Croatia will look to recover from successive losses when they visit Latvia in Euro 2024 qualifying. While their hosts finally secured their first win but are still mired at the bottom of Group D. The Croatians made two mistakes in October that caused them to lose their hold on automatic qualifying.
Preview (Latvia vs. Croatia)
Usually a fixture at the very end of international competitions, Croatia’s recent losses have cast doubt on their attendance at the European Championship finals in the summer after they finished third in Group D following losses to Wales and Turkey. They were World Cup finalists in 2018 and bronze medallists in Qatar the previous year. They are a team led by veteran coach Zlatko Dalic. Croatia is hoping Wales will make a mistake even if they are unable to reach Germany by the direct route. They might still qualify via the back door, with Turkey leading by six points at the top.
The Kockasti were losing finalists in the UEFA Nations League last summer. Under Dalic’s leadership, a group of fading stars comprise the team. Following their historic home loss to Turkey in a Euro qualifier, only to be defeated a few days later by a brace from Harry Wilson, Luka Modric, and the company will be eager to show that they are far from done. So, from their next two games, only maximum points will do. Croatia hosts Armenia in the final Group D match the following week after visiting the bottom-placed country in the group.
After losing 5-0 in the rematch in September at Stadion Rujevica in Rijeka, when Bruno Petkovic scored twice for the home team, Latvia has been languishing at the bottom of the rankings for some time. Only last month, when head coach Dainis Kazakevics led his team to victory over Armenia. They are still in the running for a top-two finish, did they earn their first points of the qualifying season? But three days later, things returned to normal as Latvia lost 4-0 to Turkey. Almost 20 years ago, Latvia made it to their sole major championship match.
Team News
Ivan Perisic has an ongoing ACL injury and Mateo Kovacic’s dubious status owing to a muscle issue. Both Feyenoord winger Luka Ivanusec and first-choice striker Andrej Kramaric make their comebacks. However, injuries have forced Bruno Petkovic and Nikola Vlasic to miss games. Zlatko Dalic ruled out a number of options, including Borna Barisic. Dalic has stated he will stick with his usual four-man defense rather than make a snap decision.
Marcus Oss, who was sent off against Armenia in October, has returned to the Latvian team, but Eduards Emsis faces a suspension after receiving a second booking against Turkey in the previous game. Both Kriss Karkliņs and Latvian left-back Raivis Jurkovskis are back, the latter after going almost a year without being called up, although South Korean attacker Vladislavs Gutkovskis is still sidelined due to a chronic knee injury.
Latvia 0 – 3 Croatia
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