Croatia vs France Predictions

• France won four of their six Nations League group games
• Three of France’s last four matches have produced over 2.5 goals
• Croatia are winless in three games

Declining Croatia unlikely to trouble Les Bleus

Croatia were runners-up in the last UEFA Nations League finals two years ago but Zlatko Dalic’s side have since been on the decline and are unlikely to trouble France in Split on Thursday.

The sides meet in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League after coming through their respective groups but France look better-placed going into the first leg.

Les Bleus reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024 last summer, whereas Croatia did not make it out of their group.

And in the group phase of this season’s Nations League, Croatia scraped through with two wins, two draws and two defeats from their six games.

Expect goals from star-studded French

As for France, they topped Group A2 on goal difference, finishing above strong sides in Italy and Belgium.

Didier Deschamps has confirmed he will leave his post as France boss after the 2026 World Cup but he will want to make every match count before then and his side can put one foot in the Nations League semi-finals with a win in this game.

The squad he has called up for this tie features some serious attacking talent with Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe joined by PSG’s in-form trio of Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Desire Doue.

It is hard to name a player in Europe’s top five leagues who has been in better form in 2025 than Dembele and, while he is a tempting scorer pick, the best bet is a France win and over 2.5 goals, while 3-0 appeals in the correct score market.