Gibraltar vs Croatia Prediction: Striker backed to bag a couple

Croatia will begin their quest to make it to the 2026 World Cup on Friday as they travel to take on Gibraltar (19:45). Having been in Nations League quarter-final action, they are two games behind the rest of the pack, however they remain above Gibraltar on goal difference after the minnow nation lost to both Montenegro and Czechia.

Below you will find my Gibraltar vs Croatia predictions for this qualifier.

Football Odds

Team News

Manchester United midfielder James Scanlon is in this Gibraltar squad and expected to play, while there are lots of other representatives from England. Captain Louie Annesley plys his trade for Braintree Town, Paddy McClafferty is at Blyth Spartans and midfielder Kian Ronan turns out for King’s Lynn. 

Up top there’s slightly more pedigree in the form of Wycombe Wanderers’ Jaiden Bartolo and Chesterfield’s Liam Jessop - while this remains a very young squad for the international stage. Blooding youngsters and finding new talent appears to be the name of the game for Gibraltar, as they target more success down the line. 

Croatia are at the other end of the scale in terms of experience, with 39-year-old Luka Modric still captain as he looks set to join AC Milan following his Real Madrid farewell. Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic are all still involved, but there has been a move towards younger players. 

Luka Vuskovic, now a Tottenham Hotspur player, is looking to earn his first cap at 18 following his summer move from Hajduk Split. Toni Fruk of Rijeka is also hoping to make his first appearance for his country after a strong season for his club side. 

Gibraltar vs Croatia Odds

Gibraltar are priced at 40/1 to win this game, with Croatia the massive favourites at 1/100. That gives them an implied win probability of 99%, so this may be a one-sided affair. A draw is 20/1 if you fancy a shock, while over 2.5 goals is 1/6.

A 1-0 Gibraltar win is 150/1, while Ante Budimir is the favourite to open the scoring at 7/4. 

Ante Budimir to score 2+ @ 23/20

Croatia have found a goalscoring sensation up front and he comes in the form of 33-year-old Budimir. The Osasuna forward had a slow start to his international career but has been trusted to lead the line of late, and has produced four goals. 

He scored in the 2-0 win over France, and has had another spectacular season for his club in La Liga, scoring 21 goals in 38 matches this term. Finally settled at a club, he is getting better and better with age, and Croatia have found their Mario Mandzukic successor. He should have a field day against a Gibraltar outfit that have conceded seven goals in their last two. 

Croatia -4 @ 11/8

This should be one-way traffic as one of Europe’s big guns takes on a minnow. Gibraltar went unbeaten in their recent Nations League campagn, but they only managed three draws and one win against Liechtenstein and San Marino as the latter topped the group. They seriously struggle against half-decent teams however, losing 4-0 to Czechia last time out. 

Croatia beat France 2-0 in the first leg of their Nations League quarter-final before losing the second leg on penalties, but they can compete with the big boys. This shouldn’t provide them with any trouble, and they should target a big win to get their World Cup bid up and running. 

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.