FIFA World Cup: Japan vs Croatia, Preview and prediction
Japan's journey in the World Cup has been full of surprises - they not only topped their group above Spain, but they also eliminated Germany.
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Japan : Dream run in Qatar 2022Beating these European powerhouses is incredible, especially considering they were behind at halftime in both games.
It's hard to believe they lost to Costa Rica between these two momentous wins.
Croatia advanced to the last 16 after a scoreless draw with Belgium on Thursday, in a match where a loss would have resulted in their positions being reversed.
Belgium had several opportunities to take the lead, but Croatia held their ground and fought for the chance to qualify alongside Group F's surprise winners, Morocco.
Although they missed some opportunities, Croatia more than deserved their place in the next round.
The contest between Japan and Croatia is likely to be interesting, as Japan's high-pressing style could impede Croatia's intricate passing game in the same way that it made both Spain and Germany look ordinary.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Japan’s second goal in their 2-1 win over Spain was checked by VAR to determine if the ball had gone out of play. <br><br>The video match officials used the goal line camera images to check if the ball was still partially on the line or not. <a href="https://t.co/RhN8meei6Q">pic.twitter.com/RhN8meei6Q</a></p>— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAcom/status/1598702362243104768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Croatia's creative midfield players will be critical in this match, but it is difficult to say who will come out on top. Both teams probably feel that they have a favourable last-16 draw. Slight edge for Japan in this match.