Scotland vs Croatia Predictions

• Scotland have won just one of their last 16 matches
• Both teams have scored in six of the last eight games for both teams
• Three of the seven meetings between these nations have ended in draws

Both teams fancied to play their part

Promotion to the Nations League Tier A has been a blessing and a curse for Scotland, who have found life tough against the best teams that the competition has to offer.

They brought to an end a run of four defeats in a row with a goalless draw against Portugal last time out but they face another tough test as they host Croatia in Friday’s clash.

The two met last month in Zagreb with the hosts running out 2-1 winners and this could be another game in which both teams find the net.

While Scotland do have a talented squad, that talent is not distributed especially well with many of their best players central midfielders.

The only capped goalkeeper in the current squad is 41-year-old Craig Gordon and they are still struggling to find a right-sided defender that is up to the required standard in Aaron Hickey’s absence.

Nevertheless there are some exciting young players in this team, most notably Ben Doak and Tommy Conway who have both caught the eye at Middlesbrough this term.

They face a Croatian side that remain in transition after a poor Euro 2024 campaign that saw them crash out in the group stages.

Veterans Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric make up the spine of this team, all three of them started in the reverse fixture, and they are not the players that they once were.

With question marks easy to pose about both teams, it looks worth taking neither of them to keep a clean sheet in this one.

Side with both teams to find the net at Hampden Park. Correct score backers should also consider a 1-1 draw, three of the last seven meetings between these two teams have ended in stalemate.