Japan vs Croatia Predictions

• Japan scored four goals against Spain and Germany in the group stage
• Croatia have scored in 12 of their last 16 tournament games and scored in six straight ahead of Qatar
• Ivan Perisic has scored at least twice at the last four major tournaments
• Croatia have drawn five of their last six tournament knockout games, including three 1-1 draws at Russia 2018

Japan’s long wait for last eight

Japan have booked their place in the last 16 for the fourth time, while this is the third straight tournament in which they’ve made it out of the group. However, they’ve never made the step into the last eight. Having taken two huge scalps on their way to topping the group, will this be Japan’s greatest World Cup ever?

However, standing in their way is a Croatia side who just have a knack for winning games. This is just the third time that they’ve made it out of their World Cup group, but in both 1998 and 2018 they made it to the last four, finishing as runners-up four years ago. Can they make another run to the semis?

Last chance for Croatia’s golden generation

Having dumped Belgium’s ageing golden generation out of the tournament, Croatia are making a final push of their own. This side has its roots in the side which pipped England to Euro 2008, with midfield maestro Luka Modric running the show since then.

Tottenham’s Ivan Perisic is another long-running member of this Croatian side, having made his debut over 10 years ago. He made his tournament debut in 2014 and no player can better his nine strikes at major tournaments. One more goal will put him clear of Davor Suker and he’s been desperate to get it.

No player has had more shots for Croatia than Perisic at the 2022 World Cup, having had five attempts in three games. He’s scored at least twice at each of the last four major tournaments, so he’s a great option to score anytime in what could be his final World Cup game.

Japan can counter Croatia

Croatia’s technical ability is a marvel, with their midfield trio excellent at retaining and retrieving the ball. They’re likely to have a lot of possession in this clash, but that’s something Japan can live with. They averaged just 32.3% possession across their three group-stage games at this World Cup. Their two wins over Spain and Germany came with 17.7% and 26.1% possession respectively, scoring four times despite their limited time with the ball.

Meanwhile, Croatia failed to score in two of their three group-stage games at this World Cup but they had only drawn a blank in two of 13 matches at the tournament in the 2006, 2014 and 2018 editions combined before this. They went to Qatar having scored in six consecutive games and they meet a Japanese side who have conceded in eight consecutive World Cup matches.

Back both teams to score in this one, which has landed in six of Japan’s last eight games at the World Cup. Meanwhile, Croatia have drawn after 90 minutes in five of their last six knockout matches in major tournaments, including three 1-1 draws in their four matches in Russia in 2018. Back a repeat of that scoreline against this impressive Japanese side.

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