In the final Group D game in Glasgow, Croatia seek their first overall win against Scotland.
• Scotland have never lost to the Croatians in five straight matches (at home and away) and are looking to finish the group stage with a good result. This will be the final match of UEFA Euro 2020 at Hampden Park.
• Teams have scored only one point in their first two Group D matches. Scotland lost 2–0 to the Czech Republic on match day 1 and a 0–0 draw against England at Wembley. England beat Croatia 1–0 at Wembley and a 1–1 draw against the Czech Republic in Glasgow.
• With four points from England and the Czech Republic, Croatia will qualify with a win and could overtake the Czech Republic in second place on total goal difference. Scotland will qualify with a win and could overtake England in second place on total goal difference.
Example
• After drawing their first three games against Croatia, Scotland have won their last two matches. Robert Snodgrass scored in two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, winning 1–0 in Zagreb and 2–0 at Hampden Park (the second Scottish goal was scored by SNaismith).
• However, Scotland, who have collected only five more points from their other eight qualifiers, are fourth in Group A with 11 points, six points behind Croatia (second). The Croatians would then beat Iceland in the play-offs and would receive tickets to the final tournament to be held in Brazil.
• Four out of five matches between the two teams go back to the World Cup qualifiers. In the preliminary round of the 2002 edition, the match in Zagreb ended 1–1, with Alan Bokic scoring 15′ and Kevin Gallacher 24′.
• The game ended goalless in Glasgow. Croatia won Group 6 and reached the final in Korea/Japan, while Scotland finished third and were eliminated.
• A friendly match played in Hampden on 26 March 2008 also ended in a 1–1 draw with goals from Nico Kranzár in the 10th minute and Kenny Miller in the 31st minute.
Euro stats: Croatia
• Croatia is participating in the Euro for the sixth time. After independence, they only missed UEFA Euro 2000, making it their fifth consecutive final tournament. She reached the quarterfinals twice and was eliminated in the group stage twice.
• Croatia’s UEFA Euro 2016 thriller against future champions Portugal ended in the round of 16, winners 1–0 in extra time. ačić’s side finished first in the group with seven points from defending champions Spain.
• Zlatko Dalic’s team won the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group E with 17 points from eight matches and three points from Wales.
• Since their elimination against Portugal in 2016, their first match day loss against England was Croatia’s only 90-minute loss in their last 16 Euro matches (W9 D5).
• After the draw against the Czech Republic, Croatia’s record at Hampden Park is D3 S1. The last game before the second day of this tournament was a 2–0 World Qualifier loss to Scotland in October 2013; The three games against the Scots were also the only three matches played in this country before Euro 2020.
• Kranzár’s goal in a 1–1 friendly against Scotland in March 2008 was Croatia’s only goal in Glasgow before Ivan Perisic’s draw against the Czech Republic.
Euro stats: Scotland
• Scotland qualified twice for the Euro finals in 1992 and 1996, never making it to the group stage. However, they won three out of both the tournaments.
• Scotland’s last international competition before Euro 2020 was the 1998 World Cup in France.
• Scotland have never made it through to the Euro or World Cup group stage (played eight times). The 1998 World Cup was the fourth competition they entered without winning a single match.
• Scotland’s Euro final record is V2 P2 L4.
• Alex McLeish’s Scotland began qualifying for UEFA Euro 2020 with a 3-0 loss in Kazakhstan and a 2-0 win in San Marino. Following the arrival of coach Steve Clarke in May 2019, Scotland finished third in Group I behind Belgium and Russia with 15 points from 10 games (W5 L5).
• Scotland qualified for the play-offs by finishing top of the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League group (with McLeish on the bench). He scored nine points in four matches and ahead of Israel and Albania.
• In the semi-finals of the play-offs, Scotland found Israel, who scored a goalless goal in 120 minutes, 5–4 on penalties at Hampden Park.
• The Scots also won the play-off final in Serbia on penalties, which ended 1–1 in regulation time. The team once again converted all five penalty shots, while David Marshall saved Alexander Mitrovic’s last shot and sealed his qualification for the final.
• 1 loss to Czech Republic on match day was Scotland’s only defeat in their last seven Euro games (W3 D3) after four consecutive losses.
• The budget for Scotland at Hampden Park is the V135 D63 S61. The team did not lose home in six matches (W4 D2) before losing to the Czech Republic. It was their first 0–4 loss in Euro qualifying against Belgium on 9 September 2019, their fifth loss in eight matches since their own loss. (v 3).
Links and Curiosity
• Borna Baricic has been playing for Rangers since August 2018, when he joined Osijek.
• Barišić’s teammates at Ibrox include Nathan Patterson and John McLaughlin.
• They also played together:
Dejan Loveren and Andy Robertson (Liverpool 2017-20)
Lavrey Kalinik and John McGinn (Aston Villa 2019, 2020)
Matteo Kovacic and Billy Gilmour (Chelsea 2018-)
• Captains Luka Modric and Andy Robertson played 90 minutes in both games of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals when Real Madrid finished Liverpool with a 3-1 win at home and a 0-0 draw at Anfield.
