Henry Roldán
On Monday, the 2022 World Cup’s round of 16 matches will continue with the exciting Japan vs Croatia matchup.
The Asian team shocked the soccer world with wins over Germany and Spain to go top of Group E, while the Europeans got relegated to second place in Group F behind Morocco.
Without further ado, JefeBet brings you the best preview of the decisive match between Japan vs Croatia.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Japan vs Croatia World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 Match on December 5, 2022
- Where: Al Janoub Stadium – Al Wakrah, Qatar.
- When: Monday, December 5, 2022, 10:00 AM E.T.
- BetMGM Moneyline: Japan (+280) / Draw (+220) / Croatia (+110).
- Over/Under (2.5): Over (+135) / Under (-175).
- Both teams score: Yes (+110) / No (-130).
- Pointsbetting (exclusive at PointsBet, for terms and conditions click here):Total Japan goals = Over 0.95.
Odds provided exclusively by PointsBet.
Betting on Japan (1st place, Group E)
This Thursday, the Japanese squad became one of the many shocks at the 2022 World Cup by winning the challenging Group E. The team led by Hajime Moriyasu closed in a big way their performance in the group stage: they had already beaten Germany in the first matchday and did the same against Spain by 2-1.
As if it were a repeat of the match against the Germans, the Japanese team came out all guns blazing in the second half and turned the score around in less than four minutes with goals from Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka.
Despite having 82% of the possession, Spain was unable to score more than one goal because of the excellent strategy used by the Japanese team, which, after establishing the lead, didn’t have to worry anymore. In this way, Japan finished the group stage with six points and a defeat to Costa Rica, a game they completely controlled but failed to score in.
Probable lineup (3-4-3): Shuichi Gonda; Ko Itakura, Maya Yoshida, Shogo Taniguchi; Ao Tanaka, Junya Ito, Hidemasa Morita, Yuto Nagatomo; Daichi Kamada, Takefusa Kubo, Daizen Maeda.
Betting on Croatia (2nd place, Group F)
After a painful 0-0 tie with Belgium in the last game of the group stage, Croatia eventually finished second in Group F. Few were anticipating Morocco, who won the group and was predicted to move on along with the European squad and the Belgians, to play well.
For the majority of the match, Zlatko Dali’s team outplayed Belgium, but in the closing minutes, they were taken by surprise by an offensive blizzard that nearly eliminated them from the World Cup (Morocco had defeated Canada).
After drawing without scoring with the Africans in the opening match and defeating Canada 4-1, Croatia earned a total of five points. Those problems in front of goal (not present in the game against the Canadians) are what worries a team with a great command of the midfield.
Probable lineup (4-1-2-3): Dominik Livakovic, Borna Sosa, Josko Gvardiol, Dejan Lovren, Josip Juranovic, Marcelo Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Marko Livaja, Andrej Kramaric.
JefeBet Prediction
The favorite for this engagement, by a very small margin, is Croatia. However, Japan already showed what they are capable of by beating Germany and Spain in the group stage and the Croatians could be another one of their victims.
The lack of goals by the Europeans is something that the Japanese could take advantage of to achieve another surprise result, although Croatia surpasses them in technical quality and game control.
Prediction: Draw (JAP 1 – CRO 1).
The odds shown are courtesy of PointsBet. Don’t miss out on our reviews!
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