Test match, Monday, 03.06.2024
The country’s national team is preparing for Euro 2024 in Germany at the home of the newly crowned Croatian runners-up Rijeka. Are the “Vatreni” ready to go?
For my part, in my Croatia North Macedonia betting tip, I expect a performance that takes into account my assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Championship participants: Defense hui, offense pfui!
The Croats are preparing for Euro 2024 and, in my opinion, have picked a truly excellent opponent in North Macedonia to get them in the mood for the preliminary round match in Group B against Albania.
The bar will then be raised considerably with the scheduled test match against Portugal in order to be as well prepared as possible for the two more demanding European Championship matches against Spain and Italy.
In the meantime, I have taken a closer look at the Croatian squad and noticed that many of the tried and tested regulars are back. However, there is a lack of talented youngsters here and there, so the Balkan players could be a little “over-aged” this time
Modric is not getting any younger and while the midfield axis remains the best part of the Croatian team thanks to players like Kovacic and Brozović, Andrej Kramarić is still the only established international attacker that coach Zlatko Dalić has been able to nominate.
Furthermore, you mustn’t forget that the “Vatreni” have always struggled on the pitch in recent months, even if it was sometimes against teams that were significantly weaker.
In any case, the Balkan footballers failed to impress me in their last qualifying victories over Latvia (2:0) and Armenia (1:0), nor in the two subsequent test matches against Tunisia (0:0) and Egypt (4:2).
They’ll put their backs into it again in Germany, but I expect this test match against North Macedonia in particular to be a tough affair without any real motivation
In my opinion, both the one or other EM 2024 bonus and the Croatia North Macedonia odds offer you great added value.
The bookmakers are offering odds of around 1.31 for a Croatian win, ignoring the fact that the European Championship participants, who I find unconvincing, usually struggle in this explosive Balkan derby.
Watch out: Only one of the eight previous head-to-head duels ended with one of the two sides winning by more than two goals. The Croats won 5 times, the North Macedonians only once (2 draws)
The North Macedonians, meanwhile, are traveling to this test match without any big-name international superstars. But you shouldn’t let that affect you, as the “Lions” are characterized by a high degree of team unity.
What’s more, with Elif Elmas from RB Leipzig, Agon Elezi from VfL Bochum and Stole Dimitrievski from Rayo Vallecano, there are definitely some top players in the squad.
However, these were also the only three players who are under contract with a top five European club. The performance gap between them and the rest of the squad is actually relatively large, although – as I’ve already mentioned – I’m not going to let that influence me too much.
If we’re being honest, North Macedonia had no real chance of reaching the European Championships, as they were drawn against England, Italy and Ukraine, three opponents who each have the potential to reach at least the quarter-finals.
And at times, the Balkan team looked unusually bad in the qualifying matches against Italy (2:5) and England (0:7).
Nevertheless, I maintain that the “Risovi” could do much better in a heated Balkan derby against over-aged Croats than the Euro betting providers are currently suggesting.
Let’s get down to business now. After all, my aim is to give you possible outcomes from June 14 with regard to European Championship betting.
In the case of this test match, I’m wavering between a 0:0, 1:0, but perhaps also a 2:0 win for the Croats, which opens up several different betting scenarios for me
A bet of the type “North Macedonia win with handicap +2” is therefore more interesting and profitable than a win bet on the unfairly favored Croats.
However, a clean sheet for the European Championship participants is also a very likely scenario, as their defense is far more convincing than their offense.
Consequently, I’m focusing on a special type of bet that assumes both sides won’t score at the same time and promises you odds of around 1.55 in the event of success.
Conclusion: It will be difficult for the Croats to reach the knockout phase of the European Championship as group winners or runners-up if they struggle unsuccessfully even against much weaker opponents than Italy or Spain.
In any case, North Macedonia are far more unruly than the bookmakers would have you believe. Even a sober look at the line-up does not do justice to the actual capabilities of the 2020 European Championship participants.
In any case, I expect the Croatians to run the ball well on Monday, keep their own box clean, but not score more than two goals at most
My tip: Will both score? No.
