Croatia vs Armenia Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds

Croatia's place in Euro 2024 will be confirmed if they win their final qualifying match against Group D rivals Armenia on Tuesday evening.

The teams meet at Stadion Maksimir, with the home team needing only to match Wales' result to secure their place in Germany; the visitors, meanwhile, have already been eliminated.

Predictions for the game

On November 18, 2023, Croatia's Lovro Majer celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates.

Croatia leapfrogged Rob Page's Dragons in the Group D table on Saturday evening, seizing back control of their qualification destiny with a 2-0 win in Latvia after Armenia held Wales to a draw earlier in the day.

Both Lovro Majer and Andrej Kramaric scored inside the first 20 minutes at Riga's Skonto Stadion, and the recent World Cup bronze medalists then cruised to victory shortly after their Welsh counterparts were held to a point in Armenia.

Croatia can now qualify directly for next summer's Euros if they take maximum points in midweek - or even if they draw or lose and Turkey denies Wales a win - after slipping up twice last month, with back-to-back defeats against group winners Turkey and then Wales.

Nonetheless, long-serving coach Zlatko Dalic, who has guided his country to unprecedented glory in recent years, will be acutely aware that the UEFA Nations League runners-up cannot afford to be complacent.

Failure to secure the runners-up spot would mean entering the playoff lottery, where the Kockasti's place is assured thanks to their outstanding run to the Nations League final.

If Croatia is unable to enter Germany through the front door, they will be forced to take a more difficult path to a sixth consecutive European Championship finals, where their goal will be to finally collect some silverware before more members of the 'golden generation' step aside.

On November 18, 2023, Armenia's Lucas Zelarayan celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates.

Armenia's hopes of making their first-ever tournament appearance have been dashed once more after falling short in their penultimate Group D match.

Hopes of an unlikely late surge up the standings were raised when Lucas Zelarayan scored the opening goal against Wales at the weekend, but despite hitting the crossbar later on, the home side could only draw 1-1 in Yerevan, as an own goal from Nair Tiknizyan cancelled out Zelarayan's opener.

It could have been so different for the country ranked 95th in FIFA's world rankings, which upset Wales in Cardiff earlier this summer to move into contention: in three subsequent matches, they increased their point tally by just one, most notably losing to Latvia.

As a result, Ukrainian coach Oleksandr Petrakov and his diverse squad of Armenian diaspora players will miss next year's finals, and the wait for a major finals debut continues.

Two draws and three defeats in their last five games may also jeopardize Petrakov's position, as his team is now expected to finish fourth in the table.
 

 

 

 

Team News

Increasingly injury-prone, Croatia's Mateo Kovacic withdrew from Zlatko Dalic's squad last week after suffering another setback with his recurring quad problem, and the Manchester City midfielder joins long-term absentee Ivan Perisic on the sidelines.

Bruno Petkovic and Nikola Vlasic are also ruled out by injury, but first-choice striker Andrej Kramaric and Feyenoord winger Luka Ivanusec both returned to the fray in Latvia at the weekend; Kramaric has netted four goals from five Group D appearances so far.

A teammate of Kovacic in Manchester, Josko Gvardiol should again feature at left-back for the home side, given Dalic's dissatisfaction with the alternative options, and a similar side to that which started in Riga should be named on Tuesday.

Armenia, meanwhile, will be without captain Varazdat Haroyan in midweek, after he picked up his third booking of the Euro 2024 qualifying process last time out.

Due to the Astana centre-back's suspension, Taron Voskanyan could be called upon to deputise in the visitors' back five, forcing Oleksandr Petrakov to make at least one change from the team that lined up against Wales.

Argentina-born Lucas Zelarayan should feature in the final third, alongside Borussia Monchengladbach striker Grant-Leon Ranos, who was born and raised in Germany but switched allegiance earlier this year.

Croatia possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Erlic, Gvardiol; Modric, Brozovic, Majer; Pasalic, Kramaric, Ivanusec

Armenia possible starting lineup:
Cancarevic; Dashyan, Calisir, Voskanyan, Arutyunyan, Tiknizyan; Sevikyan, Iwu, Spertsyan, Zelarayan; Ranos

We predict: Croatia 2-1 Armenia

Although Armenia has little to play for, the former Soviet nation has proven to be a tough opponent throughout much of their Group D campaign, with Croatia only winning the reverse fixture by a single goal in September.

After losing at home for the first time in European Championship qualifying last month, the home side will be eager to advance to Euro 2024 in style - but it may be a closer call than many observers anticipate.

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