Croatia firmly in control throughout 2-0 win over Nigeria

Based on Nigeria’s performances in friendlies and qualifying, this World Cup Group D match had the potential to be a lot of fun. Instead, Croatia’s midfield duo of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic kept control of the ball all game long, guiding their team to a comfortable 2-0 victory.

Croatia took the lead on a 32nd minute corner kick through some persistence. Three Croatia players got a touch, but the last person to hit the ball before it dribbled over the line was Nigeria’s Oghenekaro Etebo.

In the second half, a penalty sealed the result for Croatia. William Ekong was caught pulling down Mario Mandzukic in the penalty box, and Modric converted the resulting spot kick.

Nigeria’s stats don’t look too bad on their face — they had 11 shots and 54 percent possession — but very few of the shots were threatening. Croatia was always in position and rarely looked bothered.

It’s halftime here in the final game of the third day of World Cup 2018, and Croatia leads Nigeria 1-0 after a corner kick resulted in an unfortunate own goal for Nigeria, after a ball headed down by Mario Mandzukic caught the back foot of Oghenekaro Etebo and went into his own net. Nigeria will feel hard done by in a half where they put in a lot of good work, but Croatia’s midfield was at times the difference — they nearly doubled their leaded when Ivan Rakitic put a ball perfectly onto the head of Kramaric, who just headed the ball over.

Both teams line up just about as expected, with some minor surprises. Up top for Nigeria, Odion Ighalo is preferred to Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho. Croatia has picked an attacking lineup, with Ante Rebic and Andrej Kramaric both getting into the team in forward roles, while midfielder Marcelo Brozovic starts on the bench.

On the third day of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Croatia and Nigeria will face one another in their first game of the group stage on Saturday. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. ET from the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad, Russia, and you can watch the game on FOX or Telemundo. Online streaming is also available in English through FOX here or in Spanish through Telemundo here.

Croatia will rally behind midfielder Luka Modric in order to look for success in hoping to move on to the round of 16. Mikel John Obi and Victor Moses will be key players for Nigeria for their own shot in the group stage.

These teams will both feel a lot better about their chances to win Group D after the early match. Argentina and Iceland drew 1-1, meaning that if either Croatia or Nigeria can pick up a win, they’ll go top of the group.

Time: 3 p.m. ET

Location: Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad, Russia

TV: FS1, Telemundo

Streaming: Available for free with TV provider through FOX Sports Go (English) or Telemundo Deportes en vivo (Spanish). Also available on subscriptions services like Fubo and Hulu.

Odds: Croatia -0.5 (full odds at OddsShark)

Everything Croatia does runs through the diminutive Real Madrid midfielder. You’ll see him pop up everywhere.

If Nigeria is going to win, they’ll need some of their boom-or-bust attackers to show up. Iwobi can occasionally disappear from games, but he’s unplayable when he’s at his best.

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