Iceland vs Croatia, FIFA World Cup 2018, Live Updates: Croatia Look For Third Win

Catch all the action from the match between Iceland and Croatia through our live commentary.

Nothing less than a win will do for Iceland against Croatia if they are to emulate their Euro 2016 success by making it to the knockout stage at their first World Cup, but it will be a tall order against a familiar foe that leads Group D. The Croatians, who outclassed Argentina with a 3-0 win, are through already and will top the group with a win or a draw against Iceland at the Rostov Arena in Rostov-On-Don. Having drawn with Argentina in their opener, Iceland then lost 2-0 to Nigeria, meaning they need to beat the Croatians, hope Nigeria fail to beat Argentina, and also earn themselves a better goal difference than Nigeria or Argentina. A Nigeria win would send the Icelanders and Argentinians both home. Iceland and Croatia know each other well, with coach Heimir Hallgrimsson likening the pair to old flames due to the number of times they have met in recent years. "We've played Croatia four times in four years, we've often said we're like a married couple - we're trying to get divorced, but we always meet up again," the Iceland coach said at a recent media conference.

Hallgrimsson is expecting a tough game, but the challenge will be to get more out of a goal-shy attack in a team that has drawn two and lost four of its last six games, while creative spark Gylfi Sigurdsson struggled with a knee injury. The Everton midfielder missed a penalty against Nigeria, and his team will need to do more to share the attacking burden, in particular by being more effective at set pieces. Croatia have no such issues, coasting to a 2-0 victory over Nigeria before stunning 2014 World Cup runners-up Argentina, and their fluid, attacking football has made them one of the most attractive sides in the competition. Playmaker Luka Modric has already netted twice and showed some of his best form as the Croatians, who came third at the 1998 World Cup in France, cruised into the knockout stages. Iceland's older hands such as centre back Kari Arnasson will be keen to avenge the playoff defeat that saw the islanders miss out on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and they will have to call on their famous never-say-die spirit if they hope to advance. "We were ahead of them in our (qualifying) group and we've already beaten them once in Iceland, so we at least have that confidence with us when we play them," Hallgrimsson said.

Commentary:

14:Marko Pjaca is given a yellow card for his elbow on Birkir Bjarnason though it seemed to be an accident.

14:Marko Pjaca (Croatia)

12:Birkir Bjarnason takes an errant eblow to the face from Marko Pjaca and he goes down. He is currently receiving treatment on the pitch, his nose is bleeding a lot.

11:Iceland get a chance on the counter-attack after a sloppy giveaway by Andrej Kramaric. Alfred Finnbogason takes the ball down the right but his cross is blocked and Finnbogasson is the last to touch the ball before it goes out for a corner. Neither team has looked truly threatening so far.

8:Tin Jedvaj plays with the ball on the right side with Luka Modric. Jedvaj makes his way towards the byline to put in a cross. Hannes Halldorsson reacts well to grab the ball before it reaches anouther Croatian player.

7:Gylfi Sigurdsson received the ball on the right side of th field and put in a cross towards the box but Croatia was there to clear the ball away from the danger area.

2:Croatia has controlled possession and are content to knock the ball around at mid-field instead of pushing up for an attack. This will be most of their gameplan for today, sit back and don't take too many chances.

1:Iceland gets the action started. Iceland are in their white jersey's while Croatia will be wearing their black jerey's.

0:Croatia and Iceland have lined up for the national anthems in the final group stage match for these two teams.

0:Croatia are coming off a dominant win over Argentina where they thrashed the South American side 3-0. The win secured their spot in the next round as they sit on six points from two wins. The team currently sits first in the group and the only way the fall out of that position is by losing to Iceland and Nigeria beats Argentina by a large margin. With that in mind, Dalic Zlatko has made numerous changes to his side. Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic are the only two remaining starters from the game against Argentina though Croatia stays in the same 4-2-3-1 formation. The squad need only play for a draw and may not attack with as much fervor as they have previously.
Iceland got a wonderous result against Argentina in their first game with a tie but the team collapsed against Nigeria and suffered a 0-2 defeat. They are on the brink of elimination and only a win keeps their hopes alive. A win is the only way the team gets through to the next round. Iceland must come out and attack early to start scoring goals. It will be a tough task since Croatia are likely to sit in and defend this match. Iceland has changed formation and have mixed up the starting team. The team moves to a 4-2-3-1 formation from a 4-4-2. Sverrir Ingason, Emil Hallfredsson, and Johann Gudmondsson get the start and Kari Arnason, Rurik Gisladon, and Jon Bodvarsson head to the bench. This is a must win match for Iceland if they look to replicate their miraculous run in the Euro's two years ago.