After a goalless draw with Morocco and a 4-1 victory over Canada, Croatia are top of the table, but do not want to count on a draw in their last game. “We don’t think so at all. Belgium will want to win, just like us,” said Croatian coach Zlatko Dalič.
The two teams have met eight times with an equal record of three wins. The Belgians won 1:0 in the last showdown in preparation last June, and will probably have to win on Thursday in Rajján to progress to the playoffs. They lose a point against Croatia and Morocco with a worse score, so a draw would only suffice for them if the African team loses by at least three goals.
“We haven’t played our best in the World Cup so far. We’ve played with fear of defeat, we don’t trust ourselves with the ball, it’s not us,” said ‘Red Devils’ coach Roberto Martínez after the 0 -2 defeat against Morocco. “We have to pull together. We will be ready for Croatia,” assured the Spanish coach, who could already field recovered scorer Romelu Lukaku in the starting lineup. The registered midfielder Amadou Onana will certainly be missing.
