Portugal face Croatia in a Round of 32 World Cup clash that promises plenty of tension at BMO Field. The sides both finished second in their groups after mixed results, with Portugal on 5 points from one win and two draws in Group K while Croatia collected 6 points from two wins and a loss in Group L.
Recent form gives Portugal the edge on paper. They followed a 5-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan with a 0-0 draw against Colombia and earlier shared a 1-1 with DR Congo. Croatia meanwhile picked up wins over Ghana and Panama but suffered a heavy 2-4 defeat to England before that.
Expected lineups show both teams sticking close to their group stage setups. Portugal line up in a 4-3-3 with Diogo Costa in goal, Rúben Dias anchoring defence and Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack alongside Rafael Leão and Pedro Neto, according to Total Football Analysis and SheKicks. Croatia go with Dominik Livaković between the posts, Luka Modrić captaining midfield and Andrej Kramarić up top in their own 4-3-3, per SheKicks.
Ronaldo remains the man to watch for Portugal after his group stage contributions while Modrić continues to dictate tempo for Croatia despite the years. And the winner here moves on to face a likely Spain-Austria side in the Round of 16.
Portugal should have enough quality to progress. Their attacking moments have looked more consistent lately and the knockout format suits a side that can grind out results when needed. Croatia will fight every ball but may struggle to contain the Portuguese front line over 90 minutes.
Recommended Bets
Portugal to win @1.80 — Their group stage attack produced a 5-0 result and they hold the better recent form overall.
Over 2.5 goals @2.10 — Portugal's matches have featured goals while Croatia's games swung from 4-2 to low-scoring affairs.
Cristiano Ronaldo anytime goalscorer @2.40 — He found the net in the group stage and leads Portugal's forward line again here.
Odds tend to shorten closer to kickoff — lock in value now.
