Talent-heavy Croatia face underachieving Nigeria
KALININGRAD: Former World Cup semi-finalists Croatia take on African powerhouses Nigeria in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on Saturday in their opening Group D match that may prove a test of the organisers’ anti-racism drive.
It is 20 years since Croatia surged to the final four at France ‘98 with a resounding quarter-final win over favourites Germany, and fans will be buoyed by a squad brimming with attacking talent.
Nigeria, long one of African football’s underachievers, boast several players with English Premier League pedigree, and will hope they can secure only their second win in their last 12 World Cup matches.
The stage for Saturday’s clash is Kaliningrad, a thickly forested outpost of Russia wedged between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea — a potentially challenging location for some fans to reach. Saturday will also prove a crucial test for FIFA’S anti-discrimination drive, with tension running high in the build-up to the tournament over a spate of recent incidents.
a splash in their first World Cup as independent nation taking third place in France in 1998. They have not advanced out of the group stage since.
just once at Brazil 2014 but still reached next round. Nigeria was the first to qualify from Africa for the 2018 edition, topping a group featuring Cameroon, Zambia and Algeria.