Japan are looking to continue their Cinderella run at the Qatar 2022 World Cup as they face 2018 finalists Croatia in the round of 16.
Japan have been one of the biggest surprises at this World Cup and finished top of a group that included Germany and Spain. Not only did they finish above the two former champions, the Asian side also claimed victories over both teams on their way to winning the group.
This is not Japan’s first foray into the round of 16 of the World Cup, although they are yet to progress beyond this stage. Their victories against Spain and Germany will give them confidence ahead of Monday’s clash.
A slight problem for Japan is their defence which is yet to keep a single clean sheet in Qatar and fell behind in all three group stage matches. While Hajime Moriyasu’s men showed character to fight back in two of those fixtures, the 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica showed that it might be tough getting past organised teams.
Croatia’s run to the World Cup round of 16 was not as straightforward as they would have hoped. They only claimed one win in the group while the 0-0 draw with Belgium in their final fixture was enough to see them progress to the knockout stage of the competition.
The Croats have experience at this stage of the competition having gone all the way to the final at Russia 2018. The likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and Dejan Lovren remain in the squad while manager Zlatko Dalic is still the man in charge.
One of the driving factors in Croatia’s campaign in Qatar is their defensive organisation which has seen them concede only once in the competition so far. However, the 4-1 victory over Canada in their second group fixture also showed they can turn it on at the other end of the pitch.
How the bookies view it
Croatia have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 15/13 by 10bet to claim the win. A victory for Japan is valued at 3/1 by Betfred while William Hill is offering odds of 9/4 for a draw.
Head to head
There have been only two previous meetings between Japan and Croatia, both of which were played during the 90s. Japan claimed a 4-3 victory in a friendly in 1997 while Croatia won 1-0 in a group stage fixture during the 1998 World Cup in France.
Players to watch
Ritsu Doan has been one of the standout players for Japan at the World Cup, coming off the bench to score in the wins over Germany and Spain. The attacker could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime on Monday at 5/1 with Paddy Power.
Andrej Kramaric stood out for Croatia when they showed their attacking quality in the win over Canada. Having netted a brace in that fixture, the forward could be considered to score anytime on Monday at 14/5 with Unibet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Japan and Croatia have quality in attack and both teams could be backed to score at 11/10 with Unibet. Over 2.5 goals is valued at 7/5 with Unibet while Paddy Power is offering odds of 7/2 for over 3.5 goals.
With Japan going behind in all three of their matches so far, Croatia could be backed to score first on Monday at 4/5 with BoyleSports.
This World Cup match between Japan and Croatia will be played on Dec 5, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Japan vs Croatia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
