Croatia will be looking to complete the job they started on Thursday night, with Greece’s chances of advancing to the 2018 World Cup hanging by a thread ahead of Sunday’s second leg.
Goals from Luka Modric, Nikola Kalinic, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric helped Zlatk'so Dalic charges to a 4-1 victory at the Stadion Maksimir. It was a comfortable evening for Croatia, who were probably expecting a greater degree of resistance from opponents who conceded only six goals in their 10 group stage qualifiers, and they could have taken an even more decisive lead into this weekend’s clash.
Indeed, the Vatreni had 17 shots in total – nine of which found the target, with 17 coming from inside the penalty area. It was an extremely impressive performance from the Croatians and one which underlines their potential to be dark horses in Russia next summer – as long as they do not slip up on Sunday.
Greece will be mightily disappointed to have conceded four times in Zagreb, with the one-time European champions’ fabled defensive solidity deserting them when they needed it most. Manager Michael Skibbe has switched between 4-1-4-1 and 4-2-3-1 formations in recent times, but sprung a surprise by moving towards a 3-5-1-1 setup last time out.
It did not have the desired effect whatsoever, and the Greeks may well return to a four-man backline for the return fixture, when they will hope to see more from attacking pair Kostas Mitroglou and Kostas Fortounis. At the other end of the field, meanwhile, Skibbe may at least be tempted to drop goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis after his shaky showing in Croatia.
Dalic must ensure complacency does not set in at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, so he will probably not opt to rotate his team. A midfield trio of Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Marcelo Brozovic will help the visitors keep possession in what could be a hostile atmosphere, while Kalinic, Kramaric and Perisic are well equipped to cause problems on the counter-attack.
Croatia may have to settle for a draw away from home, but Greece will almost certainly lack the required attacking quality to overturn their three-goal deficit.
