Japan vs. Croatia: Top Storylines, Odds, Live Stream for World Cup 2022
Japan and Croatia may have been projected to play each other in the knockout round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup when the draw came out, but no one expected them to face each other with Japan as a group winner and Croatia coming out in second place.
Japan produced a stunner in Group E, as it finished first ahead of Spain and Germany. Japan used second-half comebacks against both European sides to earn victories.
Croatia took second in Group F behind another shock group winner in Morocco.
The 2018 World Cup runner-up earned five points from three games thanks to a defense that conceded just once.
Croatia’s game plan has not changed much since the last World Cup. It is still reliant on three dominant midfielders, a group led by Luka Modrić, to keep possession and spray balls forward.
Japan has been a second half team in Qatar, and as long as it hangs for a half with Croatia, it could produce more late fireworks on Monday.
Odds and Match Info
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
90-Minute Money Line
Croatia (+110; bet $100 to win $110)
Japan (+280)
Draw (+230)
To Advance to Next Round
Croatia (-180)
Japan (+150)
Match Info
Date: Monday, December 5
Start Time: 10 a.m. ET
TV: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app
Croatia Runs Through Its Midfield Trio
Croatia’s success runs through its midfield engine room of Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic.
The trio of midfielders dictate the tempo of every Croatia game and that makes the team very hard to break down and gain possession off.
Croatia will try to pick apart the Japan defense with passes from the three midfielders into the likes of Andrej Kramaric on the forward line.
Modrić is the star of the group because he plays at Real Madrid and has more of an attacking flair, but Brozovic and Kovacic are as important to the team because of the structure they bring to the squad.
Croatia will try to implement the same possession-based strategy again on Monday to get out to an early lead and avoid the second-half comebacks that Japan produced against other European sides.
Croatia’s strength at the back will be important for it to advance as well. The European side conceded once in Group F and that came on an early goal from Canada in the second group game.
Croatia held Morocco and Belgium scoreless and did not let Canada score again for the finals 88 minutes.
Even if Japan makes the proper adjustments in the second half, Croatia may be too dominant up and down its spine to be put into spots of bother.
Japan Has Been Second Half Team in Qatar
Japan had a knack for making the proper adjustments and winning games in the second half in Group E.
Japan produced two goals in the final 15 minutes against Germany to announce itself on the World Cup stage with a stunning 2-1 win.
The Samurai Blue used the exact same formula to beat Spain on the final group matchday and top Group E.
In that 2-1 win, Japan scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half and held on for the victory.
Ritsu Doan was the catalyst of both comebacks. He scored the equalizer in the 75th minute versus Germany and in the 48th minute against Spain.
Japan might play for a draw to get to halftime, but it needs to make sure it doesn’t play its way out of the game. That happened in the 1-0 loss to Costa Rica when the game plan got too conservative and the chances in the final third dried up.
Japan knows it will not see a ton of the ball against Croatia. But that will be okay with the Asian side since Spain and Germany followed the same tactics.
Japan can win the game, but it needs an on-point strategy to ensure Croatia does not control the game for every second.
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