For our third tactical analysis, we take a look at Croatia versus Denmark, the fourth match of FIFA World Cup Round of 16. After a decent start, Denmark will face the surprise Last of 16 entry Croatia and see which team will advance to face either the host Russia or the favorites Spain.

CROATIA

Croatia will have a 4-2-3-1 formation and with creative midfielders, their range of passing and dynamic running can make a goal possible. But their is too much gap on the between their front four and the team seems to be disjointed at times. They will defend in a 4-2-4 format exposing the middle of the field.

DENMARK

Denmark will play a 4-3-3 formation with Christian Eriksen playing in front of a strong midfield. They have strong strikers on the right but their full backs lack depth necessary to pass the ball through Eriksen. They are heavily reliant on him which could be a pitfall for this team. They might have difficulty on teams with strong defense.

Marko Pjaca (Forward) vs Jonas Knudsen (Defender)

Marko Pjaca should step up again to be able to score the much needed goal against Denmark, the defenders of which can be easily cracked.

Dejan Lovren (Defender) vs Viktor Fischer (Forward)

Dejan Lovren is a talented defender and should be the key as Denmark’s weakness is a team with a strong defense, something that Croatia sadly lacks.

Duje Caleta-Car (Midfielder) vs Christian Eriksen (Midfielder)

Christian Eriksen will have no problem with the creative midfielders of Croatia but lack of depth on their ball passing could be a pitfall.