World Cup 2022 

Round of 16, Match 5- JPN vs CRO

Preview:

In a somewhat unpredictable way, Croatia meets Japan in this round of 16 of Qatar 2022 on Monday at 08:30 PM IST, to which the Croatians have been led as second in a group led by Morocco and where the Asians have fallen as the first of a quartet that they shared with Spain and Germany. The Japanese came first in the group and the Croats second, so logic may not be the most decisive factor in a duel that will take place at the Al Janoub Stadium.

Without a doubt, Japan is one of the surprises of the tournament and one of the great Cinderellas of the round of 16. When nobody counted on them, the Japanese opened the championship by beating Germany and closing the first phase by taking three points against Spain. Disregarding possession of the ball and with great effectiveness against the rival goal, the Asians have already warned of what they are capable of doing. For today's match, they will not have central defender Ko Itakura due to suspension and they have Kubo between cotton due to physical problems.

Far from it, Croatia was expected to play against Japan, being the second classified in their group. Modric and the company have bypassed Spain, but they would be wrong if they relax in their clash against the Japanese because they have the runner-up sign. Led by Luka Modric and in a championship where they have gone from less to more, the Croatians want to continue shooting ex officio and a team that can accuse the accumulation of minutes because it is the team that has used the fewest players so far.

At 25 years old, Mitoma has become one of the biggest stars in Japan thanks to his matches against Germany and Spain. He was key in both wins coming off the bench. For his part, Modric is a permanent starter in his country and in charge of carrying the weight of the match. At 37, he has plenty of gasoline to continue making history with the Balkans.

Without surprise, the Croatian team faces the fourth match against Japan in history. The panorama, the background, could not be more even. In three matches, each won one match and the other ended in a draw. However, the Asian team now coached by Hajime Moriyasu claimed victory in the only friendly between the two teams, in 1997 (4-3).

The other two duels were, precisely, in World Cups. In France 1998, where the Croatian team beat the Japanese 0-1, and in Germany 2006, the most recent, in a duel that ended goallessly.

Match Details

Match: Round of 16, Match 5- JPN vs CRO  

Date: 5 December 2022

Time: 08:30 PM  

Venue: Al Janoub Stadium

Key Players

JPN: Japanese winger Ritsu Doan could get the chance as Ko Itakura will be suspended from the game for receiving a second yellow card and he will play a crucial role in tonight's match to lead his team for glory if Japan wants to make it to last 8 of the Wolrd Cup.

CRO: The captain of the Croatian side Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic remain key players for Croatia and their key role can help their side to make it to the next round and beat the Asian side today.

Possible Starting XIs

JPN: Gonda; Tomiyasu, Yoshida, H Ito; J Ito, Endo, Tanaka, Nagatomo; Doan, Asano, Kamada.

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

Match Prediction

Japan is capable of forcing penalties against Croatia. There is no doubt that Modric's men are favorites and for this match, they will be the ones who will be in the quarterfinals, but the Japanese can have a very long tie and they can put the team led by Luka Modric in a lot of trouble. We say CRO 2-1 JPN.

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