Croatia-Albania: Balkan derby… reaction

Continuity in his action Group B of Euro 2024 with a great Balkan derby!

Today at 16:00 (EPT-1, sport-fm.gr, bwinSPORT FM), Croatia faces Albania at the “Volksparkstadion” Hamburg for the 2nd matchday.

The two teams will be chasing a positive result after the defeats in the premier league. Of course, their motivation is great, since there is always in the foreground the qualification as 3rd through the best harvest.

On the one hand, Croatia had an unusual, based on their last appearances, image in the premiere, knowing the defeat with a score of 3-0 by Spain.

Hrvatska’s motivation becomes even greater since she has a total of three consecutive defeats (Turkey [1-0]Wales [2-1] and Spain [3-0]) which are also the most of what they counted in their last 29 matches.

The coach of the team, Zlatko Dalic, is not ruled out to make changes, but he also has the first, definitive loss, since Nikola Vlasic withdrew from the competition due to a muscle injury. He did not play with Spain and did not take part in training.

Albania on the other side! A team that may not have impressed with the football they played in the opener, but they made it difficult for European champions Italy, bowing out with a scoreline of 2-1.

The talent Silvinho’s players possess should not be taken for granted. Having players where none of them play in the country’s league, Albania showed that they can invest in the toughness, but also the talent of the midfield. And for Albania, the motivation is very high, since after the unsuccessful result with the “squadra azzura” they want to build a new unbeaten streak, similar to that of the seven games they had.

POSSIBLE ELEVENS:

Croatia (Zlatko Dalic): Livakovic – Stanisic, Sutalo, Guardiol, Sosa – Modric, Kovacic, Pasalic, Mayer – Kramaric, Petkovic

Albania (Silvinio): Strakosa – Baliou, Ismaili, Tzimsiti, Mitai – Ramadani, Aslani, Bayrami – Khoja, Asani, Broya

Field: Volksparkstadion – Hamburg (61,000)

Referee: Francois Letesier (France)