2014 WORLD CUP SOCCER

CROATIA

vs. MEXICO

Line:
Croatia +150, Mexico +160, Tie +250
Over/Under: 2.5 Goals (Over +115, Under -135)

Croatia and Mexico meet Monday afternoon in what will be a Group A match with massive implications in terms of who will be advancing to the knockout round.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook preview of Monday's match:

Croatia was unable to pick up a victory over Brazil in its opening match of group play, but the club certainly competed throughout the course of that game. They followed up that loss with a dominant showing against Cameroon and have at least given themselves a chance to advance to the Round of 16. Mexico may not have beaten Brazil in their last game, but they were able to come away with a 0-0 draw. They are now in position to advance past the group stage if they are able to defeat Croatia.

After losing their World Cup opener 3-1 to Brazil, Croatia needed to defeated Cameroon, and they had no problem doing that with a 4-0 blowout. Croatia was dominant in their performance, as they outshot Cameroon 14-7 on goal. They didn’t have much of an edge in time of possession with just 51%, but they made the most of their time with the ball. Eleven minutes into the game, Ivica Olic scored to give Croatia a 1-0 lead, and they piled it on once the second half started. Ivan Perisic made it 2-0 at the 48-minute mark and Mario Mandzukic added two goals at 61 minutes and 73 minutes to give Croatia an impressive victory. A win over Mexico would have them advancing to the knockout round.

Not many people gave Mexico much of a chance against Brazil, but they stood their ground and were able to come away with a scoreless tie. Guillermo Ochoa was monumental in securing that tie for his team, coming away with some really outstanding saves. Brazil was flying all over the field for the entire game, outshooting Mexico 8-3 on goal in the contest. They also had possession for 53% of the game compared to Mexico who had it for just 47%. Ochoa, however, was able to blank Brazil and that now puts Mexico in a great position to advance to the single-elimination round. They will need to beat a Croatia team that can also advance with a victory, so both of these teams will be hungry.