Looking for Panama vs Croatia bet builder tips? You’ve come to the right place. Panama and Croatia both look to strengthen their hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stages when they meet in Group L at 12am (UK time) on Wednesday. We’ve put forward a three-pronged bet builder below.
Kovacic to hit the target in Toronto
Croatia arrive without a clean sheet in their last seven matches, a run that has included games against the Faroe Islands, Montenegro and Slovenia. While they remain stronger in attack, defensive fragility has become a consistent issue and continues to undermine their results.
Panama also showed enough in their opener to suggest they can create chances again here, registering 11 shots with four on target. Although Croatia are the superior side on paper, their recent defensive record makes a shutout difficult to trust, and both teams could find moments of success in front of goal.
Zlatko Dalic has strongly hinted that Mateo Kovacic will return to the starting XI after featuring from the bench against England. The Manchester City midfielder has played limited football this season, meaning he arrives fresh and ready to add control in the centre of the pitch.
Back Croatia to bounce back
However, Kovacic also carries a threat in advanced areas and showed that with a shot on target against England. With Croatia likely to take a more proactive approach, backing him to register at least one shot on target in Toronto looks a sensible angle.
Dalic has admitted things went wrong against England, but he will be determined to correct those issues against Panama. Expect adjustments in both personnel and structure as Croatia aim to regain control and improve their attacking fluency.
Even so, Croatia still carry enough quality to respond effectively. A reset in approach should give Croatia better balance and more attacking threat, while both teams can create chances in this fixture.
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