France vs Croatia Nations League preview: Where to watch, prediction, form guide
Monday, June 13, 2022
Article summary
When is it? How can you watch it? All you need to know about the UEFA Nations League Group A1 game between France and Croatia.
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Article body
France and Croatia meet in UEFA Nations League Group A1 on Monday 13 June.
France vs Croatia at a glance
When: Monday 13 June (20:45 CET kick-off)
Where: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
What: UEFA Nations League Group A1 fixture
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage will appear here
Where to watch France vs Croatia on TV
Find your local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here.
Line-ups
France: Maignan; Koundé, Konaté, Kimpembe, Digne; Rabiot, Kamara, Guendouzi, Nkunku; Benzema, Mbappé
Croatia: Ivušić; Stanišić, Erlić, Šutalo, Juranović; Modrić, Brozović, Kovačić; Pašalić, Budimir, Brekalo
Form guide
France (most recent match first): DDLWWW
Croatia (most recent match first): WDLWDW
Group A1 so far
03/06 Croatia 0-3 Austria
03/06 France 1-2 Denmark
06/06 Austria 1-2 Denmark
06/06 Croatia 1-1 France
10/06 Austria 1-1 France
10/06 Denmark 0-1 Croatia
Expert prediction
Ian Holyman, match reporter
Didier Deschamps has now used exactly 100 different players since taking charge in 2012, but with Les Bleus looking for a win to boost their position in Group A1 and their morale, expect him to opt for tried-and-tested in his team selection. After coming off the bench to salvage a point in Austria, Kylian Mbappé should start with Presnel Kimpembe returning to bolster a defence that has been uncharacteristically porous so far.
What the coaches say
Didier Deschamps, France coach: "We have to make sure we gather all our strength in order to conclude this international break well and win against Croatia. I'm not worried [about the 1-1 draw against Austria]. It is not the result we were hoping for, and we are not at the peak of our form or fitness, but we have given playing time to some younger players."
Zlatko Dalić, Croatia coach: "I would like to repeat the commitment, approach, running, aggression and motivation from the last two games. This is what gives us the faith that we can achieve a good result and we have already shown that we can play against the strongest team in the world. The last three games against France we were consistently close to a good result."
What happens after the UEFA Nations League group stage?
The four group winners in League A will advance to the knockout finals with, in principle, one appointed as hosts. The semi-finals will be played on 14 and 15 June 2023 with the final and third-place play-off to follow on 18 June.
The teams finishing fourth in the groups in League A will be relegated to League B for the 2024/25 edition.