Croatia midfielder Luka Modric. (Photo : Getty Images)
World no. 30 Czech Republic (0-1-0, 0 points) and world no. 27 Croatia (1-0-0, 3 points) face each other at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on Friday, June 17 as the 2016 UEFA European Championship Group D competitions continues.
The Czech Republic opened the tournament with a sorry 0-1 loss to powerhouse squad Spain at the Stadium Municipal in Toulouse on Monday, BBC Sport reported.
Manager Pavel Vrba's boys were able to limit the vaunted Spanish firepower to just one goal in the contest, courtesy of Barcelona defender Gerard Pique at the 87th minute, but it was their offense that was absent as they failed to produce anything after more than 90 minutes of play.
Expected goalscorers such as Bursaspor's Tomas Necid, Hertha Berlin's Vladimir Darida, and team captain Tomas Rosicky were effectively put to silence by the Spaniards all throughout the match with no one among their teammates stepping up.
As for this match between the Czech Republic and Crotia, the two teams are virtually evenly-matched when it comes to style of play but the latter has the slight advantage because of its deeper roster.
Head coach Ante Cacic's squad features more club stars in all positions on the pitch, especially in the midfield, namely Real Madrid's Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic, Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic, and Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic. Up front, they are bannered by strikers Nikola Kalinic of Fiorentina and Mario Mandzukic of Juventus as well.
The Blazers are coming off a 1-0 win over another tough team, Turkey, at the Parc des Princes in Paris last Sunday to temporarily share group leadership with World Cup champions Germany, as per ESPN.
Modric provided the winning goal of the contest at the 41st minute after he lobbed a loose ball toward Crescent Stars keeper Volkan Babacan from about 25 yards away. Before that, Croatia had been relentless on their attacks as Rakitic, Mandzukic, and Inter Milan's Marcelo Brozovic each had chances to break the deadlock.
Cacic's boys are favored to win this match and, as a result, officially eliminate the Czechs from the competitions.
The predicted result is a 2-1 victory for Croatia.
Czech Republic starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Cech; Kaderabek, Sivok, Hubnik, Limbersky; Darida, Plasil; Selassie, Rosicky, Krejci; Necid
Croatia starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Subasic; Srna, Corluka, Vida, Strinic; Modric, Badelj; Brozovic, Rakitic, Perisic; Mandzukic
