Croatia v Denmark (2018 World Cup)

Croatia v Denmark was a match which took place at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Sunday 1 July 2018.

Preview and teams's preparation
Croatia made nine changes for their last game and will recall most if not all of the players rested against Iceland.

Ivan Rakitic, Dejan Lovren and Mario Mandzukic will be amongst the names returning to the starting line-up.

Denmark's assistant coach Jon Dahl Tomasson says that William Kvist could feature in Sunday's game.

The midfielder punctured a lung and broke two ribs in Denmark's opening match against Peru on 16 June.

Winger Yussuf Poulsen is available after serving a one-game ban against France.

Neither of these teams has conceded from open play yet at this World Cup, with the solitary goal allowed by both sides coming from the penalty spot.

While the Danes rode their luck at times in Group C, particularly in the opening win against wasteful Peru, Croatia have been one of the most impressive teams in Russia.

They won all three games in Group D, including a comprehensive 3-0 win against Argentina and a 2-1 victory versus Iceland which was achieved despite making nine changes.

Like Croatia, Denmark are hoping to reach the quarter-finals for only the second time in their history.

Their defensive approach in the draw against France in their final group game divided opinion, but coach Age Hareide was unrepentant, pointing out that they couldn't rely on already eliminated Peru to get a result against Australia.

Hareide has, however, promised a more adventurous approach for this game. "It will be absolutely different against Croatia, we will attack," the Norwegian insists.

Head to head
The five previous encounters have produced two wins apiece and one draw.

The sides last met in a warm-up game prior to Euro 2004, with the Croats winning 2-1 in Copenhagen.

The only previous meeting at a major tournament was at Euro 1996, when Croatia won a group game 3-0. Davor Suker scored twice - the second a brilliant lob - with Zvonimir Boban also on target at Hillsborough.

Match Stats
Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !width=130|Overall !width=70|Croatia !width=70|Denmark !scope=row|Goals scored !scope=row|Total shots !scope=row|Shots on target !scope=row|Ball possession !scope=row|Corner kicks !scope=row|Fouls committed Images=