June 19, 2021 - A victory for Croatia against Scotland is now imperative for 2nd or 3rd place in Group D. 

The second round of EURO 2020 Group D finished on Friday and Croatia currently sits in third place. After two draws on Friday, Croatia and the Czech Republic 1:1 and England and Scotland 0:0, the Czech Republic is in first, followed by England in second, Croatia in third, and Scotland in fourth, reports Gol.hr.

Croatia must beat Scotland on Tuesday if they want to go further and can no longer pass as the group winner. Finishing first in the group is not the best option, anyhow, as first place in Group D crosses over with the 'group of death' - Portugal, France, Germany, and Hungary.

Croatia's position will also depend on the second game in the group. Namely, if the Czech Republic and England play a draw in the last round, Croatia can only continue from third place, no matter how large the victory against Scotland. However, they will need a better goal difference to be placed among the best third-placed national teams.

If England wins minimally, Croatia must beat Scotland by three goals for second place, and any major England win will mean that Croatia needs a goal less to skip the Czech Republic. 

If they have the same goal difference as the Czech Republic, second place will go to the team that has fewer yellow and red cards.

If Croatia doesn't go as second place, it seems that being among the best third-placed national teams in the competition is a probable option.

It should be noted that Scotland can also win third place with a victory, so it will be an all-or-nothing match.

Second place in Group D crosses over with the second-placed team from Group E (Spain, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia). If Croatia finishes third, they will play the winner of Group B (probably Belgium), the winner of Group E (Sweden or Spain), or the winner of Group C (Holland).

Theoretically, Croatia could go even further with a draw against Scotland, i.e. with only two points, but a lot has to coincide. Namely, Switzerland and Turkey have to draw in a direct clash for third place, Germany would have to lose to Portugal and still draw with Hungary in the end. 

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