Brazil vs Croatia
Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup preparations continue on Wednesday night when his Brazil side will host Croatia in a game he hopes will see some improvement in his team.
The Selecao lost their opening warm-up against France last week while their next opponents picked up a very handy win against a strong Colombia. Croatia manager Zlatco Dalic has been at the nation’s helm for almost a decade now, taking over in 2017, and under him the Kockasti has been a consistently high performing set-up, with the evergreen Luka Modric still an influential figure at the age of 40.
Croatia will be a good outside bet for the World Cup, as they often are and, though they will be missing two key players when they meet Brazil, Ancelotti and his men will be under no illusions that this will be a comfortable workout. Just four places separate the two nations in the FIFA World Rankings, with the Selecao at seventh, down two on the latest changes, and the Kockasti, at 11th sandwiched in between the European heavyweights of Germany and Italy.
Talking Points
Raphinha out for up to five weeks
The Selecao’s clash with France turned out to be a difficult day for Ancelotti and his men, on a number of levels as they fell to a 2-1 defeat as well as losing a key man. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike put Les Bleus in charge and, while centre back Bremer halved the deficit, the French held out for an impressive victory.
Brazil looked toothless at times up front, but the big World Cup 2026 news from the game was that Barcelona’s Raphinha was injured and withdrawn at half time, a blow to the Selecao and bad news too for the Blaugrana who have a crucial few weeks ahead of them in La Liga and in Europe. He has picked up a new muscle injury to his right hamstring and, while five weeks is the estimated time Raphinha will be out, these types of injury are notoriously difficult to shake off. The flying winger has left the Brazil squad and looks certain to miss Barcelona’s Champions League quarter final against Atletico Madrid as well as a key La Liga clash against the same opponents.
Of the other forwards, Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior was the most threatening against France, and he has been in great form for his club in recent weeks, while Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli and Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha both drew blanks. And as Los Blancos’ other Selecao star, Rodrygo is out with a long term injury too, the loss of Raphinha comes at a bad time for Brazil.
Dalic’s chance to test his squad
While Brazil will be lamenting the loss of Raphinha, Croatia will arrive in Florida with two key players missing, which gives the nation’s fringe players a chance to stake a claim. The Manchester City duo of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic are both sidelined with injury and they will be key players at the World Cup, should they recover without issues. Gvardiol is a world class centre back while Kovacic is one of the best box to box midfield players in the business and has already picked up 11 caps for the Kockasti.
Croatia put in a good shift without Gvardiol and Kovacic to beat Colombia after going a goal behind, with SC Freiburg’s 22 year old striker Igor Matanovic netting the winner.
Captained by Ivan Perisic this is a team with plenty of quality with Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic in defence, Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic and Torino’s Nikola Vlasic in midfield and Osasuna’s Ante Budmir up front.
And Modric, one of the best playmakers over the past two decades, came on for the last ten minutes of the win over Colombia and we can always count on him for a moment of sublime genius.
History
Brazil remains the most successful football nation in history, winning five World Cups, though the last triumph came in 2002. Meanwhile Croatia have come closer, reaching the 2018 final when they lost 4-2 to France in a thrilling final, Perisic scoring one of their goals.
Croatia have failed to win in five attempts against the Selecao, losing three and drawing two, but the two nations have only met once in the last five years, playing out a 1-1 draw in a 2022 international friendly.
In terms of recent form the Croatians are much stronger, with five wins and a draw from their last six games, staying unbeaten in 2025, while Brazil have won two, drawn one and lost three, and the latest World Cup 2026 betting odds rank the Selecao behind Spain, France, England and reigning champions Argentina.
Betting Tip
Brazil are the strong favourites, at SBOTOP odds of 1.75 to win this fascinating clash, with Croatia at 4.00 and the Draw at 3.70. But I think the Kockasti will match the Selecao in Florida and, for a correct score line, 1-1 is the most likely outcome at a price of 6.95.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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