Odds and prediction Japan vs Croatia: who is the favorite in the World Cup 2022 match?

World Cup

Japan and Croatia meet in the 2022 World Cup in the round of 16 on Monday, with the winner in line to face five-time champions Brazil in the quarterfinals.

You can follow the live action of the crucial match between Japan and Croatia

After stunningly topping Group E ahead of Spain and in the process condemning Germany to an early exit, the Japanese qualified for the round of 16 in back-to-back World Cups for the first time in their history.

The Samurai Blue, who beat both the Spanish and the Germans in the group stage, are now tasked with another first: winning a knockout match in the tournament. In three previous World Cup round of 16 appearances, Japan have lost to Turkey (2002), Paraguay (2010) and Belgium (2018).

Hajime Moriyasu’s men face a Croatian team that finished second in Group F, behind Morocco, another unexpected winner of the group.

Runners-up in the World Cup four years ago, the Croats beat Belgium, and they owe it in part to Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker’s series of misses against Croatia ensured Zlatko Dalic’s side got the Matchday 3 draw they needed to qualify.

Japan or Croatia will face the winner of Monday’s second round of 16 clash between South Korea and World Cup favorites Brazil in the quarterfinals in Qatar.

Croatia vs Japan: match odds

Given their greater World Cup pedigree, it’s no surprise that the bookies are backing Croatia to beat Japan. That being said, they are not huge favorites. According to Oddschecker, bookmakers in the US price a Croatia win between +100 and +108, while the odds for Japan to win are between +285 and +300. A tie is valued between +220 and +230.

In knockout ties with extra time and penalties, the match tends to count as a tie for betting purposes if it is level after 90 minutes.

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Luka Modric (second from left) in Croatia training. OZAN KOSEAFP See also: Croatia vs Japan: forecast

In between their upset victories over Spain and Germany, Japan managed to lose to Costa Rica. So who knows what they’ll do next?

One thing that seems likely, however, is that their clash with Croatia will not be a goal fest. The Croats were involved in two 0–0 draws in the group stage, conceding only once; meanwhile, it’s been three and a half years since the last time Japan played a game in which both teams scored more than one goal.

And don’t hang your hat on the equalizer that was broken and dusted off in the 90 minutes, either: five of Croatia’s last six major knockout games have gone to extra time, two of them necessitating penalties.

Prediction: Croatia 2-1 Japan (after extra time)

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