Japan – Croatia : Preview & Prediction
Japan and Croatia meet at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in a World Cup match (round of 16). There is no recent history of direct clashes between the two teams, who have not played any match in the last 3 years. The last time they met was on 18-06-2006, in a match that ended with the final score: Japan (0-0) Croatia.
In the last 10 matches, Japan has 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats. In 15 matches they have conceded the first goal 5 times, but have managed to turn the score around 2 times.
The Japanese team comes into this round motivated after a great 2-1 win against Spain: the goals were scored by Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka. It is worth noting that Japan comes to this stage of the 2022 World Cup after finishing first in Group E with 6 points scored. The Japanese team usually operates with a 3-4-3 tactical system, which favors a more defensive style of play, attacking down the side corridors. In this design, the three most advanced players will be Daizen Maeda, Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo. Japan is a team that likes to play in their midfield, aiming to try to surprise their opponents through counter attack. Out for this game is Ko Itakura due to suspension.
In the last 10 games, Croatia has won 6, drawn 3 and lost 1. Their attack has scored consistently as they have managed to score in 7 of the last 10 games. In their matches there is a tendency for few goals, as 12 of the last 28 they have played have ended with less than 1.5 goals. In 15 matches, they have conceded the first goal 5 times, but have managed to turn the score around in 2. There is 1 outstanding period in the last 20 matches played for all competitions: they have scored 13 of their 36 goals between the minutes (76′-90′).
The Croatian national team comes into this match with a draw, 0-0, against Belgium. It should be noted that Croatia comes to this stage of the World Cup 2022 having finished second in Group F with 5 points collected. The Croatian team usually plays with a 4-3-3 formation, in which the three men in charge of sowing chaos in the opponent’s area are Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and Marko Livaja: the latter is the top scorer with 2 goals. Responsible for defining and creating the attacks of his team is the number 10 Luka Modric. All players are available for this match.
Japan – Croatia : Betting Tips
Japan – Win Odds: 4.25
