Russia shocked the World when they held Spain to a 1-1 draw and then went on to beat them on penalties. The host nation now face Croatia in their bid for a place in the Semi Finals. We’re going to give our best bets in our Russia v Croatia World Cup Betting Preview.
Russia v Croatia World Cup Betting Odds
Russia : 11/4
Draw : 2/1
Croatia : 5/4
Russia v Croatia World Cup Betting Preview
Russia deployed the iron curtain against Spain and it proved very effective in keeping the Spanish out. It was a match that Russia perhaps did not deserve to win as their only real chance and goal came from a fortunate penalty. Other than that they did not create much going forward at all. The host nation will be proud of what they’ve achieved rather than how they’ve achieved it. They were disciplined and kept very organised as Spain attempted to pass them into submission but they know the match against Croatia will be a lot more open and they won’t get away with sitting in their own box for 90 minutes again.
Croatia went into their match with Denmark riding a massive wave of confidence. They cruised through the group stages, winning all their matches and looked like they would be giving the Danes a bit of a hiding. Then they were stunned by a very early goal which seemed to knock their confidence, yes they equalised but they didn’t look half as good as the side we saw in the group stages. It could just be a once off but they’ll need to bring that confidence back, especially going forward when they take on Russia.
Russia v Croatia World Cup Betting Tips
This is a match between two sides who really didn’t expect to be here. In honesty one could also argue that based of their last matches neither should really be there. This is also uncharted territory for both these sides as neither has ever made a World Cup Quarter Final.
Croatia are undoubtedly the stronger and more talented side but Russia will have the home support, which is a huge boost. Both of these sides will have heavy legs as both their matches went to extra time and penalties so we could be in for a somewhat slow paced slug fest. Russia won’t win this on sitting deep and will have to come out and at the Croatians, which will open up space and chances for their talented opponents. We think that the Russian dream ends in Sochi and will be backing Croatia to overcome their woes and beat the hosts. Back Croatia ton win at 5/4.
For those looking to get a bit more bang for their buck we also fancy there to be less than 3 goals in the match, if you do too then back the safe Croatia to win and under 3.5 goals at 27/20.
Agree or disagree with our Russia v Croatia World Cup Betting Tips, let us know in the comments!