Brazil were pre-tournament favourites to win the World Cup, they remain so after the group phase, and they’re certainly overwhelming favourites to advance through this tie. Bizarrely though, Brazil was the lowest scorer in Group G, a section they ended up topping. On Friday night, having already beaten both Serbia and Switzerland, Tite rotated heavily for their final game against Cameroon. A Seleção could not find the breakthrough and, thanks to a stoppage-time goal, the samba boys were beaten by an African side at the World Cup for the very first time. So, perhaps Brazil is more vulnerable than at first they might appear? Earlier on Friday, Korean Republic booked its place in the knockout stages in dramatic circumstances. The Taegeuk Warriors came from a goal down to beat Portugal 2-1; Kim Young-Gwon equalized before Hwang Hee-chan won it in stoppage time. With Uruguay winning 2-0 simultaneously, Paulo Bento’s team snuck through on goal scored alone. So, this is just Korea’s second appearance in the knockout phase on foreign soil, beaten by aforementioned Uruguay at this stage 12 years ago. South Korea has certainly been entertaining and an attacking threat at this tournament, but Brazil will be far too strong at Stadium 974, right? Tite’s team took on the Korean Republic in a friendly as recently as June, smashing their hosts 5-1 in Seoul. This means Brazil has won six of seven meetings with South Korea, the sole exception being a 1-0 friendly defeat in 1999.
Things To Know:
1. This will be the third World Cup meeting between Japan and Croatia, with Japan winless and goalless in the previous two – a 0-1 defeat in 1998 and a goalless draw in 2006, both in the group stage. Those two matches are Croatia’s only previous World Cup games against an Asian nation.
2. Japan has won both of their 2022 World Cup matches against European nations, with 2-1 wins over Spain and Germany in the group stage. They had only won two of their first 10 World Cup matches against European sides before this year (D3 L5).
3. Japan has reached the last 16 of the World Cup for a fourth time, including both of the last two editions. However, they have never progressed from this stage, going out to Turkey in 2002, Paraguay (on penalties) in 2010, and Belgium in 2018. The only Asian nations to reach the World Cup quarter-finals was DPR Korea in 1966 and Korea Republic in 2002.
4. This will be Croatia’s third appearance in the round of 16 at the World Cup, while they progressed from this stage in both previous such instances, beating Romania 1-0 in 1998 and Denmark on penalties in 2018.
5. Croatia have only lost two of their eight knockout stage games at the World Cup (W4 D2), while they also progressed from the two such games that finished as draws on penalties, both in 2018 (v Denmark in the round of 16, Russia in the quarter-final).
Japan vs Croatia.
If someone tells you they predicted how Japan’s group stage campaign would go, they are lying! The Samurai Blue beat Germany, then lost to Costa Rica, before beating Spain, coming from behind in both victories. On Thursday night, two goals, just three minutes apart, from Ritsu Dōan and Ao Tanaka, saw Hajime Moriyasu’s team defeat la Roja 2-1. This has seen Japan reach the round of 16 at back-to-back World Cups for the very first time, now seeking a maiden place in the quarter-finals. In those victories against Spain and Germany, the Samurai Blue certainly proved they were capable of competing with high-level European opposition. So, Croatia will certainly not underestimate the four-times Asian champions. The Blazers played out a pair of goalless draws in Group F, against Morocco and Belgium, with the 4-1 drubbing of Canada in the middle enough to see them advance. Despite those two goalless games, both teams have scored in 28 of Croatia’s last 46 competitive outings, a run that includes the 2018 World Cup Final. In short, this one could go either way, so backing a goal-fest at Al-Janoub Stadium could be the way to go.
Things To Know
1. This will be the eighth meeting between Brazil and the Korean Republic, and the first-ever competitive meeting between the two sides. Brazil has won six of the previous seven matches (L1), most recently a 5-1 victory in June.
2. Korean Republic has never previously beaten a South American side at the World Cup, drawing twice and losing four times.
3. Brazil have lost four of their last 10 matches at the World Cup (W5 D1) – their previous four defeats in the competition were spread across 36 matches (W26 D6).
4. This will be Korean Republic’s first game in the knockout stages of the World Cup since 2010 when they were beaten by Uruguay in the round of 16 (1-2). They have only won one of their five games beyond the group stage in the competition (D1 L3), with that victory coming against Italy in the round of 16 in 2002.
5. Brazil have progressed from each of their last seven round of 16 matches at the World Cup, only failing to win in normal time once during this run, progressing via penalties against Chile in 2014. They were last eliminated at this stage in 1990 against Argentina.
We predict Japan winning against Croatia while Brazil takes the lead against South Korea. As we’ve said, this World Cup is shocking so expect any upset.
