Japan vs Croatia, December 5: Head-to-Head Statistics, Line-ups, Prediction for the 2022 World Cup Match

Japan and Croatia will compete for a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.

By winning Group E and finishing ahead of Spain and Germany, two former world champions, Japan upended the standings. The Blue Samurai advanced as group winners with a thrilling 2-1 comeback win against Spain in their final group match, securing their place in the round of 16.With the victory, they became just the third team in World Cup history to come back from halftime deficits in both games they won.

In contrast, Croatia put in a tenacious effort to keep a star-studded Belgium team to a scoreless draw in their last group match.

The 2018 runners-up didn't perform well throughout the group stages, but they managed to finish second in Group F, just behind unexpected group winners Morocco.

The winner of this match will either face Morocco or Spain in the quarterfinals of this championship.

• Date- 5th December 2022;
• Time- 3pm GMT;
• Venue- Al Janoub Stadium;
• Stage- World Cup Round of 16;

How to Watch Japan vs Croatia

The match will be live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer for UK viewers on Television. In the US,the fans can watch the game on Fox Sports,Telemundo,Peacock,Sling, and UFORIA.

Canadian fans can catch the match live on TSN and RDS.

Japan

Any team that beats the 2010 and 2014 world cup champions in the same tournament unquestionably deserves a spot in the knockout rounds, and Japan, who also advanced to the knockout round in Russia four years ago, have now ended their string of last-16 finishes followed by group stage exits.

The Samurai Blue are far from ready, as shown by their pressure to lose to Costa Rica on matchday two. However, they now have the opportunity to set up an all-Asian quarter final with South Korea, although their close people must first defeat Brazil in their last-16 matchup.

Japan Manager Moriyasu's super subs must remain effective if history is to be made on Monday. Japan is still waiting to make their first World Cup quarterfinal appearance and is used to playing against the odds. They have averaged just 32.3% possession in all their games in the world cup.

Japan World cup form(All competitions)- (W,D,L,W,L,W).

Croatia

The Checkered Ones might have been eliminated from the competition if Romelu Lukaku had been able to convert one of the numerous golden opportunities he mysteriously squandered against Croatia, but his ineffectiveness really benefited them.

The 2018 runners-up finished behind Morocco in their world cup group and made it to the knockout stages by a hair's breadth thanks in part to tenacious defense from in-demand RB Leipzig prodigy Josko Gvardiol.

Croatia beat Canada with four goals, and they have a strong defensive record with just one goal allowed thus far in the World Cup. However, they have already failed to score in so many games too.Even though the Checkered Ones have won nine straight games overall and have advanced from both of their previous matches at this level of the campaign, Dalic's team cannot assume anything against Japan, who are a counter attacking machine.

Croatia National Team record(All competitions)- (W,W,L,D,W,D).

Line-ups for the Match Japan vs Croatia

Expected Japan National Team Starting XI vs Croatia(3-1-3-3) : Gonda; Tomiyasu, Taniguchi, Yoshida; Ito; Morita, Tanaka, Nagatomo; Doan, Maeda, Kamada.

Expected Croatia National Team starting XI vs Japan (4-3-3) : Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Barisic; Kovacic, Brozovic, Modric; Kramaric, Livaja, Perisic.

Bookmaker Odds for Japan vs Croatia, December 5

Croatia, due to their experience after being the World cup championship, are favorites to win this match at odds of 2.1 at Coinplay. Japan have been the surprise here as they have proven in their group matches and are outsiders to win this match at odds of around 3.9 at Betway. A both teams to score wager would be extremely likely to happen at odds of 1.97.

Prediction and Bets on the match Japan vs Croatia

Canada has been a tough nut to crack and they are very experienced. Japan have been showing pure niceness on counterattacks so Croatia have a lot to worry about. We expect this to end as a 1-1 draw to this game but Croatia will go through.