Broadcast info
Who's playing: Both Croatia and Senegal will be looking to head to Russia with a win in hand as they meet for a friendly pre-World Cup clash on Friday, June 8th.
What time: Friday, June 8th at 09:00 PST/12:00 EST/17:00 BST/18:00 CET
What stadium: This game will be played at Stadion Gradski vrt. Located in Osijek, this venue can hold up to 18.856 spectators (17.876 for sitting and another 980 for standing).
Which channel:
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Match facts and other stats
- Senegal have yet to win a game so far in 2018 (P3 D3)
- Meanwhile, Croatia have won just one of their three games so far this year (L2)
Preview
Neither Croatia nor Senegal are in the best of form at the moment. The Vatreni come into this game having lost 2-0 to Brazil and overall, Zlatko Dalic's side haven't impressed in any of their friendlies in 2018. Although they beat Mexico following a loss to Brazil, it was by an uncomfortably narrow margin and in fact, they have only scored one goal in their last three games.
Considering the star quality within the team, with players like Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic, and Mateo Kovacic, there are some who are expecting Croatia to make a deep run at the upcoming World Cup. However, their performances haven't been convincing whatsoever and the Vatreni are in a very tough quartet alongside tournament favorites Argentina, debutants Iceland (who beat them to top spot in qualifiers), and Nigeria. With that in mind, they'll be hoping to test themselves against another African side in Senegal, who are also coming into this game in a bit of a rut.
Despite largely cruising through qualifiers, Aliou Cisse's side have also floundered in their recent friendlies. The Lions of Teranga will be featuring at only their second World Cup in less than two weeks' time, and have been placed in a very balanced group alongside Colombia, Japan, and Poland. As such, they actually have a great chance at sealing a knockout spot, but Cisse will obviously want to see a dramatically improved performance after they failed to fire against another Eastern European side - Bosnia - and surprisingly settled for a dull stalemate with minnows Luxembourg.
Sadio Mane, who enjoyed a brilliant season with Liverpool, will obviously be the go-to man for Senegal, while Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly will be tasked with helping to block Croatia's attacks. Will either side find their way out of their respective ruts ahead of the big tournament next week?
