Wales and Croatia are both riding high off victories on Friday and their current positions in the groups should make this an interesting match.
Croatia vs. Wales, 2014 UEFA World Cup qualifying: Preview and TV schedule
Wales won’t be eliminated if they don’t get three points against Croatia, but their hopes of making it to their first major international tournament since 1958 won’t look good without them.
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Croatia sit in second, tied on points with Belgium but behind on goal differential. Wales moved up to fourth with their win over Scotland and could really use the full three points to interject themselves back in to the qualification battle. A loss to Croatia combined with Belgium picking up more points could but the Welsh in an insurmountable hole.
Chris Coleman will be without Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey who will be serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation. Expect David Edwards to replace him in the lineup. Other than that, Wales should have everyone available for selection.
Croatia are in good shape too with no new injuries and a talented group of attackers, including Nikica Jelavić and Luka Modric leading the way. Then of course there's that Gareth Bale guy who scored both of the Welsh goals against Scotland. The victory was Coleman's first in six matches as the Wales manager.
This match is surprisingly free of injuries, at least not any new ones after both sides matches on Friday. Aaron Ramsey is the only loss for Wales after he picked up enough yellow cards to earn him a spot in timeout for this one.
Match Date/Time: 9 p.m. local, 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek, Croatia
TV: Sky Sports 2 (U.K.)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S.)
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