Croatia vs North Macedonia Prediction: Hosts will want to get into shape for Euros

Croatia begin their warm up for Euro 2024 with a home clash against North Macedonia at Stadion HNK Rijeka on Monday evening (18:00). After getting eliminated from Euro 2020 in the round of 16, the Vatreni will be hoping for more fortune in Germany this summer. 

The 2018 World Cup finalists have an interesting squad for this tournament but some will say they had their peak in Russia six years ago. Below I have laid out my Croatia vs North Macedonia prediction, accompanied by team news and match odds.

Croatia vs North Macedonia Odds

Croatia are 1/3 to win this match, giving them an implied probability of 75%. North Macedonia are priced at 10/1, which gives them a 9.1% chance of victory. The draw can be backed at 18/5 (21.7%).

Both teams to score is on offer at 6/5 and over 2.5 goals is marketed at 4/5.

Team News

Croatia captain Luka Modric will not be available due to his involvement for Real Madrid in the Champions League final in London on Saturday. Mario Pasalic will also miss out due to Atalanta’s Serie A fixture with Fiorentina on Sunday.

Manchester City duo Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol will be looking to bounce back after losing the FA Cup final to rivals Manchester United last week.

North Macedonia have no issues heading into this one. Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski is expected to the lead the line and will be looked to by his teammates for inspiration against Croatia.

Croatia to win to nil @ 19/20

The jury is still out on whether this crop of Croatian talent have hit their peak, which is understandable to a degree given Modric is 38 now, but they still have more than enough quality to beat North Macedonia.

Zlatko Dalic has the likes of Andrej Kramaric and Ante Budimir to rely on for goals and if both feature, I expect that they both could have a profitable evening in front of goal.

Then when you factor in the likes of Ivan Perisic, Lovro Majer and Nikola Vlasic from midfield, there should be no shortage of creativity, and these players have the talent to grab goals for themselves.

I believe Croatia will win this game to nil because they need to get themselves into the best shape to have a real crack at the Euros. And I do think they should have too much for their opponents to handle on Monday.

Croatia -2 handicap @ 5/2

This leads me on to my next tip, which is Croatia to win with a -2 handicap. The hosts have a reason to care about this friendly, and the players in Dalic's squad are going to be out to show him why they deserve a place in his final 26-man squad.

So I'm expecting some intense performances from the home players out on the pitch. They will be looking to do anything to earn the manager's favour and for the midfield and attacking players, they will be aided by goals and assists, so I'm expecting them to deliver a top-drawer attacking display.

They have the talent to blow North Macedonia away and I can see that happening on Monday.

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