Croatia vs Canada - 2022 World Cup Betting Guide

Croatia Team Info – Hoping to Repeat 2018

Croatia reached the World Cup final in 2018, but lost to France 4-2. It was the best run for the nation, but not their only great run in the World Cup. In 1998, they managed to reach the semi-finals, but then they also lost to France. Croatia finished that World Cup in third place, after beating the Netherlands in the third place playoffs. Croatia was drawn into Group H of the 2022 UEFA qualifiers. They had to play against Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta. They ended up winning 7 of their 10 games, scoring 21 goals and only conceding 4. Their goals came from strikers Andrej Kramaric, Marko Livaja, and Ivan Perisic, as well as midfielders Luka Modric, Mario Pasalic, Lovro Majer, and more.

Since Mario Mandzukic retired in 2018, Croatia have not found a replacement striker who they can count on for scoring goals. Instead, goal scoring responsibilities are divided amongst the forwards and midfielders. Ivan Perisic is the top goal scorer in the current side, with 32 goals from 113 appearances. Next to him in attack, there is Andrej Kramaric, who has scored 19 goals from his 71 caps. In midfield, there is Luka Modric, who is now 37 years old but still plays at the highest level for Real Madrid. Alongside him, there are Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, Mario Pasalic, and Nikola Vlasic, who play in the English Premier League as well as the Italian Serie A. Their backline includes Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Borna Barisic, Josip Juranovic, and in goal, Dominik Livakovic.

Canada Team Info – Not to Be Taken Lightly

Canada's only entry in the World Cup prior to 2022 was in 1986. They will co-host the 2026 World Cup, so the team would automatically qualify for that competition, but fans of the Canadian team do not need to wait until then as Canada qualified for the 2022 World Cup. The team was ranked 73rd in the World, and 7th amongst the CONCACAF nations. They had to play in all three rounds of the CONCACAF qualification, and in the third and final round, they managed to win more points than far higher ranking teams such as Mexico and the United States.

Their two key strikers, Cyle Larin and Jonathan David, scored 6 and 5 goals in that final round. Jonathan David will be just 22 years old when he enters his first World Cup. They do have older strikers in Junior Hoilett and Lucas Cavallini, who can bring more experience to Canada's attack. In midfield, they have Samuel Piette, Jonathan Osorio, and Mark-Anthony Kaye, who all play for teams in the Canadian football league. Alphonso Davies, who is the first choice left back for Bayern Munich, can play as a left back in Canada, but he can also be deployed further up the field. The young star has already netted 12 goals for his country. Their other defenders include Steven Vitoria, Sam Adekugbe, Richie Laryea and Alistair Johnson, who play in the Portuguese, Turkish, and Canadian football leagues. In goal, they can use Milan Borjan, who plays for Red Star Belgrade at club level.

Croatia vs Canada Head-to-head

Croatia and Canada have never played against each other.

Croatia vs Canada Betting Preview

If you want to bet on this game, you will find that there is no shortage of betting options. You can find bets on Croatia to win just as you can find them on Canada to win. If you cannot decide on how the match may finish, you can also explore the double chance and draw no bet markets, that give some cover for multiple outcomes. Alternatively, you can use handicaps that favour either Canada or Croatia, which will increase the likelihood of you winning your bet.

Double Chance

You can bet on the result of the group match between Croatia and Canada with more coverage using double chance bets. If you are hesitant to pick a winner between the two, or think it will come to either a draw or a win for Croatia or Canada, you can cover two of the three possible outcomes with double chance. Here, you will see the odds for Croatia to win or the game to end in a draw, Canada to win or the game to end in a draw, and either Croatia or Canada to win.

Asian Handicap

Handicap betting is when you pick a team to win by a certain margin or more. There are negative numbers that have increasing longer odds as they get bigger, and you have to select one. The team you back to win will have that number subtracted from the number of goals they score and they need to still win after the handicap has been applied. You can also find positive handicaps that are added to the score of your team, but these come with increasingly shorter odds.

If you pick Croatia to beat Canada with a handicap of -1.5 then Croatia will need to finish the game at least 2 goals clear of Canada for you to win your bet. If a handicap of -1 is applied then Croatia you will need Croatia to win the game by 2 goals, but if they only win by 1 goal then the result will be a draw and you will receive a refund.

If you apply a handicap of -1.25 then the money you staked will be divided in two, with half the stake going on a handicap of -1.5 and the other half on a handicap of -1. If Croatia wins by 2 goals then you will receive your full winnings, but if they only win by 1 goal then the -1.5 half of your bet will lose but you will receive a refund from the -1 half of your bet.

Over/Under Total Goals

You can bet on how many goals will be scored in the match between Croatia and Canada using this bet. There will be multiple betting lines and you will need to select one and then bet on whether there will be more or less goals scored than the line. For example, if you pick a line of 4.5 and bet over, then Croatia, or Canada, or both teams need to score a combined 5 or more goals. If you bet on under 4.5 then the combined score at the end of the match has to be 4 goals or less.

And Plenty More

There is a massive selection of bets at your disposal and you will find that you can bet on virtually any aspect of the match between Croatia and Canada. Croatia to score in both halves, Canada to win 2-1, Croatia to win by a margin of 3, Canada to score the first goal, Canada to win the first half, Croatia to reverse the result, are some examples of bets that you can place, and there are many more variations of these bets and other similar markets.

When betting on the World Cup, you should try to bet within a budget. We urge you to prioritise controlling your gambling so that you do not find yourself in a situation where you have debt or have spent more than you can afford to lose. If you feel like you need more information on the topic, you can turn to organisations such as gambleaware.co.uk