BRAZIL VS CROATIA
The first quarterfinal match of the Qatar World Cup is going to start today. Five-time world champions Brazil will face Croatia, the runners-up of the last World Cup.
The match will be played at the Education City Stadium at 8:30 p.m. IST. Brazil has an advantage in the competition. However, Croatia cannot be written off. Both teams have met four times so far. Brazil won all three of them. A match was tied.
Judging by their current performance, Brazil has the best chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. Their squad depth is what scares any team. Tite will field the same XI as in the last match. Superstars Gabriel Jesus and Alex Tevez are out with injuries, but that may not affect the team's performance. The forward line led by Neymar Jr. is a challenge for Croatia. The arrival of the Canaries defeated South Korea by four goals to one in the pre-quarterfinals.
Croatia, on the other hand, beat Japan in a shootout to qualify for the quarterfinals. The presence of a handful of talented players like Modric, Perisic, Kovacic, Brozovic, Kramaric, Lotan, Guardiol, and Livkovic gives hope to Croatia. Dalich's disciples are preparing to face Brazil today for the title that has not been captured in this year's World Cup in Russia. It remains to be seen how Croatia will hold off Brazil in their quest for a sixth title. Anyway, expect a great match.
WIN PROBABILITY
Brazil:-71%
Croatia:- 11%
Extra Time:-18%
MATCH SCHEDULE
Date:- 9/12/2022
Time:- 8.30 PM (IST)
Venue:- Education City Stadium
INSIGHTS
1) Brazil is unbeaten in previous meetings with Croatia in all competitions (W3 D1); this is their first meeting since a 2-0 friendly win in June 2018.
2) Apart from a 3-0 win over Argentina in 2018, Croatia has lost four of its five World Cup matches. Two of those four defeats came against Brazil: 1-0 in 2006 and 3-1 in 2014. (both group stages).
3) Since beating Germany 2-0 in the 2002 final, Brazil has lost each of their last five World Cup knockout stage matches against European nations, including three quarterfinal ties in that run (France in 2006, Netherlands in 2010, Belgium in 2018).
4) In the run-up to EURO 2008, seven of Croatia's last eight knockout stage games at major tournaments (the World Cup and Euro) have gone to extra time, except the 2018 World Cup final. They advanced from all four such games at the World Cup, three through penalty shootouts.
5) Brazil is looking to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the ninth time; only Germany (12) has done it more times. Meanwhile, Croatia has reached at least the last four of the competition on both occasions (1998 and 2018), when they were eliminated from the group stages.
