Thursday 19/06/2014, 00:00, World Cup Group A, Cameroon vs Croatia

Cameroon vs Croatia Betting Preview

The teams who play in Group A at the World Cup feel like they are between a rock and a hard place, but there is no point in complaining about the squeeze. They know exactly what needs to be done and the only difference between the teams that suffer an untimely elimination and the one that joins Brazil to the next stage is that the latter can also walk the walk. Cameroon and Croatia will play a potentially decisive game, with the one losing the match being virtually eliminated from the most important football event.

Cameroon vs Croatia Betting Odds

At Bet365

Cameroon 4.20, Draw 3.30, Croatia 1.90

Cameroon vs Croatia Betting Tips

Cameroon is bringing an interesting formation at the World Cup 2014, more precisely an eclectic mix of experienced forwards and less than stellar defenders. It's not like they have much of a choice, because with the midfield and strikers that are clearly better than the backline, the African nation will have to play aggressive football.

Only time will tell whether in this case the best defense is a relentless offensive, the certainty is that Cameroon must take more chances against Croatia. Using the same strategy against Brazil will most likely backfire, but Europeans have their own defensive concerns. Time is quickly running out and there is no way for these woes to be put to rest before the tournament begins.

Croatia has a team that looks great on paper, with the midfield being packed with players that compete for some of the best clubs in Europe. Rakitic, Modric and Kranjcar are expected to provide Mandzukic and Olic with an abundance of passes, while joining them as often as they have the chance.

The striker playing for Bayern Munchen will be a permanent threat for both Cameroon and Mexico, as he can match the defenders in terms of strength. There are plenty of reasons for why Croatia shouldn't defend tonight, but the best one is that such a strategy backfires far more often than it delivers results.

Key Facts

• Both teams were disappointing during the qualifying campaign and allowed a surprisingly high number of goals when playing on the road.

Cameroon vs Croatia Betting Odds Prediction

Punters probably expected even value odds for this fixture, given the fact that Croatia was far from impressive in recent friendly games. The bookies know better than that, because coach Kovac will use the best starting 11 tonight, whereas in friendly games he made plenty of risky experiments. Under these circumstances and given the importance of this game even 1.90 for Croatia to win is worth taking with Bet365.

Bet: Croatia @ 1.90 with Bet365