Croatia vs Turkey EURO 2024 Qualifying Preview

EURO 2024 is less than one year away but it’s still not solidified what countries will compete in the prestigious tournament. That being said, qualifying is set to continue this week, and on Thursday, we have an intriguing Group D affair between Croatia and Turkey at the Opus Arena in Osijek. The kick-off is scheduled for 2:45 PM ET. These two sides met on matchday two, with the Croatians running out as 2-0 winners. Below, we’ll discuss how things look in Group D and dive into each team's recent form. 

Group D battle

Currently, Croatia and Turkey are set to go through to EURO 2024 next summer in Germany. They’re both stuck on 10 points, but the Croatians do hold the top spot because of a better goal difference plus they have a game in hand, playing just four thus far. Every other country in this pod has played five matches. Armenia and Wales have seven points apiece and still have the opportunity to make the tournament with some positive results over the next few matchdays.

Croatia in very good form

A lot of people said Croatia’s golden generation was over prior to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But, they quickly shut down the critics, making a heroic run to the semifinals before losing to Lionel Messi and Argentina. The Checkered Ones did end up winning the bronze though after beating Morocco in the third-place playoff and have been in fine form since the festivities in the Middle East.

Zlatko Dalic’s men have tasted defeat just once in their last six games and that was in heartbreaking fashion as Spain bested them in penalties in the Nations League Final in June. En route to the showpiece, the Croatians hammered the Netherlands 4-2. As for EURO 2024 Qualifying, the back-to-back World Cup semifinalists are 3-1-0 and just took down Latvia and Armenia on the last international break in September. Overall, Croatia has scored nine times in four outings while conceding just once. 

Hoffenheim man Andrej Kamaric is leading the way up top with three goals in four appearances while Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has hit the back of the net twice. Considering the Blazers have only lost once in their previous seven meetings with Turkey, it’s understandable why they’re a -140 favorite at Bodog.

Turkey needs a result

Turkey of course missed the World Cup last year and hasn’t enjoyed any success on the European stage in recent memory, either. While they did make the last two tournaments, the Turkish failed to progress out of the group stages, winning just one match between the 2016 and 2020 editions. On a more positive note, Vincenzo Montella’s side is clearly in a good spot when it comes to punching their ticket to Germany.

Through five games, Turkey owns a 3-1-1 record, beating Armenia, Latvia, and Wales while losing to Croatia and settling for a stalemate with the Armenians in September. When it comes to current form, the Crescent-Stars were smashed 4-0 by Japan in a friendly last month. That was surely a wake-up call for Turkey, who are clearly not at the level they need to be. 

Their last victory over Croatia came in 2017 and since then, they’ve tied the Checkered Ones 3-3 before the 2-0 loss earlier this year. All soccer betting sites have the visitors as a heavy underdog on Thursday.