Will Santi Denia get the national team back on track?
Despite a manageable group featuring South Korea, South Africa, and Mexico, the Czech Republic suffered a crushing defeat in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, which, among other things, led to Patrik Schick’s retirement. The Leverkusen forward, who is the only player to have scored in the first four Bundesliga matchdays of the current season, will be sorely missed in the Czech Republic vs. Croatia matchup. New coach Santi Denia certainly isn’t in an enviable position, as the past few weeks have been marked by an unprecedented wave of injuries and withdrawals. Among others, key players such as captain Tomas Soucek, David Zima, and Lukas Provod are missing.
However, the Kockasti aren’t arriving with their full squad either. While there’s great excitement over Lovro Majer’s return, and Luka Modric—who, at 41, is now set to play his 203rd (!) international match—is also on the roster, the defense will be without Josip Juranovic and Martin Erlic at the last minute, a fact that significantly influences our Czech Republic vs. Croatia prediction.
Although Group A3—dubbed the “Group of Death”—features Spain and England, and a tactically oriented match is expected in which neither nation wants to lose, the numerous absences are likely to severely disrupt the team’s usual flow. Our prediction therefore points to goals from both sides, a scenario that has held true in five of the six previous international matches between these two nations.
Another intriguing question is how Santi Denia will approach the match tactically. In the wake of his resignation and a media firestorm following the disappointing World Cup exit, Patrik Schick criticized, among other things, that the Czech national soccer team has lacked tactical ideas for years and simply plays long balls instead of modern soccer, which, as a forward, left him somewhat isolated. These words may have had some impact on the federation, because with Santi Denia, for the first time in the federation’s history, a foreign coach has been brought in with a fresh, outside perspective—one who also clearly advocates a modern style of play characterized by possession-oriented and creative football.
Czech Republic – Croatia Head-to-Head Record
Head-to-Head: 0 – 4 – 2
Six international matches have been played between the two nations so far, and the Czech national team has never managed to secure a victory against Croatia.
However, the vast majority of their previous encounters have ended in draws (66 percent).
This includes their most recent matchup in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, when the two teams played to a 0–0 draw in Prague just under a year ago. It was also the very first time the two sides had met without either team scoring a goal.
Czech Republic vs. Croatia Prediction
For both nations—which are clearly fighting to avoid relegation in Nations League Group A3 alongside England and Spain—the long international break comes at an inopportune time.
Czech Republic’s new coach, Santi Denia, has had to deal with an incredible wave of injuries and withdrawals, and Slaven Bilic, too, must make last-minute adjustments—especially on defense.
Against this backdrop, we can expect a match in which mistakes in build-up play are practically a given. Both nations should therefore get their chances, which they’ll need to capitalize on. We therefore see great value in betting that both teams will score, for which Betano is offering odds of 1.60 for the Czech Republic vs. Croatia match. We’re investing six out of ten units in this bet.
