Croatia vs France predictions, odds and betting tips
Croatia and France butt heads on Friday in the first leg of their Nations League quarter-final.
Croatia vs France best bets
- France to win - 23/20 with SBK
- Under 2.5 goals - 3/4 with Paddy Power
- Ousmane Dembele to score any time - 2/1 with Sky Bet
Croatia vs France odds
Find the latest match odds for Croatia vs France. All odds are provided by our best football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.
Croatia vs France predictions
The Didier Deschamps era is nearing an end. In 18 months’ time the France national team will have a new head coach in place.
“In 2026 [after the World Cup] it will be over. In my head it's very clear,” Deschamps told TF1 in January.
“I've done my time, with the same desire and passion to maintain France at the highest level. One has to be able to say stop, there's a life after this. The most important is for France to stay at the top as they have been for many years.”
His legacy may well hinge on how France fare at the upcoming World Cup and, to a lesser extent, in the remainder of the 2024/25 Nations League.
Deschamps has been at the helm since 2012. He led France to a runners-up finish at the European Championship four years later, although they did have home advantage behind them that summer.
France were crowned world champions in 2018 thanks to a 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final, but they subsequently came up short at Euro 2020, World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024.
In fairness to Deschamps, France were within a penalty shoot-out of retaining the World Cup in Qatar. Had a couple of spot-kicks gone the other way, les Bleus would have become only the third nation to win back-to-back World Cups. They also won the second edition of the Nations League in 2021.
Deschamps’ critics tend to centre their criticism on his style of play. Despite having perhaps the strongest squad in the international game at his disposal for much of the last decade, France have consistently employed a cautious, reactive approach.
Defenders of the long-serving manager would point to the 2018 success in support of Deschamps, while also arguing (with some justification) that it is difficult to implement complex attacking game plans at international level.
But for the ends to truly justify the means, Deschamps could do with another major trophy on his honours list. Next summer’s World Cup is the main objective, but another Nations League triumph would do the 56-year-old no harm.
First up France must get the better of Croatia in the coming days, with the winner of this tie due to take on Spain or the Netherlands in the semi-finals in June.
Croatia vs France betting tips
Will Croatia or France manage to establish a first-leg lead when they go head-to-head on Thursday?
France to win
Croatia have consistently punched above their weight since they became an independent national team ahead of Euro 1996.
Two years after that, Croatia reached the semi-finals of World Cup 1998. Exactly two decades later they were runners-up to France, before Croatia finished third in Qatar in 2022.
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However, they did not make it out of the group at Euro 2024 and several stalwarts from their golden generation are now past their best (Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric among them).
Of the eight teams that qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, none picked up fewer points in the group phase than Croatia (eight).
France have a talent advantage and we like their chances of winning both legs of this tie, starting with the first instalment in Split.
⚽ Go for a France win at 23/20 with SBK ⚽
Under 2.5 goals
After Deschamps announced his impending departure, a few hopeful voices wondered whether he might be prepared to go out with a flourish by letting his attacking stars off the leash.
Do not hold your breath. Deschamps plays the way he does because he believes it gives France the best chance of success. He is not about to rip up his philosophy with two tournaments left.
With that in mind, we should expect a relatively cagey affair at Stadion Poljud on Thursday.
Bear in mind, too, that Croatia often struggle to turn their tidy midfield possession into clear-cut chances in the final third.
This is a team that only found the back of the net eight times in the group stage, the second-lowest tally of the quarter-finalists.
⚽ Back under 2.5 goals at 3/4 with Paddy Power ⚽
Ousmane Dembele to score any time
Ousmane Dembele has had a mixed international career up to now.
A player of immense talent but with a maddeningly inconsistent end product has scored only six goals in 53 appearances for France.
But something seems to have clicked with Dembele this season. Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has made the erstwhile profligate finisher into a deadly goal-getter, at least in recent weeks.
Indeed, Dembele has scored an astonishing 24 goals in his last 18 outings for PSG, including the winner against Liverpool at Anfield last week.
It is now up to the 27-year-old to carry that form onto the international stage.
⚽ Tip Ousmane Dembele to score any time at 2/1 with Sky Bet ⚽
📺 How to watch Croatia vs France
- Location: Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia.
- Date and time: Thursday 20th March, 7.45pm.
- How to watch: TBC.
Read more about the 2024/25 football season
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About the author
Greg Lea
Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.
Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball
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