worries for Per-Mathias Hogmo.

Verdict

Croatia have been relentless in the opening exchanges of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign and with all key men available, they should be able to extend the promising run against Norway. The Nordic side did well to take advantage of the easy fixture list, but I just cannot see them matching Niko Kovac’s team.

Top pick: Croatia/Croatia   2.20 (6/5) @ Paddy Power

Alternative pick 1: Under 2.5 goals   1.65 (13/20) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Croatia to win to nil   2.00 (1/1) @ SkyBet

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