Croatia vs England Free World Cup Picks and Semi-Final Odds

by Guy Bruhn - 7/8/2018

World Cup Semi-Finals

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Luzhniki Stadium

Croatia will take on England at Luzhniki Stadium in a semi-finals matchup on Wednesday, July 11, 2018. The opening line for this World Cup matchup has Croatia at +200 and England at +138. The total opened at 2.5.

The impressive England side will be hoping to slow down Croatia and their excellent midfield. England kept their strong World Cup going by handily defeating Sweden 2-0 in the quarterfinals, while Croatia needed a shootout win for the second consecutive game when they beat Russia. England has looked like the better team in recent weeks, so they come into this matchup as slight favorites.

Croatia

Croatia has done a good job of dominating possession in the majority of their games, but they have had a problem with allowing their opponents to score goals from the few chances they get. They can't do that against England or they will probably give up three or four goals and have very little chance of winning, so chances are they will come into this game with a bit more of a defensive mindset. If they play sound defense and their star midfielders can create some chances, they will definitely have a chance of winning this game.

Luka Modric

Modric was once again Croatia's best player last round, and he will need to put on another high-energy effort in this game against England. He's the key to Croatia's attacking play and he will need to help out a lot on defense to keep England's star forwards from taking over.

Domagoj Vida

The 29-year-old center back was excellent against Russia. He kept everything in front of him on defense and he even scored a key goal. He's going to be facing much better players in this match against England, so it will be up to him and partner Dejan Lovren to keep them from getting good looks at goal.

England

Head coach Gareth Southgate will want more of the same from his players in this game. They haven't given up more than one goal this entire tournament and they have gotten better and better at retaining possession for long stretches. They have a much more balanced side than this Croatian team, so if they are able to play like they did against Sweden, they have a very good chance of moving on to the finals.

Harry Kane

Kane wasn't able to score against Sweden, yet he is the World Cup leader in goals with six. He and the rest of his teammates will know that Croatia often leaves some openings for shooting chances, and you can be sure that Kane will take anything he is given. If Kane has a good game, there's a very high chance that England goes through.

Dele Alli

Alli was finally able to get his first World Cup goal in that matchup against Sweden. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder should be able to create some chances against this slower Croatian defense, so he has a good chance to have a major impact on this game. The downside of Alli is that he is somewhat prone to taking plays off on the defensive end of the pitch, which simply can't happen in a game of this magnitude.

Key Croatia Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key England Injuries

No key injuries to report

Who will win tonight's Croatia/England World Cup game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take England +138

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Croatia vs England World Cup Picks and Predictions 7/11/2018

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