7M Information: Croatia vs Portugal

Posted Friday, June 24, 2016 by 7M Sport

Croatia's performance in the group stage is brilliant, their midfield duo Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic possess with strong attacking power as well as eyeable show. Adding in-form Ivan Perisic, Croatia's midfield collocation could match with Spain's deluxe midfield line. However, Croatia's weakness is also visible. First of all, their key player Luka Modric still suffers from injury, if he could not play or give out his normal strength, Croatia's dominance in the midfield line would largely reduce into an inferior level. What's more, Modric's alternative Mateo Kovacic could not act like a leader, which was showed in their Czech Republic match. In the meanwhile, Portugal are also struggling, Cristiano Ronaldo's back on track could not offset their overall gloomy form. Players' condition is not that bad, but their play style is simple and rusty, this could be found in their group stage encounters with several "soft sides". If they could not fix this problem, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal International's adventure in France would see its end.

Croatia

· Croatia grabbed 2 wins and 1 draw in the group stage, overwhelming defending champion Spain to progress.

· Several key midfielders shine on with brilliant form in this tournament, such as Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic. If they could continue their excellent performance, Croatia would go further.

· Team spine Luka Modric injured in previous match. If he sidelined then their whole strength would be largely affected. Even if Luka Modric could cap for this match, how much strength he could present still remains a doubt.

· Croatia goalscorer Mario Mandzukic still could not find the net so far. His dip in form his turn into Croatia forward line's weakness.

Data Analysis
1.Recent 5 Games: 4 Wins, 1 Draw and 0 Loss Winning Rate: 80%
2.Recent 5 Games: 16 Goals Scored
3.Recent 5 Games: 3 Goals Conceded
4.Recent 10 Games: 8 Wins, 2 Draws and 0 Loss Winning Rate: 80%
5.Recent 10 Games: 26 Goals Scored
6.Recent 10 Games: 5 Goals Conceded

Portugal

· Portugal's performance in the group stage is gloomy. With 3 successive draws they are "lucky" to progress.

· Although Portugal's performance is not good, their core player Cristiano Ronaldo came back in the last game and made a brace. His back on track would boost his team to a much higher level.

· During the match we could see Portugal's attack is drab in style, lack of skillful cooperation. And other players' assists for Cristiano Ronaldo is numbered. On the whole, Portugal don't have any stable offensive option, except Nani.

· Congestion in fixture is adverse to Portugal. Because they belong to the last group, they don't have enough relax time like Croatia, so Portugal's form would be influenced.

Data Analysis
1.Recent 5 Games: 1 Win, 3 Draws and 1 Loss Winning Rate: 20%
2.Recent 5 Games: 11 Goals Scored
3.Recent 5 Games: 5 Goals Conceded
4.Recent 10 Games: 4 Wins, 3 Draws and 3 Losses Winning Rate: 40%
5.Recent 10 Games: 18 Goals Scored
6.Recent 10 Games: 8 Goals Conceded