Croatia head into this must win game to secure their spot in the Last 16 spot of the World Cup after a thumping 4-0 victory against Cameroon. The team is now in third place behind Brazil and Mexico with 3 points. A draw would leave their fate in the hands of Cameroon, who are unlikely to defeat the hosts hence only can guarantee Niko Kovac’s side progression to the next round anything less and the Croatians will be packing up to go home while the Mexicans need all but a draw to progress. This will be an interesting fixture as both the teams will be looking to get the best possible result out of it.
Top players to look out for:
Guillermo Ochoa, the Mexican keeper will be tested to his limits by the Croatian attacking line-ups. Mario Mandzukic, scored a brace in his last game and will be the most crucial player for his team. He will carry on the expectations of his country to set the Mexican defense on fire just like he did against Cameroon. Ivan Perisic, the other goal scorer against the African side will always play a huge role in the midfield along with Real Madrid player Luka Modric in helping Mandzukic with the goal.
Teams head-to-head:
The two teams have played 4 games between them of which Croatia has won 2 and Mexico 1 the other 1 game ended in a draw.
Probable Line-ups:
Croatia (4-2-3-1): Stipe Pletikosa; Danijel Pranjic, Dejan Lovren, Vedran Corluka, DarijoSrna; Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic; Ivica Olic, Sammir, Ivan Perisic; Mario Mandzukic.
Mexico (3-5-2): Guillermo Ochoa; Hector Moreno, Rafael Marquez, Francisco Rodríguez; Miguel Layun, Andres Guardado, Jose Juan Vazquez, Hector Herrera, Paul Aguilar; Giovani dos Santos, Oribe Peralta.
Prediction:
Croatia will play with the best of its spirits to progress into the next round while Mexico will no less do the same.
Final Score Prediction: Croatia 2 – 1 Mexico.
.jpg "hummels (1)")
.jpg "League")