Japan vs. Croatia Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds | Round of 16

Japan surprisingly won their tough group with Spain and Germany and will now face Croatia in the round of the last 16. We provide you with a detailed preview of the match, the best odds and predictions and offer you our Japan – Croatia betting advice.

Japan experienced a strange group stage. First, they beat Germany 2-1, although they were already 1-0 down at half-time, but then they lost 1-0 to Costa Rica, just as surprisingly. In the decisive match against Spain, however, Japan repeated the trick they pulled off in the Germany game: After being down 1-0 at halftime, the underdogs went on to win 2-1.

Croatia remained undefeated in the group stage. First, they couldn’t get past a 0-0 draw with Morocco, but then they laid the foundations for advancement with a commanding 4-1 win over Canada. In their final match, they drew 0-0 with Belgium to finish second in the table and knock Belgium out of the tournament.

The match will take place at al-Janoub Stadium in al-Wakrah on December 5 at 6pm Qatar time.

Latest betting odds

Croatia is considered a slight favorite against Japan by all international bookmakers.

Our ➜ top bookmaker Betsson offers odds of @3.90 for a win by Japan. In the event of a draw you can win back 3.30 times your stake, and if Croatia wins after 90 minutes you can expect 2.10 times your stake.

 

	➜ visit Bookmaker	➜ visit Bookmaker	➜ visit Bookmaker
Japan to win	4.00	3,90	3.75
Draw	3.25	3.30	3.25
Croatia to win	2.00	2.10	2.10

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Top Bookmaker for World Cup Betting

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World Cup 2022 Betting Japan vs. Croatia

1. Japan Match preview
2. Croatia Match preview
3. Team comparison
4. The last duel
5. Over/under betting pick
6. Match Betting prediction
7. Correct score bet
8. FAQ

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Japan World Cup 2022 Preview

Whenever Japan went into a match as underdogs, they always came out on top. Against both Germany and Spain, they turned the game around and won 2-1 after going behind. Only against Costa Rica they suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat.

The game against Spain was not extremely one-sided. The only thing Spain had plenty of was possession. Japan ended up with only 16.69% possession and played only 212 passes, but that was enough to win the game.

Real scoring opportunities for the Spaniards were scarce, however, as Japan’s disciplined three-man backline performed well, and they were able to close down the Spanish forwards.

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The approach of the Japanese in the match against Croatia is therefore also obvious. Once again, they will give the ball and the initiative to their opponents and then try to transition as quickly as from defense to offense. Against Spain, too, the Japanese needed only three shots on goal to score two goals.

However, Japanese team boss Hajime Moriyasu will have to change his secure defense: Ko Itakura is suspended against Croatia. However, he can be replaced by the strong Takehiro Tomiyasu, which means that Japan’s defense will probably not have to accept any loss of quality.

Japan previous World Cup matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	XG	Possession	Accuracy	Duels won
23/11/2022	Germany	N	2 – 1	1.86 : 2.58	27.26%	76.15%	44.62%
27/11/2022	Costa Rica	N	0 – 1	1.84 : 0.17	54.12%	88.77%	42.34%
01/12/2022	Spain	N	2 – 1	1.13 : 1.13	16.69%	73.58%	48.53%

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Croatia World Cup 2022 Preview

Croatia had to suffer in their last group match against Belgium. The duel with the favourites in Group F was a real test of nerves for the Croats, also because Belgium’s star striker Romelu Lukaku missed numerous opportunities. Belgium had to go home after the goalless draw and Croatia advanced to the round of the last 16 in second place.

Croatia had already played 0-0 against eventual group winners Morocco and then defeated Canada 4-1. The Croatians were strong at times, but then again had many empty runs in their game.

However, the Croatians’ top-class midfield, in which Luka Modric continues to pull the strings, played really well. Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic also proved in the first games that they can make an impact for the Croatians.

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With the exception of the game against Canada, however, the Croatian attack remained largely ineffective. While they were quite convincing defensively, they repeatedly had problems creating clear scoring opportunities in the attack.

This was also visible against Belgium, against whom they could only build up an Expected Goals Value of 0.73. Against the efficient Japanese, they must also strive to deliver a focused defensive performance, as they did in the first two group matches.

Croatia previous World Cup matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	XG	Possession	Accuracy	Duels won
23/11/2022	Morocco	N	0 : 0	0.74 : 0.25	63.64%	87.38%	42.16%
27/11/2022	Canada	N	4 : 1	1.50 : 0.40	45.98%	83.33%	51.50%
01/12/2022	Belgium	N	0 : 0	0.73 : 2.18	49.07%	86.68%	41.62%

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Team comparison

In favor of Japan:

+ Extremely high efficiency – Japan need only a few opportunities to score a goal.
+ Solid defense with high tactical discipline
+ Japan clearly feel comfortable in the underdog role
+ Japan can let Croatia have the ball and the initiative and play on the counter-attack
+ Croatia have problems with creative play in the final third

In favor of Croatia:

+ A world-class central midfield
+ Strong centre back with a brilliant Josko Gvardiol
+ High level of experience and tournament affinity
+ The suspension of Japan’s centre back Ko Itakura

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The last duel

The last match between Japan and Croatia also took place at a World Cup: in Germany in 2006, the two teams were drawn into the same group. The match in Nuremberg ended in a 0-0 draw and both teams were eliminated at group stage.

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Japan – Croatia Over Under Prediction

Japan – Croatia Prediction

Japan – Croatia Correct Score Bet

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FAQ – Questions and answers about Japan – Croatia at the 2022 World Cup