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Tonight, at 21:45 Lithuanian time, the two final matches of Group B will begin. One of them will feature England and Croatia facing off. The match will take place at the largest stadium of the championship, Da Luz, which can accommodate about 65,000 spectators.
The English and the Croatians are both optimistic about the match. However, the situation for the English national team is better - they do not need to win, as a draw is enough for them to proceed. On the other hand, a victory is necessary for the Croatians.
Owen Hargreaves will definitely not play in the English national team due to stomach issues, and of course, Nicky Butt is still recovering from a knee injury. England will play in their traditional formation of 4-4-2, with Paul Scholes likely taking the left midfield position. Despite only needing a draw, the English should be wary of the memories of the last European Championship where they lost to Romania in the final minutes and had to pack their bags for home. Therefore, the British are especially focused for the final match, and a victory would certainly give them an extra boost of confidence for the quarterfinal match against Portugal or Greece.
Croatia is only satisfied with a victory, so they should be the ones pressing the English. The most dangerous player will undoubtedly be Dado Pršo from AS Monaco. However, English national team and Chelsea players John Terry and Frank Lampard have faced the AS Monaco forward in the Champions League: "He's a fantastic player. Pršo scored a great goal against the French and his threat always remains. But I've played against him a couple of times, I've learned a thing or two, and I hope I can stop him." - said Terry.
Although the Croatians have already received nine yellow cards in their first two matches, today they will all be able to play, as they each have only one card and are not disqualified. They will also have Boris Živkovič available for the match against France. The return of the captain may result in Igor Tudor playing as a defensive midfielder, rather than in defense as against the French.
The excellent performance and the draw against France have boosted the confidence of the Croatians. Now, Croatia's coach Otto Barić is convinced that they can make it among the top eight teams of the tournament by defeating the English: "Maybe six months ago we didn't believe we could beat England and were a bit intimidated by them, but that's certainly not the case now. A victory against them would be a great result and we hope to achieve it." - said Barić.
The match will be officiated by Italian referee Pierluigi Collina.
Predicted starting lineups: England (4-4-2): James; Neville, Campbell, Terry, Cole; Scholes, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham; Owen, Rooney. Croatia (4-4-2): Butina; Šimic, Robert Kovac, Živkovic, Šimunic; Rosso, Tudor, Niko Kovac, Rapaic; Šokota, Pršo. Guess the match results in the totalizator!
