Croatia have lit up the last two World Cups and kick off their bid to reach another finals with a trip to Portugal to face Group L minnows Gibraltar.
Under shrewd boss Zlatko Dalic, the Croats reach the 2018 World Cup Final then followed it by reaching the semi-finals four years later in Qatar.
But they are now a team in transition, with stalwarts such as Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric in their silver years and a younger generation yet to hit the same heights.
Croatia bowed out after the group stage at Euro 2024 last summer then won just twice in their Nations League group before bowing out to France on penalties in the quarter-final of that tournament.
Those games with French ensured the Croats would be playing catch-up in World Cup qualifying, with all the other teams in Group L playing their first two qualifiers at the same time.
The Czech Republic have started with maximum points so Croatia will be looking to kick-off with a bang against Gibraltar before hosting the Czechs in a crunch game just three days later.
How the bookies view it: Croats to romp it
Gibraltar have been whipping boys for most of their international history and they're as big as 110/1 for this one at Unibet. The Croatians are just 1/50 for the win at Bet365 while the draw is also massive at 30/1 with Paddy Power.
Head to head: Back for seconds
These sides have faced off just once before and that came a decade ago, with Croatia easing to a 4-0 win in a friendly one home soil. Kramaric scored in that game and could now face the same opposition 10 years later.
Players to watch: Sucic and see
Croatia need to start letting the next generation come to the fore and 22-year-old midfielder Luka Sucic looks a great prospect. He has yet to score in 16 caps but will never get a better chance to break his duck. Bet365 price him at 11/10 for anytime scorer.
Dan Bent scored a shock opener for Gibraltar away to Montenegro in their group opener and he's now on two goals from just seven caps. The midfielder is 22/1 to stun the Croatians with another goal.
Probable line-ups
Dalic might experiment a little for this one to keep his key players fresh for that big game with the Czechs. Gibraltar should be along similar lines to their last qualifier, a 4-0 loss to the Czech Republic.
Gibraltar: Banda, Ronan, Lopes, Britto, Annesley, Scanlon, Bent, Richards, De Barr, El Hmidi, Jessop.
Croatia: Livakovic, Juranovic, Vuskovic, Caleta-Car, Sutalo, Baturina, L Sucic, Moro, P Sucic, Pasalic, Ivanovic.
Anything else catch the eye?
Croatia were dismal when they lost 1-0 to Scotland in the Nations League, with two bets for landing for our man Mark. But they were brilliant when they beat France 2-0 at home so it's hard to know what to expect from them in the World Cup qualifiers.
Even on a big night, they should have too much class for Gibraltar and I can see this ending either 3-0 or 4-0, with both those scorelines paying 5/1 at Paddy Power.
Gibraltar are likely to defend deep that increases the chances of a penalty, which pays a best 16/11 with VBet. If Croatia get a few goals ahead early on this match could turn into a training game so under 11 corners also looks decent at 5/4 with Bet365,
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