Portugal and Croatia do battle in Toronto in the early hours of Friday morning in the Round of 32 in what looks set to be a tight encounter.
It’s fair to say that Portugal were pretty underwhelming in Group K, as despite being favourites to top the group, they could only finish in second, two points behind Colombia.
Roberto Martinez’s men played out a disappointing 1-1 draw with DR Congo in their group opener, and despite thrashing debutants Uzbekistan on MD2, they failed to clinch top spot following a goalless draw with Colombia.
Croatia started their campaign with a 4-2 defeat to England, in a match they were blown away in the second half by the Three Lions.
However, Zlatko Dalic’s men bounced back in trademark style, edging a 1-0 victory over Panama before claiming a late 3-1 victory over Ghana to clinch second spot in Group L.
How the bookies view it: Portugal favourites
Despite a couple of poor performances, Portugal are favourites to advance to the Round of 16, with bet365 pricing A Selecao at just 4/11 To Qualify, whilst the win inside 90 minutes is 3/4.
Croatia are 11/5 underdogs to advance to the last 16, whilst the win in regulation time looks big at 4/1.
More match odds are available on our best mobile apps for World Cup betting.
Head to head: Portuguese dominance
The first-ever meeting between these two nations came at Euro 96, with Portugal winning 3-0 in the group stages.
Since then, the Iberian nation has gone on to win a further six of the following nine meetings (W6-D2-L1), suffering a solitary defeat.
Interestingly, Both Teams to Score has landed in each of the last five meetings – all in the space of the last six years – and a repeat pays an appealing 19/20 at bet365.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
Players to watch: Bruno to bag another goal involvement?
Despite just one assist to his name in the tournament so far, Bruno Fernandes continues to be Portugal’s most reliable creator.
The Manchester United captain broke the all-time Premier League record for assists in one season last campaign, as he recorded 21 assists for the Devils – as well as scoring nine times – and he is 1/1 at bet365 to Score or Assist in Toronto in the early hours of Friday morning.
Predicted line-ups:
Portugal: Costa, Cancelo, Dias, Veiga, Mendes, Vitinha, J Neves, Neto, Fernandes, Felix, Ronaldo
Croatia: Livakovic, Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongranic, Gvardiol, Modric, Kovacic, Vlasic, Sucic, Perisic, Budimir
Anything else catch the eye?
Portugal are priced as 4/11 favourites to advance to the Round of 16, but given their performances at the tournament so far, coupled with Croatia’s recent World Cup record, I’m expecting a tight encounter.
Roberto Martinez’s men drew against both DR Congo and Colombia in the group stages, and a repeat pays an appealing 5/2 at bet365.
What’s more, Croatia drew four of their opening five matches at the previous World Cup before being knocked out in the semis by eventual winners Argentina, which only adds to the appeal.
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