England vs Croatia 2018 World Cup Semifinals Betting Preview

Two teams that few expected to appear in the 2018 World Cup semifinals have made it, as England knocked off Sweden, 2-0, in quarterfinal action, while Croatia needed penalty kicks to eliminate an extremely tenacious host nation side, as Russia scored a goal in the 115th minute to force the tiebreaker. Croatia showed considerable creativity in their offense during group play as they won all three of their matches but since have only scored two goals in regulation in wins over Denmark and Russia. Against Denmark, they only managed a single goal in the 120 minutes of play before penalty kicks, and against Russia, they didn’t get their second goal until the half-hour of extra time — and then gave up the late equalizer. Can Croatia advance to their first World Cup final ever? Or will England return to the final with a chance for the first World Cup for England since 1966? Take a look at our World Cup betting perspectives on this match.

England vs Croatia 2018 World Cup Semifinals Betting Preview

#WorldCup: #CRO x #ENG The stats say this one could be a tight game!#beINRussia #beINFWC #CROENG pic.twitter.com/ZbwufqgzzF

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 9, 2018

When: Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 2:00pm ET Where: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow TV: FOX/FS1 Radio: None Live Stream: fuboTV Soccer Odds: England +130 / Draw +225 / Croatia +217 / O/U 2.5

Why should you bet on England?

For once, England was able to dominate a game offensively without any goals from Harry Kane, which was fortunate, because he was not able to get much in the way of service from his teammates. Henry Maguire and Dede Alli handled the scoring for the Three Lions against Sweden, converting off a pair of set-pieces, Maguire in the 30th minute and Alli about a half-hour later. England did win possession in that game, 57 to 43 percent, and sent a dozen shots toward the Swedish goal — although the only two that were on target were the ones that scored. England won the last two matches against Croatia, by a combined 9-2 score but those were nine years ago, so they don’t have a lot of value in predicting this match. England has a way of climbing into a shell with their offense and failing to deliver much forward pressure, and Croatia will be running on fumes after two consecutive 120-minute matches. With a goalkeeper with an iffy hamstring and tired legs on the pitch, Croatia is rightly the underdog here.

Why should you bet on Croatia?

Croatia needed every bit of luck to advance against Russia, as the Croatians saw Russia take an early lead in the 31st minute before Andrej Kramaric got the equalizer in the 39th, putting a terrific header into the back of the Russian net. Domagoj Vida was the hero for Croatia early in extra time, but Mario Fernandes caught the Croatian defense napping as he headed a free kick into the box in the waning minutes of extra time. Fernandes had a crucial miss in the penalty kicks, though, hooking the third attempt wide and taking the heat off the Croatian goalkeeper, who had already shown signs of a hamstring pull. If you like Croatia, then you see that offensive creativity from group play returning and the whole team moving forward with confidence. You also either believe that Danijel Subasic’s hamstring will be well enough for him to take the pitch against England — or you believe that Croatia’s defense will be able to hold England’s offense enough at bay to give them chances to win. In the shootout against Russia, Subasic received warnings for coming off his line early, and in the late rounds, he looked like he was guessing to his left each time — and staying mostly upright, so there could be some flexibility issues in the semifinals.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

I was big on Croatia after they came through that group play round with all nine points. However, their offense appears to have shriveled a bit in the knockout rounds, while England’s has expanded in terms of productivity. I see England getting another early goal to open a lead and then sitting in Croatia the rest of the way. I predict a final score of England 2, Croatia 1.