Broadcast info
Who's playing: It's an interesting case of déjà vu as Croatia and Turkey lock horns for the second time in less than three months. This time, the stage is the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, and Monday's visitors will be eager for revenge after losing their last meeting 1-0.
What time: Monday, September 5th at 11:45 PST/14:45 EST/18:45 UTC/19:45 BST/20:45 CET
What stadium: This match will be played at the Stadion Maksimir. Located in Zagreb, it's the home base of famed Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb and has a max capacity of 38,079.
Which channel:
- In the USA: ESPN3 USA
- In Croatia: HRT 2
- In Turkey: TV 8
- In the UK: Sky Go UK, SKY GO Extra, NOW TV UK, Sky Sports 3/HD UK
- In Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet 360
*View up-to-date broadcast listings
Match facts and other historical stats
- Both Croatia and Turkey are in the top 20 sides as per FIFA. The Vatreni are ranked 15th, whilst the Crescent-Stars are ranked 19th
- There have been seven competitive matches between these two sides. Croatia have yet to lose to Turkey (in regulation time) with three wins and three draws
- However, Turkey did get the better of the Croats during the 2008 Euro tournament by beating them 3-1 during a spot-kick shootout in the quarter-finals
Team News
Croatia
Due to offensive behavior from some of their fans - which included discriminatory chants during Croatia's matches with Israel and Hungary - the Vatreni will be playing this game behind closed doors. This will be the first competitive game for Ante Čačić's men since seeing their Euro 2016 dreams ended in a heartbreaking fashion following a 1-0 loss to Portugal.
Since then, there have been some changes, namely in who is now the team's skipper. With the retirement of experienced defender Darijo Srna, Real Madrid star Luka Modrić has been handed the captain's armband. Naturally, the two-time Champions League winner, whose goal was the deciding factor against Turkey this summer, will be seeking to inspire his teammates to victory in his debut as team leader.
Another notable change is who will be starting between the posts for Croatia. With first-choice shot-stopper Danijel Subašić unavailable after the Monaco man suffered an injury, Čačić' will now have to rely on either Dinamo Zagreb's Lovre Kalinić or Lazio's Ivan Vargić - who have a total of less than ten caps combined. Arguably another tough opponent for Croatia will be Iceland, who will be determined to get some revenge following their play-off loss from back in 2014. As such, the hosts will be hoping to maintain their good record against Turkey to guarantee themselves maximum points.
Turkey
Still under the leadership of the highly experienced Fatih Terim, Turkey will arrive in the Croatian capital having had to settle for a frustrating scoreless draw against Russia in a friendly. The Crescent-Stars endured a miserable Euro tournament, picking up just one win over the Czech Republic before being dumped out at the group stages. They now will have to quickly move on if they want to secure a spot at the upcoming World Cup in less than two years' time.
However, there will be two notable absentees for the visitors: Beijing Guoan striker Burak Yılmaz and Barcelona's Arda Turan. The latter in particular was criticized harshly for his showings this summer, and it will be interesting to see if he can work his way back into fans' and his coach's good graces.
Turkey have not qualified for a World Cup since the 2002 edition, during which they made an impressive run all the way to the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Brazil and beat South Korea in the third-place match. After the disappointment of this summer's Euro tournament, fans will be loath to see the team miss out on what would be a fourth consecutive World Cup. With plucky Iceland also in their group, Monday's visitors will be looking to overcome their frustrating record against Croatia and leave their opponent's capital city with at least one point in hand.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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