Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic. (Photo : Getty Images)
Lowly team Kosovo (0-0-1, 1 point) and highly-ranked squad Croatia (0-0-1, 1 point) are set to face each other at the Loro Boriçi Stadium in Shkodër, Albania on Oct. 6, Thursday for the second round of Group I games in the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifiers.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:45 p.m. UTC+2. It can be viewed live Online Thru FuboTV.
Kosovo began the tournament by holding higher-ranked Finland to a 1-1 draw on the road at the Veritas Stadion in Turku on Sep. 5, via Reuters.
Finland center back Paulus Arajuuri opened the scoring at the 18th minute of the match off a pass by midfielder Thomas Lam to give the hosts an early one-point advantage.
Head coach Albert Bunjaki's side was not able to score in the first 45 minutes of play as the Eagle-owls carried the 1-0 lead at the halftime break.
Finland against started the second half strongly but the visitors were able to fend off their attacks as they fell back on defense.
Finally, the Dardanians were given the opportunity to tie the count after Lam was given a yellow card near the hour mark. Red Bull Salzburg winger Valon Berisha successfully netted the ensuing penalty kick to equalize the game with still more than 30 minutes left to play.
The two teams failed to score since then as they settled to the draw and a share of a point in the overall standings.
Meanwhile, Croatia was also held to a 1-1 draw by Turkey during their tournament-opener at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb also on Sep. 5, Press TV reported.
After almost a whole half without goals, Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic finally broke the deadlock with one minute left before the break via a spot kick. However, the score was immediately leveled by Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu during the first half injury time.
The two squads were also scoreless in the second half, which gave them one point each in the Group I table.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 3-0 rout for Croatia.
Kosovo starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Ujkani; Perdedaj, Rrahmani, Pnishi, Paqarada; Kryeziu; Rashica, V. Berisha, Celina, B. Berisha; Bunjaku
Croatia starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Kalinic; Vrsaljko, Corluka, Vida, Strinic; Badelj, Modric; Pjaca, Rakitic, Perisic; Mandzukic
