Argentina v Croatia

All the pressure has to be on Argentina in this one, after Messi's penalty miss against Iceland has left them in something of a pickle. Nigeria looked poor against Croatia, so there is every chance Iceland win that one, so it could come down to who gets the best result against Croatia.

With so many games playing out so tight this World Cup calling the winner in what is probably one of the most competitive matches so far looks difficult, but the gut says that the 10/1 available on Croatia nicking this 1-0 wouldn't be the worst bet in the world. They were rarely troubled against Nigeria - just two shots on target in fact, and while Argentina will pose a sterner test, Croatia are likely to set up to frustrate in this one, and have the ability to match their South American rivals given the superb players they have in the middle of the park.

A bet which does interest us is Argentina to have the most bookings in this match, which is available at 13/10 with Paddy Power.

Looking at the players who played in the first matches in the group, those that represented Argentina had a total of 110 appearances in qualifying to their names as a collective. They'd received 24 cards in those matches between them.

Croatia by contrast had marginally fewer qualifying appearances amongst their number (102), but had collected just four cards in those appearances.

While Croatia are outsiders in the match, the onus is on Argentina and this feels a knocking bet based on the stats.

1pt Croatia to win 1-0 at 10/1 (Bet365)

2pts Argentina to get most cards at 15/8 (General)

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