Croatia vs France Nations League preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, prediction, form guide
Monday, June 6, 2022
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When is it? How can you watch it? All you need to know about the UEFA Nations League Group A1 game between Croatia and France.
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Croatia and France meet in UEFA Nations League Group A1 on Monday 6 June.
Croatia vs France at a glance
When: Monday 6 June (20:45 CET kick-off)
Where: Stadion Poljud, Split
What: UEFA Nations League Group A1 fixture
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage will appear here
Where to watch Croatia vs France on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here.
Starting line-ups
Croatia: Livaković; Juranović, Erlić, Vida, Barišić; Brozović; Modrić, Kovačić; Majer, Budimir, Brekalo
France: Maignan; Pavard, Saliba, Kimpembe, Digne; Guendouzi, Tchouameni; Diaby, Nkunku, Rabiot; Ben Yedder
Form guide
Croatia (most recent match first): LWDWWD
France (most recent match first): LWWWWW
Group A1 so far
03/06: France 1-2 Denmark
03/06: Croatia 0-3 Austria
Expert prediction
Elvir Islamović, match reporter
Both teams come here after unexpected home losses against Austria and Denmark respectively. It was especially difficult for Croatia in Osijek as new Austria coach Ralf Rangnick taught Zlatko Dalić a painful lesson in their 3-0 success. I don't remember the last time I saw the Vatreni as confused as they appeared in the second half of that contest.
France, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat in 90 minutes since November 2020 so both teams are looking for redemption in Split. Having lost six and drawn two of their eight meetings, Croatia are still waiting for a first win against France, and it will be difficult to change that record after what I saw in Osijek – despite the fact that Kylian Mbappé is likely to miss out due to a knee injury.
What the camps say
Zlatko Dalić, Croatia coach: "We must lift ourselves. Austria was very disappointing and now we have to fight against the world champions. The situation is neither pleasant nor easy. The players are at the end of the season, some are thinking about transfers, some recovery, others about a holiday. We will try to redeem ourselves, to wash away the defeat by Austria, but it will not be easy against France (twice) and Denmark."
Didier Deschamps, France coach: "We are used to facing Croatia, they have a lot of quality players but, like us, they are carrying knocks and their players lack freshness. Croatia are in the same situation as us [having lost their first game] and are at home. Both teams will have the same objective: to get off to a good start."
What happens after the UEFA Nations League group stage?
The four group winners in League A will advance to the knockout finals with, in principle, one appointed as hosts. The semi-finals will be played on 14 and 15 June 2023, with the final and third-place play-off to follow on 18 June.
The teams finishing fourth in the groups in Leagues A will be relegated to League B for the 2024/25 edition.