The Cameroon (Camerun) vs Croatia (Croacia) World Cup match will be played this Wednesday, June, 18 (3:00 PM Pacific), at the Arena Amazonia in Manaus.
Both Croatia and Cameroon lost their first round match, and they need to win in this game so that they can stay in the race for the knockout phase of the tournament. Additionally, the draw between Brazil and Mexico means that the eventual winner of this match will probably need to win the next game too, so that they could retain their hope of advancing into the top 16 teams.
In the first round, Croatia lost to hosts Brazil 3:1, although they scored first. Additionally, they were victims of a controversial penalty call, which gave the Brazilians a 2:1 lead. Cameroon was in a whole different situation. Their opponents, Mexico, were much better in that game, they were denied two regular goals, and one penalty call, and despite all that, they managed to get a 1:0 win.
Cameroon gave a really poor display in that match, and their defense looked particularly feeble.
This will be the first match between Cameroon and Croatia. It is also interesting that Croatia never played against an African team during their appearances on the World Cup, so we will see how they’ll fare.
On the other hand, Cameroon played with European teams on every World Cup they participated in, and they won only one game, but they drew with big names and former champions of the world such as Italy and England, so Croats should be very careful in this game, if we put faith into statistics.
But, looking at the quality of their first matches here, Croatia is a clear favorite to win this one. Both teams have injury problems. Croatia’s playmaker Luka Modric is doubtful, after a knock he got in the match against Brazil. He will go through a fitness test on the game day, and after that, it will be known whether or not he will feature in tomorrow’s match. He could be replaced by Brozovic, who played in the match against Brazil as a substitute.
Cameroon vs Croatia Prediction
Cameroon could possibly be in an even bigger trouble, since their best attacker, Samuel Eto’o, has problems with his knee, and he will very likely sit out this game on the bench. That is a huge loss for Cameroon. His replacement could very likely be Vincent Aboubakar.
Both teams have to go for a win here, but Croatia is the clear favorite, so it is expected that they will dictate the tempo of the match. Cameroon will defend, and look for a chance to counter, especially through the left flank where they have the in-form Assou Ekotto. Also, this game is played in Manaus, which is in Amazonia, so it is assumed that weather conditions will favor Cameroon here. If the Africans survive the early pressure, they could go victorious in this match.
Considering all the facts, it is expected that Croatia wins this game 1:0.
Cameroon vs Croatia Television
The Cameroon vs Croatia match will be televised on ESPN, Univision, and ESPN 3 (stream).
