Croatia vs. Nigeria

Group D, Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

Halftime update: Croatia 1, Nigeria 0

Well, that wasn’t much of a half.

Outside of a smart goal from Croatia in the 32nd minutes, the Blazers and Nigeria traded jabs, but never landed any as the first 45 minutes expired. Croatia has a single-goal advantage.

The Group D match is crucial after favorite Argentina tied with Iceland earlier in the day. The winner in the match would get three points and vault to the top of the group’s standings. It’d likely secure a pace for the victor in the knockout stage.

Goal Croatia!

Luka Modric sent a beautiful corner into the 6-yard box, that was flicked to the back post where Mario Mandzukic was waiting. He got his head on the ball, but Oghenekaro Etebo’s back leg knocked it in to the net for an own goal in the 32nd minute.

Croatia takes a 1-0 lead.

Yellow card on Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic

In came in the 30th minute. First of the game.

An early chance for Croatia

Gosh, that midfield is good. In the 14th minute, the Blazers worked the ball upfield with no trouble at all, then, with some pretty passing, set up Ivan Perisic for a blast from 20 yards out that just missed high.

It’s going to be a great night for Croatia if it can hold that kind of ball possession in the midfield.

Starting lineups

Star-studded Croatia comes off a disappointing showing in 2014 in Brazil, losing two matches in a tough group that included the host nation and Mexico. This year, it’s in the entertaining Group D with Argentina, Iceland and the Super Eagles, who are looking to finally make a tournament run after decades of promise. A win and a draw four years ago was enough for Nigeria to make the knockout stage before losing to France. This is the first meeting between the two sides.

How to watch on TV: FS1.

How to stream online: Fox Sports and the Fox Soccer Match Pass apps and FoxSportsGo.com.

How to watch in Spanish: Telemundo.

How to watch in Canada: Bell Media’s TSN and CTV networks, the TSN GO app and TSN.ca/live.

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Team profiles

Croatia

  • Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2014.
  • Best finish: Third place, 1998.
  • Notable: Croatia has faced an African nation just once in the World Cup, routing Cameroon, 4-0, four years ago.
  • FIFA world ranking: 20. ELO world ranking: 17.

Nigeria

  • Last World Cup showing: Round of 16, 2014.
  • Best finish: Round of 16, three times (2014, 1998 and 1994).
  • Notable: The Super Eagles have just one win in their last six World Cup games against European opponents.
  • FIFA world ranking: 48. ELO world ranking: 45.

Players to watch

Croatian midfielder Luka Modric (Real Madrid) is a model of consistency and football IQ. Never too fast, never too slow, Croatia will look for him to feed a talented line of forwards. But he must beware of pushing the pace too quickly. Nigeria has the advantage if the match turns into a track meet. Look out for Super Eagles midfielder Victor Moses (Chelsea), who scored three goals in four World Cup qualifiers.

What’s next

Nigeria: vs. Iceland in Volgograd, June 22.

Croatia: vs. Argentina in Nizhny Novgorod, June 21.

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