Gvardiol managed one shot from a corner in Croatia’s 4-2 defeat to England in their opening game of the tournament and is a consistent shot threat for club and country.

I expect Croatia to rack up quite a few corners here with how Ghana set up. The African side will sit quite deep, as they did against England - conceding nine corners in that game. Croatia have registered 2+ corners in both of their matches so far, but that should increase here with qualification on the line.

Gvardiol took four shots across four starts during qualifying (1.04 per 90), scoring once across those games. He also managed 17 shots across 16 starts for Manchester City during the 25/26 campaign, so this is clearly a strong and consistent part of Gvardiol’s game as a defender. 

Croatia will feel as though they need to win here to avoid a tough draw in the Round of 32, given that Ghana have superior goal difference to Zlatko Dalic’s side. 

Croatia saw six goals in their opening game against England, losing 4-2, showing quite a bit of defensive vulnerability, which Ghana may be able to benefit from with the individual quality they have in forward areas, which hasn’t quite been able to click yet.

Ghana have a brilliant record when it comes to qualifying from the group at the World Cup, so they will offer a decent challenge to Croatia, who have seen 2+ goals in eight of their last nine matches.

Croatia have to force the issue here, and I think we’ll see them come away with a decent corner count, as it may take some time to break down this Ghana side, who held England to a 0-0 draw last time out, conceding nine corners.

Croatia averaged 9.25 corners per game during qualifying, so they are certainly capable of registering a high corner count despite the lower counts they’ve racked up so far. They have real threats from these situations too - the likes of Josko Gvardiol and Luka Vuskovic are real shot threats and could be the key for Croatia to unlock this Ghana side.

The way Ghana set up at the back naturally invites pressure, and I think we’ll see Croatia cover this shots on target line pretty comfortably. They have to win to avoid a tough draw in the Round of 32 as one of the best 3rd-placed sides, so there’s plenty of motivation for Zlatko Dalic’s side.

Ghana allowed England to register 19 shots and three shots on target, also conceding four shots on target against Panama. Croatia managed five shots on target against England, Panama kept them a little quieter, but the situation for Croatia here should spur them on to cover this shot on target line.

Croatia managed 4+ shots on target in 50% of their qualifying matches and have the individual attacking quality to cover this shot on target line in a game they must win to have a good chance of progressing into an easier route in the knockout stages.

Ghana committed 24 fouls against England last time out, which was a tally that reflected their tactical set up in that game. They now face off against a Croatia side who were fouled 19 times by Panama last time out, and I expect quite a similar game to that one here.

Ghana look to frustrate and break up the game as much as possible. They’re looking to make it a scrap and disrupt the rhythm of a clearly superior side when looking at individual talent. Croatia averaged 10.38 fouls won per game during qualifying, I’d expect that tally to increase, as it did in their last game against Panama, given what is at stake for both sides.