Croatia and Albania meet on June 19, 2024, with both teams hoping to win the first points in the competition. The game takes place at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, and whichever team loses this game will be in deep trouble going into the last matchday of Group C.
Croatia vs Albania: Initial situation
Both teams played against the favorites in Group C and were left empty-handed on the first matchday. Croatia had no chance against Spain and will look to bounce back against Albania. Croatia is an experienced team that will definitely be able to bounce back after the loss, but Albania has nothing to lose in the game and will also look for their chance to advance to the next round.
Croatia Stats & Form
Croatia finished among the top three teams in the last two World Cups, which speaks enough of their qualities. Head coach Zlatko Dalic has a mix of experienced players and young and talented players who came to Germany with high hopes. The opening 3-0 loss to Spain does not look promising, and that was the first time for Croatia to lose a game after six consecutive wins and the first time after seven games to fail to score. Right before the EURO, Croatia defeated Portugal by 2-1 and North Macedonia by 3-0, and they will have to bring that efficiency back in the upcoming matches in Group C. A fun fact is that Croatia has played a draw only once in the last ten games.
Albania Stats & Form
For only the second time in the nation’s history, Albania is participating in the European Championship. They had a great run in the qualifiers and came to Germany ready to fight in hope of an epic success. Albania lost 2-1 in the opener against Italy but did not disappoint their fans. Albania scored the fastest goal in the history of the competition but could not hold on and lost at the end. That was only the third loss in the last ten games. Albania came to Germany after defeating Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein, scoring three goals in each of those games. There is a huge quality gap between those teams and the competition at EURO, but Albania should not be underestimated since they are confident enough to use every opportunity.
Croatia vs Albania: Head to Head
This will the first game between Croatia and Albania.
Croatia vs Albania Odds
Croatia is a major favorite going into this game with -222 odds going in their favor while the odds for Albania’s win are at 650. The odds for a draw are 320.
The total goals margin is set at 2.5 with 100 for over and -114 for under.
Betting tip and prediction: Croatia vs Albania (19/06/2024)
Croatia came into the tournament as one of the dark-horse candidates to go deep in the competition after they did so in the last two World Cups. However, the start of the tournament was not the best for them after losing 3-0 to Spain. Croatia has never been outplayed that much in any competition, as Spain scored three goals in the first half. Croatia tried to be aggressive in the second half but failed to score even from the penalty spot as Bruno Petkovic failed to convert on his shot. Luka Modric played one of the worst games on the national team, and Josko Gvardiol was not even close to his level.
Albania also lost the opener, 2-1, to Italy, but no one really expected anything else against the defending champion. The Albanians took an early lead with Nedim Bajrami’s goal in the opening minute. That was a huge boost for the team, but they could not hold on.
Croatia is coming to this game in a state of emergency. They are not playing only for the three points but also for getting their confidence back and proving that this team is still capable of winning.
There is no doubt that Modric and the rest of the crew will be on top of their game and will quickly forget what happened against Spain. Croatia has great players in the midfield who will be able to constantly create scoring opportunities for the offensive line, and it will be a long night for Albania. Croatia will keep their foot on the gas for the entire game and will win this game, which will go over 2.5 goals in total.