'We are preparing to give it our best,' Mitaj says ahead of Croatia clash.
Facing elimination after a tough start, Croatia aims to redeem themselves against Albania in a crucial Euro 2024 clash, marking their first-ever competitive meeting at Volksparkstadion.
Croatia
```htmlCroatia [WDWWL] began their Euro 2024 campaign with a humbling 3-0 defeat against Spain. Zlatko Dalić’s men trailed by three goals in the first half, after Álvaro Morata [29’], Fabián Ruiz [32’], and Dani Carvajal [45+2’] all put their names on the scoresheet.
Croatia failed to score a legitimate goal despite Bruno Petkovic’s second attempt, which ended up in the net. The effort was ruled out for encroachment following an initially saved penalty.
‘It is not a good start, but I congratulate Spain on the victory. We lacked energy and aggression and conceded the first goal from a mistake,' Croatia’s head coach Zlatko Dalić said following the loss. ‘However, there are two games until the end of the group stage. We have to turn our attentions towards them and look for two victories,’ he added.
This will be the first meeting between Croatia and Albania in any football tournament. Now at the bottom of Group B with a goal difference of -3, a defeat against Albania will certainly mark the end of Croatia’s European campaign.
'We would love to finish the group stage in the best possible way: that's our goal,’ Andrej Kramarić, who is expected to team up with Lovro Majer and Ante Budimir at the attacking end of Croatia’s 4—3—3 said. Meanwhile, Croatia have lost three of their last five competitive matches [2W, 0D, & 3L].
```Albania
A 2-1 loss to Italy prevented Albania from earning their first points at the Euros, despite taking the lead in the first minute. An intercepted throw-in and a fabulous finish from Nedim Bajrami [1’] gave him the fastest goal in European Championship history after just 23 seconds.
However, goals from Italy’s Alessandro Bastoni [11’] and Nicolò Barella [16’] turned the game around. 'Italy's attack was strong, and we had difficulties against them,’ Albanian defender Mario Mitaj said.
This was Albania's first competitive defeat since March 2023, ending a seven-game unbeaten streak [4W, 3D, & 0L]. Despite losing three of their four games at the UEFA Euro [1W, 0D, 3L], Albania, currently third in Group B with a goal difference of -1, are looking to stay in contention for the next phase.
'Croatia are a tough team, but we are preparing to give it our best,’ Mitaj also said. A 4—2—3—1 formation with AC Milan target Armando Broja leading the attack is expected from Sylvinho.
Team form
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Team Comparison
Side-by-side assessment of team statistics, including goals, attacks, and more. This allows you to directly compare key performance metrics. Analyzing these stats can reveal patterns and strengths that might influence the outcome.