Croatia vs Mexico 23rd June 9pm

Mario Mandzukic , the Bayern Munich striker, returned to the lineup with a bang against Cameroon. After he was forced to miss the game against
Brazil, Mandzukic scored two goals in his first World Cup game against the
Indomitable Lions. His abilities as a target striker were sorely missed against Brazil and his return signaled a new start to the tournament for the Croatians. Ivan Perisic and Ivica Olic have been the life blood of Croatia’s attack over the first two games. The two combined for two goals and an assist against Cameroon and were just as dangerous against Brazil despite not getting on the scoresheet. After getting a crucial point against the host nation, Mexico come into their game against Croatia only needing a draw to advance. After watching Croatia dismantle Cameroon 4-0 on Wednesday, El Tri know that was no easy feat.

If Mexico get a win or a draw they will advance to the Round of 16. If Croatia are able to pull out a victory, they will advance to the knockout round. Miguel Herrera usually likes to take the game to his opponents, but with El Tri only needing a draw, expect Mexico to sit back and try to counter as Croatia will be starving for goals. Guillermo Ochoa had the game of his life against Brazil. After riding the bench in 2006 and 2010, despite being the projected No. 1, Ochoa finally got his chance in this tournament. He has made the most of it so far and there's no reason to believe the hot keeper can't keep that up against Croatia. Mexico’s two
fullbacks, Miguel Layun and Paul Aguilar, like to get into their team’s attack but may have to curb their appetite with Perisic and Olic running in behind them. With a draw sufficient for the Mexicans to progress, look for Croatia to dictate the pace and line up in a more
attacking style formation.

Both teams are pretty balanced, with a slight advantage to the Croatian squad, definitely in attack. However, having reached the knockout stages in five World Cups in a row, El Tri know how to step it up in these type of games, and could survive this with a DRAW.

Verdict: Draw