EURO 2024 Betting Tips & Odds: Croatia must be considered as title contender in this EURO 2024

The Croatian national football team will play in Group B of EURO 2024 in Germany with the selections of Spain, Albania, and Italy. It will also be the 13th Croatian appearance at the World and European championships out of 15 possible. In addition to the EURO 2000, Croatia missed only the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. And while Croatian footballers won three medals at the World Cups - silver in 2018 in Russia, and bronze in 1998 in France and 2022 in Qatar, they never made it past the quarterfinals at the EUROs. They made it the farthest so far at the 1996 European Championship in England and the 2008 European Championship in Austria and Switzerland, reaching the quarterfinals. In France in 2016 and at the last EURO in 2020, they were eliminated in the round of 16, and in 2004 and 2012, they didn’t make it to the knockout stage.

While other Balkan national teams rarely or never make it to the major competitions, Croatia are a regular participant. When it comes to World Cups and more than that, a country so small in territory and population can boast of as many as three medals from the World Cups - silver in 2018, and bronzes from 1998 and 2022. At the same time, at the championships of the Old Continent, they could not go further than the quarterfinals, where they finished at EURO 1996 and 2008. This information will be a special motive for Luka Modric, the main organizational force and the strongest creative asset of this team for almost two decades. We can only imagine how much he cares that the nation remembers his farewell from the EUROs because, in four years, he will be crunching his forties and will most likely be a coach rather than a player. The final lost on penalties in the last League of Nations only confirmed the strong team spirit, the excellent individual potential of the Gvardiol - Kovacic tandem and the other players of Zlatko Dalic, as well as the strategic-psychological power of the strategist, who no matter how many critics disputed his merits for high goals in the recent past. Even when the media replaced him, he remained the national team's manager.

GOALKEEPERS: Dominik Livakovic (Fenerbahce), Ivica Ivusic (Pafos), Nediljko Labrovic (Rijeka);

DEFENSE: Josip Juranovic (Union Berlin), Josip Stanisic (Bayer Leverkusen), Martin Erlic (Sassuolo), Josip Sutalo (Ajax), Domagoj Vida (AEK), Marin Pongracic (Lecce), Josko Guardiol (Manchester City), Borna Sosa (Ajax);

MIDFIELD: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Marcelo Brozovic (Al Nassr), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Lovro Majer (Wolfsburg), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Luka Ivanusec (Feyenoord), Martin Baturina (Dinamo), Luka Susic (Salzburg), Nikola Vlasic (Torino);

ATTACK: Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Bruno Petkovic (Dinamo), Ivan Perisic (Hajduk), Marko Pjaca (Rijeka), Marko Pasalic (Rijeka).

Croatia qualified for the EURO from second place in Group D in the qualifications. Turkey were ahead of Croatia, and Wales, Armenia, and Latvia also participated. The Croats did not excel in the qualifiers, they struggled a lot until the last round, but it is known that they shine in the main tournament. It will be difficult for them, a lot will depend on the first match with Spain, and we see the Croatians as one of the teams will find their place in the round of 16 and we believe that they can finish among the top 3.