We will bet on underdog Cyprus here, Asian handicap +2.5 which gives us 3 goals advantage in the start to win. Indeed, Croatia is a way stronger team on paper than Cyprus but that is calculated in the odds. Since I expect a minimal win for Croatia only and Cyprus to resist and stay well in the game during most of the time, +2.5bet seems really interesting for me.

Croatia disappointed against Slovenia in the first match of World Cup Qualifications, as they were defeated by arch neighbors by 1-0. Now coach Zlatko Dalic and his players need to win as they know and move forward and help the nation to forget the loss in Slovenia. The whole nation is depressed to lose against Slovenia and is not an easy moment for Croatian players because "everyone" asks their selector/head coach to resign from his duty and leave the job to the younger coach. However, Croatia will most likely win today, but will be a that big or small win in terms of result? I am pretty sure this will be a hard-fought win, no matter if we have Cyprus on the other side. It's because of the pressure, it's very big and players are depending on the performance of Luka Modric who is responsible for midfield. But Luka cannot do everything alone. The coach will change his formation in this game compared to the last match and we should see Cyprus defending most of the time. Cyprus are able to resist 45 minutes I think. If they manage it, we will win the bet for sure.

What’s new to say about Cyprus, a team that has never participated in a major competition like the European and World Cups? The selection from the sunny island is not a hard rival, on the contrary, everyone has been a welcome opponent in the qualifications in recent years. For example, in the last World Cup qualifiers in Russia, the Cypriots finished fifth place in their group. Behind Estonia, and ahead of Gibraltar. They were closest to the big competition in the qualifications for the European Championship 2016 when they needed a victory in the last duel with BiH to conclude the group in third place, which led to the playoffs. However, they lost 2: 3 and were left without additional qualifications, although they recorded their biggest away victory in that cycle, 2: 1 in the neighborhood against BiH in Zenica. In history, they have had some domestic results that are “mythical” for them, such as 3: 2 with Spain in the Euro 2000 qualifiers, then 1: 1 with Germany in the autumn of 2006 during the Euro 2008 qualifiers. But they were all individual flashes without a final significant effect on placement. Their regular "customers" are national teams such as Andorra and San Marino, and two and a half years ago in the League of Nations, they defeated Slovenia 2: 1.

However, as I said, it's risky to bet but is very valuable. I can imagine Croatia winning only by 1 goal 1-0 or eventualy 2-0.

的确，克罗地亚在理论上比塞浦路斯强得多，但这是基于概率计算的。因为我认为克罗地亚很可能会小胜塞浦路斯，避免过多消耗。

克罗地亚在世界杯预选赛的第一场比赛中输给了斯洛文尼亚，他们以0-1的比分被邻国斯洛文尼亚击败。现在主教练兹拉特科·达利克和他的队员们需要取得胜利，他们知道，要继续前进，帮助大家忘记在斯洛文尼亚的失利。整个国家都对输给斯洛文尼亚感到沮丧，这对克罗地亚球员来说也不是一个轻松的时刻，因为“每个人”都希望主教练辞职，把工作留给更年轻的教练。然而，克罗地亚队今天很可能会赢，但就结果而言，这场胜利是大还是小呢?我很确定这将是一场艰苦的胜利，尽管对手是塞浦路斯。这是球队因为压力太大了，球员们的表现取决于中场莫德里奇的表现。但是莫德里奇不能独自完成所有的事情。和上一场比赛相比，教练将在这场比赛中改变阵型，我们应该会看到塞浦路斯大部分时间都在防守。我想塞浦路斯能抵抗45分钟。如果他们成功了，应该能够避免大比分失利。

塞浦路斯从来没有参加过像欧洲杯和世界杯这样的重大赛事，他们并不是一个强劲的对手，相反，在近几年的资格赛中，他们都是最理想的对手。例如，在上届俄罗斯世界杯预选赛中，塞浦路斯获得了小组第五名。在爱沙尼亚之后，在直布罗陀之前。在2016年欧洲杯资格赛中，他们非常接近正赛资格，他们需要在最后一场与波黑的对决中取得胜利，才能获得小组第三拿到附加赛资格。然而，他们以2:3输掉了比赛，没有获得附加赛资格，尽管他们在泽尼察取得了最大的客场胜利，2:1击败波黑。在历史上，他们在国内也有过一些“神话般的”战绩，比如在2000年欧锦赛预选赛中3:2战胜西班牙，在2006年秋欧预赛中1:1战平德国。但这些高光表现并没有对最后的结果产生重大影响。他们的“常客”是安道尔和圣马力诺等国家队，两年半前在欧国联的比赛中，他们曾以2:1击败斯洛文尼亚。

然而，就像我说的，这个选择是有风险的，但很有价值。我预测克罗地亚以1球小胜，或者最终以2-0取胜。