Croatia and Iceland will face off in one of the most anticipated World Cup playoffs of the year.
While the match does not have the Ibrahimovic vs. Ronaldo storyline that the Portugal vs. Sweden fixture has, this one does feature the ultimate Cinderella story in the world. Iceland could become the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup next summer, but it must first take on Croatia.
First impressions would give this match to Croatia; with stars like Luka Modric and Mari Mandzukic, they're clearly the more reputable team. However, the Croatians are in a state of panic and recently fired their coach after going winless in their final four World Cup group stage qualifiers. Moreover, the team managed to lose twice against lowly Scotland in that span and did not register a single goal in either game. The other two matches included a 2-1 loss against Belgium and a 1-1 draw with Serbia.
Croatia's state of chaos could easily give Iceland the upper hand as the team is coming off a euphoric run in Group E. While the nation is lucky to have drawn a group with Switzerland, Norway, Slovenia, Cyprus and Albania, it managed to take advantage of its situation and finish the round with five wins, two draws and three losses.
Iceland did not lose in its final four qualifiers and even made a herculean comeback against Switzerland in a match that ended 4-4.
Iceland's momentum could make it too hard to stop, but Croatia has the talent to win this match. Expect them to turn it around and pull off a win.