Croatia midfielder Ivan Perisic. (Photo : Getty Images)
European contenders Croatia and Turkey are scheduled to clash in a spectator-less 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifiers Group I encounter at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb on Monday, Sep. 5 to open the two teams' respective Russia World Cup qualifying campaigns.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:45 p.m. UTC+2. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Croatia had been sanctioned by FIFA to play two home games without an audience after two cases of "discriminatory chants by fans" were filed against them to the sports' governing body, which took place during exhibition games against Israel and Hungary in March of this year.
Thus, this game against Turkey and the Nov. 12 match versus Iceland will both be held spectator-less, but the results will count in the standings.
Head coach Ante Cacic will continue to manage the Blazers after a rather successful Euro 2016 stint last June.
The team reached the knockout stages of the European Championship after topping Group D over Spain, Turkey, and the Czech Republic, but was eliminated by eventual champions Portugal in the last 16, 0-1, at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, SkySports reported.
Vatreni hopes to continue their strong performance this year in the World Cup qualifiers, but they will have to move past Iceland, Ukraine, Finland, Kosovo, and their opening round opponents Turkey to ensure a berth in Russia.
Meanwhile, Turkey also participated in this summer's Euros, but was not able to move past the group stages. Their last match in the said tourney was a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic to cap their campaign with only one victory against two losses.
Head coach Fatih Terim will be without his main man, team captain and Barcelona forward Arda Turan, in the first round of qualifiers and so he must settle with who are available right now.
Turkey held 2018 World cup hosts Russia to a goalless draw on Thursday in a warmup friendly at the Antalya Arena in preparation for this opening game against Croatia, via the Washington Post.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a close 1-0 win for Croatia.
Croatia starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Subasic; Vrsaljko, Corluka, Vida, Strinic; Modric, Badelj; Brozovic, Rakitic, Perisic; Mandzukic
Turkey starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Babacan; Ozbayrakli, Aziz, Kaldirim, Koybasi; Calhanoglu, Sahin, Sen; Mor, Tosun, Unal
