Japan vs. Croatia Prediction

• Where: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar
• When: Monday, December 5, 8 pm local time

The Japanese team was a sensational winner of Group E, in which they finished first ahead of Spain, Germany, and Costa Rica. Though this is because of some other circumstances, but still, nothing can diminish their success here in Qatar. Meanwhile, Croatia is through the knockout stage, with lots of luck, as we saw them fighting for its life against Belgium in a direct battle for the eliminations.

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Japan

The Japanese team managed to beat two former world champions, Germany, and Spain, with the same result, 2-1. In between, they lost to Costa Rica, 0-1, in a game that saw them camping on the Ticos’ side of the pitch but allowing a goal when their rivals crossed the half for the first time in the game.

Japan ended first because Spain deliberately lost against them, avoiding a much harder path in the draw, with Brazil and Croatia in it. That’s a fact and all the experts agreed upon that.

But we need to say that Japan showed certain qualities and that they deserved to be at this stage, regardless of all the other circumstances. This unit plays aggressive and very fast football, with thunder-lightning counter-attacks.

Croatia

The Croats have been going up and down in this tournament, but they are without a loss. After playing without goals against Morocco, they beat Canada, 4-1, in a game where they used all the rivals’ mistakes and inexperience. In the end, they somehow survived Belgium’s pressure, with that game ending 0-0 as well.

This isn’t a team like the one from four years ago, and they are obviously limited. The big advantage of this unit is their experience and also the fact that they play together for a long time.

The defense is problematic, without too much consistency, while the attack struggles to deliver as well. The only bright spot is the midfield, but they too, have certain limitations. 

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Japan vs Croatia Possible Lineup

Japan: Gonda; Sakai, Tomiyasu, Yoshida, Nagatomo; Morita, Endo, Kamada; Ito, Asano, Minamino

Croatia: Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Kramaric, Livaja, Perisic

Japan vs Croatia Head to Head

These teams met twice at the World Cup, the first time in 1998 in France. Croatia was a better team back then, beating Japan, 1-0, during the group stage. In 2006, they’d also met in the group stage, and Japan got out with a goalless draw, 0-0.

Japan vs Croatia Prediction

We are with Croatia here because of one thing only, and that’s their experience in matches like this one. They are the runners-up from the previous championship and often play high-quality games with huge pressure, which isn’t the case with Japan. 

Our verdict: Croatia wins

Japan vs. Croatia Odds

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