Scotland vs Croatia Prediction 15.11.2024 | Nations League

• Competition: UEFA Nations League
• Date: Friday, 15th, November 2024
• Kickoff: 19:45 UK / 20:45 CET
• Venue: Hampden Park (Glasgow)

Winless Scotland will welcome top-two contenders Croatia to Glasgow for the penultimate round of the UEFA Nations League group stage, hoping to boost their chances of staying in League B.

After a disappointing performance at this year’s European Championship in Germany, where they were eliminated in the group stage, their struggles unfortunately carried over into the UEFA Nations League, and now they fear the possibility of relegation from the elite division of the tournament. Indeed, the Tartan Army find themselves stuck at the bottom of Group 1 with just one point, earned last month when they held an attacking-minded Portugal to a goalless draw, but being three points behind Poland for the relegation playoff spot means Clarke's men face a must-win situation.

With silver and bronze medals from the previous two FIFA World Cups, Croatia's performance fell short at this summer's major continental event, as they ended up third in the "Group of Death" featuring Spain, Italy, and Albania. Following the letdown at EURO, Zlatko Dalic’s squad aimed to bounce back quickly, but their UNL campaign got off to a rocky start, with a 1-2 loss to Portugal in their opening fixture. Fortunately, the Vatreni reacted strongly, claiming seven out of nine points on offer to put themselves on the brink of back-to-back qualification for the knockout stage of this tournament.

Slovakia vs Croatia Betting Tips: UNDER 2.5

Even though they’ve been stuck in a rut for months with no wins in eight straight matches across all formats (D3 L5), the Scots should not be taken lightly, especially as they’re forced to fight tooth and nail with their survival in League A on the line. Undoubtedly, Modric and his squad are bringing a stronger push here, but their past trips to Glasgow haven't been kind, with Croatia failing to claim a victory in all three visits against Scotland, none of which saw more than two goals on the scoreboard. With another defeat, Clarke's side would almost certainly be relegated to League B, but they will aim to replicate their masterful defensive display from last month, when they neutralized all of Portugal's attacking efforts to earn a big point, and such an approach could make their clash with Croatia a closely contested affair with limited goal-scoring chances. Backed by their Tartan Army, we remain confident that Scotland will produce another robust defensive performance, but against the stubborn Croatians, there’s a chance that the points could be shared in what should be a quiet affair.