- 1 Czech Republic vs Croatia: one point in three World Cup games against a route to the finals, and the gap shows
- 2 Czech Republic: three World Cup games, two leads thrown away and last place
- 3 Croatia: five goals in the group stage, an injury-time exit
- 4 Football Prediction Czech Republic vs Croatia
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling comes first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Czech Republic vs Croatia: one point in three World Cup games against a route to the finals, and the gap shows 
The Czech Republic finished bottom of its World Cup 2026 group with one point from three matches. Croatia, meanwhile, came second in its section before crashing out in the last 16.
The two sides kick off Group A3 in the Nations League on Saturday 26 September at 20:45 Paris time, at Fortuna Arena in Prague.
The group also includes Spain and England, who meet on the same night at Wembley. In other words, Czech Republic vs Croatia already looks like a do-or-die battle for third place and survival.
The Czech Republic are up from League B and were drawn in Pot 4, sitting 14th in the overall UEFA rankings. Croatia are eighth and came out of Pot 2.
Slaven Bilic has a major boost for this camp. The Croatian federation confirmed on 5 September that Luka Modric was still available and would be in the squad for the Nations League.
The schedule does not help the Czechs either: three days after this home game, they host England in Prague. Two League A matches in four days, both at home, against the two highest-ranked teams in the group after Spain.
The top two in the group go through to the quarter-finals in March 2027. The bottom side drops straight to League B, while third place faces a play-off against a League B runner-up.
Czech Republic: three World Cup games, two leads thrown away and last place 
The Czech Republic led in two of their three World Cup matches. They took just one point from them.
On 12 June, they were 1-0 up against South Korea after an hour. The Koreans turned it around with goals in the 67th and 80th minutes to win 2-1.
The same story repeated six days later against South Africa. The Czechs scored early, then conceded an 83rd-minute penalty for a 1-1 draw that left both sides under pressure.
The final group game was a wipeout. Beaten 3-0 by Mexico on 25 June, the Czech Republic finished bottom of Group A, behind Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.
That record of two leads wasted in three matches points to a problem seeing games out. That is exactly the sort of flaw League A punishes fast, with its six-match format and direct relegation for the bottom team.
Still, the step up from League B is a real achievement. It puts the Czech Republic back among the continent’s top tier for the first time since relegation, with Spain and England in the same group.
The promotion was secured in the previous edition, alongside England, Greece, Norway, Turkey and Wales. Six nations moved up, and the Czechs are one of the sides that need points quickly.
This format leaves no room for slow starts. Six games, two through, one down: lose the first home game to a direct rival and the rest suddenly gets a lot harder.
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Croatia: five goals in the group stage, an injury-time exit 
Croatia scored five goals in three group games at the World Cup. They finished second in Group L behind England, ahead of Ghana and Panama.
The campaign got off to a rough start with a 4-2 defeat to England. Croatia then beat Panama 1-0 thanks to Ante Budimir, before seeing off Ghana 2-1 to book their place.
The last-16 tie with Portugal will go down as the cruelest night of Croatia’s tournament. Trailing 2-1, they thought Josko Gvardiol had levelled it in the 13th minute of stoppage time, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.
Goncalo Ramos scored Portugal’s winner in the 94th minute. That kind of exit tells you Croatia were still in the fight right to the end.
Keeping Luka Modric in the squad changes plenty for Bilic. The captain told the coach his decision at the start of September, and he is in the group for these Nations League fixtures.
Croatia arrive with a settled hierarchy and a ranking of eighth in UEFA’s standings. Against a promoted side, this is about as good a starting point as they could have hoped for in the group.
Croatia scored in all four of their World Cup matches, including the finals. In that same run, they kept just one clean sheet, against Panama.
Bilic has a team that creates chances but leaves gaps behind. Against a promoted side that led in two of its three World Cup matches without making them count, that attacking edge should be enough to bring back three points from Prague.
Probable Czech Republic line-up : Not available at time of publication.
Probable Croatia line-up : Not available at time of publication.
Football Prediction Czech Republic vs Croatia
Our prediction: Croatia to win
The Czech Republic threw away two leads in three World Cup matches and picked up only one point. Against a side that pushed Portugal all the way until the 13th minute of stoppage time, that lack of control is likely to be costly.
Croatia still have their captain, their coach and the core that got them out of the toughest group in the first phase. They are being priced around 2.15, with the draw at 3.30.
The total is set at 2.5 goals, which fits a first game between two cautious teams. We are taking Croatia to win in Prague.
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