Hložek and Král Start as Czechia Chase Final Group Points in Osijek

Croatia and Czechia have confirmed their starting lineups for Sunday's UEFA Nations League A Group 3 fixture at the Opus Arena in Osijek. Slaven Bilić takes charge of Croatia; Santi Denia leads Czechia. It is the final group fixture for both sides.

Czechia's lineup carries the names that matter most for them. Adam Hložek, Alex Král, Antonín Kinský, Christophe Kabongo and David Zima all start. Hložek and Kabongo give Denia pace and directness in the attacking line, while Král anchors the midfield. Zima and Kinský form part of the defensive spine.

Both managers have landed on the same shape: 4-2-3-1. That gives each team a double pivot in front of the back four and a three-man band behind a lone striker. With both sides mirroring each other, the central corridors will be crowded. The two holding midfielders will have to decide when to step and when to screen, because the space between the lines is where this game will be won or lost. Neither manager has blinked on the shape, so the separation will come from how aggressively the full-backs push and how quickly the front four combine.

Denia has gone with a lineup that blends experience and youth. Král's presence in the double pivot suggests Czechia want control in the middle third, but Hložek and Kabongo starting together means they also want a threat in behind. Kinský and Zima in the back line point to a defence that will look to hold a higher line and squeeze the space Croatia's playmakers need.

Croatia's response is a 4-2-3-1 of their own, which puts the onus on their two holding players to win the second balls and feed the attacking three before Czechia's midfield can recover. Bilić has matched the structure but will need his own front four to find gaps in a Czechia block that has the personnel to sit compact and break quickly.

The Opus Arena in Osijek is the venue, and with both teams already confirmed in the same shape, the opening 20 minutes will show which side can impose its pressing triggers. Czechia's key players are all on the pitch from the start, so Denia has not held anything back. Bilić has done the same. The final group fixture now comes down to execution in the spaces both formations leave open.

Kick-off is next. The lineups are in, the shapes are set, and the only thing left is to see which 4-2-3-1 bends first.