CROATIA are facing Canada RIGHT NOW - with both sides knowing a defeat makes World Cup knockout stage qualification tricky... or even impossible.
Canada will be knocked OUT of the World Cup should they lose this afternoon.
And neither team has even scored in this tournament yet as Croatia were held to a goalless score while the Canadians suffered defeat at the hands of Belgium.
But you get the feeling that could all change in this upcoming mouth-watering game.
- Kick-off time: 4pm GMT
- Live stream: BBC iPlayer
- TV channel: BBC One
- Croatia XI: Livakovic, Juranvoic; Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Livaja, Kramaric, Perisic
- Canada XI: Borjan; Johnston, Vitoria, Miller; Laryea, Hutchinson, Estaquio, Davies; Buchanan, David, Larin
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Here they come...
The players are on the way out at the Khalifa Stadium, led by captains Luka Modric and Omari Hutchinson.
The national anthems will now be sung, and then we will have kick-off with you in just a few minutes time!
Lack of respect...
We have an update for you from Tom Barclay who is at the Khalifa International Stadium for this one in Qatar.
"The Canadians were desperately unlucky to lose their opener against Belgium and will have impressed many who had possibly written them off before the tournament.
"There is some unexpected needle going into this clash after Canada’s English boss John Herdman claimed his side were going to “eff” Croatia in a post-match interview after the Belgium clash.
"That prompted one Croatian paper to mock up the Geordie on the front of the paper, naked, with two maple leaves covering his mouth and private parts. The headline read: “You have the mouth but do you have the balls?”
"Herdman laughed it off but Croatian boss Zlatko Dalic was not impressed with his opposite number, demanding there be more “respect” for his side given what they have achieved.
"It should be a spicy one!"
That is from Tom Barclay, SunSport reporter in Qatar.
The Drake curse?
Those of you who live and breathe football and keep up to date with it on social media may be familiar with 'The Drake Curse'...
The Drake Curse is essentially the idea that any athlete/sports team endorsed by Drake, will then have an absolute stinker in their next game.
A good example is that he lost a £535,000 bet in October after gambling on Barcelona to beat Real Madrid in El Clasico and Barca were thrashed after they wore a special kit to celebrate Drake becoming the first artist to reach 50billion streams on Spotify.
Alphonso Davies and Co took to the field while Drake's hit 'Started From the Bottom' blared out of the speakers at the Al-Rayyan Stadium.
They then proceeded to have 22 shots during the game, but somehow failed to score, even missing a penalty to go 1-0 up.
Canadian football fans will be hoping that it is part of God's Plan that they get through this group...
Magical Modric
Croatia's cunning midfield is nothing short of spectacular.
Kovacic is one of the most underrated midfielders in the world, with his undeniable ability to drive through midfield, be strong in a tackle and score the occasional worldie.
Brozovic has been one of Serie A's most consistent performers, and is defensively astute with an eye for a wonderful pass too.
But it is of course Ballon D'or winner, magical Modric who takes all the plaudits in this Croatia side.
He has been the talisman in this team for so long, and will be hoping that he can produce one more brilliant tournament in his illustrious playing career.
His creativity is almost unmatched on a global scale, and he is now commonly being mentioned in the debate for who is the best midfielder of a generation that included Iniesta and Xavi.
He will almost certainly be a thorn in the side of Canada today, but their athleticism might work against the Real Madrid man...
What are the odds?
This is how the betting looks ahead of today's game between Croatia and Canada.
It could really go either way, and could well come down to which team wants it more.
- Croatia 6/5
- Draw 23/10
- Canada 5/2
Odds from Betfair correct at the time of post publication.
How do Canada line up?
This is Canada's starting XI as they fight for survival in Group F...
Croatia's starting XI.
This is how Croatia line-up today against Canada...
Predictions?
This is certainly a tough one to call, as Canada were simply brilliant against Belgium in their first group game, and Croatia failed to really impress against Morocco.
That said, you would still back Croatia to win this one, and at SunSport that is what we are going to go with.
We are backing the quality of Modric, Kovacic and others to shine through, and Croatia to take a 2-1 win, with Canada scoring their first World Cup goal.
But what do you think? If you guess the right score in our score predictor, you have a chance to win £5000.
