A great game lies in wait at the Maksimir Stadium. The Croatian and Norwegian national teams will play for something more than three points in their fight to secure a place at next year’s European Championship. The Croats, who are at home on Saturday, are currently leading Group H, tied with Italy on 10 points. The Norwegians are one point behind them and they know that they will take a big step toward clinching a place in France next year if they take something positive from their trip to Zagreb.
For that they count on Martin Odegaard, the Real Madrid starlet, who will line up against his senior club team-mate Luka Modric. It will be a tough test for the teenager, as it will be for his team-mates. But the confidence that is being exuded is booming: the newspaper VG asked, in a poll, if the 16-year-old should start in a match like this one. The response was convincing: 72% of the internet users that took part voted in favour of the proposal.
The Nordic faith passes through the talent and the character of the teenager, who did not hesitate to praise his Croatian colleague during an interview on TV2 Sport: “I think that there are not many players better than him. He is capable of dealing with the pressure and passing the ball at the right time. He is a footballer who creates many spaces and who is particularly good with the ball.”
Modric. On the other side, the Croats, who only know how to win at home (two victories, with eight goals in favour and none conceded), cling to the quartet of Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic in order to stay at the top of the group. In addition, for Modric the match will serve to further refine his fitness. After overcoming his injury, which occurred while he was on international duty, he has increased his match action for Madrid, but his lack of full fitness was evident in the Clásico, when he was replaced by Lucas Silva.
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