Resident World Cup 2022 giant killers Japan will endeavour to pull off another impressive scalp at the tournament when they tackle Croatia in Monday’s last-16 clash at the Al Janoub Stadium.
Resident World Cup 2022 giant killers Japan will endeavour to pull off another impressive scalp at the tournament when they tackle Croatia in Monday’s last-16 clash at the Al Janoub Stadium.
Japan has an odd of 3.60(bet ₹100 and wins ₹360 if Japan wins). Bet Now
If this match ends with a draw then the odd is 3.25(bet ₹100 and win ₹325 if the match draws). Bet Now
Croatia has an odd of 2.10(bet ₹100 and wins ₹210 if Croatia wins). Bet Now
Match: Japan vs Croatia
Date: December 05, 2022
Time: 08:30 PM (IST)
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium
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It was camera angles galore when Ao Tanaka found himself in the right place at the right time to prod home Japan’s second goal in their 2-1 win over Spain, who had taken the lead against the Asian nation before Moriyasu’s half-time substitutions paid dividends once more. Alvaro Morata took just 11 minutes to break the deadlock for Spain before substitute Ritsu Doan’s venomous leveller, and fellow half-time change Kaoru Mitoma just about managed to keep the ball in play for Tanaka to settle the contest and book Japan’s last-16 place in dramatic fashion.
Any team that beats the 2010 and 2014 world champions in one tournament no doubt deserves a place in the knockout rounds, and Japan have finally broken their cycle of a last-16 place followed by a group stage exit, having also got to the knockout phase in Russia four years ago. The Samurai Blue are far from the finished product, as evidenced by their disappointing 1-0 loss to Costa Rica on matchday two, but they could now set up an all-Asian quarter-final with South Korea, although their near neighbours must first eliminate Brazil in their last-16 battle.
Gonda; Tomiyasu, Taniguchi, Yoshida; Ito; Morita, Tanaka, Nagatomo; Doan, Maeda, Kamada
Had Romelu Lukaku been able to finish one of the plethora of gilt-edged chances he inexplicably wasted against Croatia, the Chequered Ones could very well have been heading out of the competition, but the Chelsea attacker’s profligacy worked in their favour to the extreme. Putting four goals past Canada is all well and good for Croatia – as is their stellar defensive record, with just one goal conceded in the tournament so far – but they have already failed to score in as many games at this World Cup as they had done in their previous 13 matches.
Nevertheless, the Chequered Ones now come into the last-16 clash on a nine-game unbeaten run across all tournaments and progressed from both of their previous ties at this stage of the competition, but Dalic’s side can take nothing for granted against the counter-attacking machine that is Japan. Since suffering a 4-3 loss in their first meeting with Japan 25 years ago, Croatia have since beaten the Samurai Blue at the 1998 World Cup before playing out a goalless draw in the 2006 edition, and yet another low-scoring affair in Qatar is not beyond the realm of possibility in this last-16 showdown.
Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Barisic; Kovacic, Brozovic, Modric; Kramaric, Livaja, Perisic
With a penchant for lightning quick counter-attacks and a wealth of players in reserve waiting to make a difference, Japan have every right to feel that another shock is on the cards, and finding a consistent attacking formula has not been on the agenda for Croatia. While we do expect the Samurai Blue to make the net ripple, trying to score more than once may prove to be a fruitless endeavour against a dogged Dalic-led defence, and we would not be surprised to see this one decided from 12 yards as Croatia deny Japan a first-ever quarter-final appearance.
Japan 1-1 Croatia, predicted by us.