Croatia vs Brazil: The five time word champions Brazil aim for their 6th championship and are 3 wins away from becoming champions again. Brazil clash against the semifinalists of the 2018 FIFA World cup Croatia at the Education city stadium.
Brazil were dominant in the round of 16 match against South Korea scoring 4 goals in the game and winning the game by 4-1. Croatia meanwhile are coming of a 3-0 penalty shootout win over Japan in their round of 16 match.
Croatia reached the quarterfinals for the 2nd successive time and overall this is their 3rd instance where Croatia will be playing in the world cup quarterfinals. They are no strangers to taking the game to over time in knockout matches. 4 of last 5 Croatia’s matches knockout matches have gone to extra time. The only game that they lost in 90 minutes was the game against France in 2018.
Dalic’s men are unbeaten in their last 10 international matches and it will be a tough one against the highflying Brazil outfit in the quarterfinal clash.
Brazil are switched on in the FIFA World Cup after their dominating performance in the round of 16 clash. This is Brazil’s 7th successive appearance at the quarterfinal round. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals round 3 times by the European trio France, Netherlands and Belgium in 2006, 2010 and 2018 respectively.
Brazil lost each of their last 5 knockout matches since defeating Germany 2-0 in the 2022 World Cup Final. Selecao never lost a game to Croatia in their last 4 matches.
Read More : “It’s not England vs Mbappe, it’s England vs France – Kyle Walker
Team News
Croatia
Josip Stanisic and Borna Sosa missed the game against Japan due to muscle injury and illness respectively. Josip will probably be back in the starting lineup replacing Borna Barisic at the left back position. Borna Sosa’s availability will be a game time decision.
The Croatian coach Dalic is unlikely to make too many changes to the playing XI. Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic are the team’s midfield maestro’s.
Brazil
Earlier in the tournament Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles were ruled out of the tournament with Knee injuries. The latest update ahead of the quarterfinal clash as informed by Tite is Alex Sandro is unlikely to feature in the starting lineup as he is still recovering from a hip injury.
Danilo is set to retain his place in the starting lineup as Sandro is unlikely to play against Croatia. Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Eder Militao are the back four for Brazil.
Croatia vs Brazil Probable Starting Lineup
Croatia: Livakovic ( GK), Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Kovacic, Brozovic, Modric; Kramaric, Petkovic, Perisic
Brazil: Alisson Becker ( GK), Militao, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Danilo Garcia ; Casemiro, Luis Paqueta; Raphinha, Neymar, Vinicius Jr; Richarlison
Croatia vs Brazil Predictions & Betting Odds
Prediction
Brazil are the favourites to win the quarterfinal clash 2-1. The game will surely not be a cakewalk for Brazil against an opponent that has high calibre at the knockout stages.
Betting Odds
Brazil is priced at an odds of 4/11 (1.36) to win the game. Meanwhile Croatia is priced at an odds of 8/1 (9.00) to win the game in 90 minutes. The draw is priced at 15/4 ( 4.75).
First Goal Scorer of the match
Neymar is back in the Brazil lineup and is priced at odds of 7/2 (4.50) to score the first goal of the match. Guilherme Pedro is priced at 15/4 (4.75) to score the 1st goal of the match in the Croatia vs Brazil match.
Also read: FIFA World Cup 2022 Quarterfinal Fixtures
