Croatia vs Slovenia Prediction & Tips
Despite ranking just outside the top ten in the FIFA rankings (#11) and having reached the semifinals in the last two tournaments, Croatia is not among the favorites heading into the 2026 World Cup. This is largely because they have lost their last two matches by a two-goal margin, falling to Brazil (3-1) and, more recently, to Belgium (2-0) in friendlies that ended a nine-game unbeaten streak (8W, 1D). These results are cause for concern ahead of their World Cup opener against England, but the Balkan side should be confident of bouncing back in this match at the Gradski Stadion in Varazdin, near the border with Slovenia, considering they had won five consecutive home games before being defeated by Belgium on Tuesday.
Slovenia earned just four points in qualifying and fell far short of reaching the World Cup. Now, with only one win in their last nine matches (5 draws, 3 losses), they at least managed to come from behind against Montenegro (3-2) in March, but could not get past Cyprus, who played with ten men (1-1), on Thursday. Here they face a higher-caliber opponent, something coach Boštjan Cesar will likely appreciate ahead of the upcoming UEFA Nations League, where they’ll face World Cup-bound teams like Scotland and Switzerland. Despite their recent slump, they can draw some confidence from the fact that they have lost only two of their last nine away matches (3W, 4D), although all three wins were by the narrowest of margins.
BTS/YES 2.40
