As they stand
• Croatia’s 2-1 defeat by Sweden on Saturday means they must at least match what Sweden do against France to avoid relegation to League B. Croatia currently have the edge in the standings only on goals scored.
• Portugal’s title defence was ended by France on Saturday, and Fernando Santos’s team are guaranteed to finish second.
Previous meetings
• Croatia were beaten 4-1 in Portugal on Matchday 1, João Cancelo, Diogo Jota, João Félix and André Silva on target as the European champions showed they could be impressive even in the absence of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Croatia are yet to win in six games against Portugal: D1 L5, but they have managed to score in their last two encounters (something they did not manage in their first four games).
View from the camps
Fernando Santos, Portugal coach: “In recent years Croatia have been one of the strongest teams in Europe; they are easily in top ten as they are World Cup runners-up. We must give our all. This is not a friendly. There will be changes [to the team] because of the number of games players have been playing.”
Zlatko Dalić, Croatia coach: “We finished runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and cruised through our EURO 2020 qualifying group. I know we are not good enough at the moment but that’s reality. Rather than complain, I will show that I am proud to be in charge of Croatia. I am still confident and motivated to carry on in the face of adversity.”
Dominik Livaković, Croatia goalkeeper: “We want to make a better impression than in our first match against them. We are playing at home, we are motivated; why shouldn’t we look for a win?”
Next up
Teams will return to competitive action in the spring in the European Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
