Croatia was never a favorite to win the World Cup, but they were expected to advance much easier to the main event. The qualification campaign started slowly and the team was sluggish but in the end achieved its target and survive the playoffs against Iceland. For a team packed with gifted players and featuring names that were heard often in the Champions League this season, Croatia was rather disappointing.
They have an excellent opportunity to change that impression in Brazil and bookmakers are pretty confident that they can survive the group stage. Bet365 prices them at odds of 1.83 to join the hosts to the next stage, with their closest rivals being the Mexicans. The challenge is to extract as many points from the head to head game, without faltering in the match with Cameroon, an aging yet unpredictable team.
Group stage and event prospects
The moment they were dealt in the same group with Brazil, Croatians knew that their best chance to survive the stage is by finishing second. The odds for Croatia to win the group are 8 to 1 but it is hard to believe that the Europeans will miraculously rebound and cause a major upset. The players know that expectations back home are very high, which would only add to the pressure and until they make the elimination round, this kind of pressure is unlikely to vanish.
They've got the players to make a relatively deep run, but it all comes down to what team they will be playing against in the next round. Niko Kovač can't think that far ahead because contrary to popular belief, Croatia will have a hard time finishing second. All their opponents are big fans of aggressive football and are not too good at defending, which means that goals will not be in short supply. The Europeans have some great strikers and are lethal in the box, but their own defense is not too strong.
Key players for Croatia at the World Cup
There are few difficult decisions for the coach to make at the World Cup, as he has just enough talented players to fill a starting formation. If all of them stay fit and can compete at their top level, Croatia will be a very difficult team to beat even by the top favorites. The problem is that they don't have too many replacements and this is particularly obvious upfront, where Mario Mandzukic remains their key player.
He scored an abundance of goals for Bayern Munchen and he rarely misses good opportunities and he met expectations at the Europa 2012. The midfield is equally strong, with the likes of Modric, Rakitic and Kovacic being capable of taking both offensive and defensive roles, as needed. They will provide the striker with all the support he needs to score, but only as long as they won't have to play defense too much
This is not an unlikely scenario, because captain Darijo Srna is among the few defenders capable of holding his ground, but he is no longer in his prime. Croatia will have a hard time keeping clean sheets in this group and if they are not careful enough, both Mexico and Cameroon could strike daedly blows, causing an untimely elimination from World Cup 2014.
The bottom line
If you don't like the odds given by bookmakers for Croatia to win the group, you might find 151 to 1 offered by Bet365 for an outright win, more tempting. This is a far-fetched assumption, but the odds are great, just as they are for Mario Mandzukic to emerge as top scorer at 51 to 1.
