Croatia and Belgium are set to square off in a mouth-watering World Cup Group F clash at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan on Thursday evening.
The Blazers will come into this encounter after clinching their first win in the group following their comfortable 4-1 win over Canada. Rising star Alphonso Davies’ second-minute opener was a wake up call and it was eventually cancelled out by a brace from Andrej Kramaric and goals from Marko Livaja and Lovro Majer.
Belgium, meanwhile, suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Morocco. A result that provoked riots in their homeland.
The win means Croatia are up to first place in the Group F standings – level on four points with second-placed Morocco, while Belgium find themselves in third position with three points from two matches.
It also means the Belgians need to win to advance; a result which would knock Croatia out of the World Cup.
The two teams have faced each other eight times previously and they most recently faced off in 2021 when Belgium secured a narrow 1-0 win in an international friendly.
Zlatko Dalic and Roberto Martínez will have their entire squads fit for the encounter with no injury concerns or suspensions for the upcoming fixture.
Andrej Kramaric will be looking to continue his form in front of goal after he bagged a brace in their convincing victory over Canada in his previous appearances for Croatia.
Michy Batshuayi will look to get his name on the score sheet once again after he failed to find the back of the net in their defeat to Morocco, having scored Belgium’s only goal of the tournament thus far.
Croatia’s World Cup Form:
DW
Belgium’s World Cup Form:
WL