Charles Jackson
Croatia and Albania face each other on Wednesday and both teams need to win afterwards missing their UEFA Euro 2024 Group B debut over the weekend. Zlatko Dalic’s men were defeated by Spain, while Sylvinho’s team narrowly lost to Italy, with the two continental giants taking control of the standings.
La Roja caused turmoil against Croatia, meaning Vatreni now faces an early exit, although many have suggested they would make life more complicated for the Spanish and Italians. The Azzurri were scared by Kuqezinjtë before restoring order, but few will underestimate this Albanian side now that they showed what they are capable of with Nedim Bajrami’s record early goal.
Croatia face it to reverse a run of three defeats in five competitive games and the last time they lost consecutive games in a major international tournament was in 1996. This is their first meeting with their Balkan rivals at senior international level. and only Albania’s second Euro since independence, with three defeats out of four.
Here are our stories, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, June 19 | Time: 9 a.m. ET
- Location: Volksparkstadion – Hamburg, Germany
- To attend: FS1 or Fubo Sports (Try it for free)
- Chances: Croatia -200; Draw +320; Albania +600
Group B
Unsurprisingly, Spain and Italy lead the standings with three points each, with both teams facing each other this Thursday. Albania came close to maintaining their seven-game unbeaten run dating back to March 2023, but it is now over. Neither team will be satisfied with the draw and need to fight for victory to hope to advance at the expense of the Azzurri or La Roja or as one of the best third-placed teams.
Team News
Croatia: Dalic could move Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol into a central defensive role, with Marin Pongracic replaced by Borna Sosa at left-back. Marcelo Brozovic could also replace Luka Sucic or Mario Pasalic in the middle, while Bruno Petkovic is unlikely to make the XI after missing a penalty against Spain.
Possible Croatia XI: Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Sucic, Kovacic; Majer, Budimir, Kramaric.
Albania: Jasir Asani is likely to miss out through injury, so Arber Hoxha could come in with Rey Manaj or Armando Broja in the lead now that Sokol Cikalleshi has retired. Sassuolo’s Nedim Bajrami, who scored the fastest goal in Euro history against Italy, should support either Broja or Manaj.
Possible Albania XI: Strakosha; Hysaj, Ajeti, Djimsiti, Mitaj; Asllani, Ramadani; Laci, Bajrami, Hoxha; Broja.
Prediction
Both sides need to win and the importance of not losing will likely see this end in a draw, with each side scoring but facing an uphill task to reach the knockout stages. Choice: Croatia 1, Albania 1.
Group B table and results
| Team | Congressperson | W | D | I | GF | GA | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 | 3 |
| Italy |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
two |
1 | 0 |
| Albania |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
two | 0 |
| Croatia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 | 0 |
15th of June
Spain 3, Croatia 0
Italy 1, Albania 2
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