Preview of the World Cup Quarterfinals: Brazil vs. Croatia in the history of the battle. Can the golden generation beat the five-time champion?

2022-12-09 15:19

Preview of the World Cup Quarterfinals: Brazil vs. Croatia in the history of the battle. Can the golden generation beat the five-time champion?


At 11:00 p.m. today, the Qatar World Cup will be held at the Education City Stadium, where Croatia will face off against Brazil in the quarter-finals. Whether the seasoned golden generation can beat Brazil, the five-time winner, to secure a place in the semi-finals of the semi-finals, the confrontation between the two teams is worth looking forward to.


World Cup group and round of 16 performances for both teams


Croatia 's progress from the group stage has been tortuous, with a goalless draw against Morocco in the opening game, a 4-1 win over Canada, and a 0-0 draw against Belgium in the group finale. Second place below Morocco broke into the round of 16.


In the round of 16 against the Asian team Japan, Croatia, which was higher than Japan in terms of ball control and shooting efficiency, had difficulty in attacking the goal and tied the score 1-1. It can be seen that the offensive efficiency is not as good as before. In the end, the two teams entered a penalty shoot-out, relying on the goalkeeper's strong defense and 3 saves, allowing Croatia to reach the quarter-finals in the second consecutive World Cup with a penalty shoot-out.


Preview of the World Cup Quarterfinals: Brazil vs. Croatia in the history of the battle. Can the golden generation beat the five-time champion?


As for the Brazil team , they won both the first two games of the group stage. Although they lost to Cameroon 1-0 in the final game due to the rotation of key players, Brazil still advanced to the round of 16 with a strong advantage and defeated South Korea 4-1. .


Battle history and World Cup record


According to the fighting history of the two teams, the two sides have faced each other 4 times, and Croatia is at a disadvantage with 1 win and 3 losses. In the most recent match, in the 2018 international friendly match, Croatia lost to Brazil 2-0.


In the history of the World Cup, Croatia lost to Brazil in two World Cup group matches (2006 and 2014), but Croatia made great progress in the last 2018 World Cup, not only through penalty kicks against Denmark and host country Russia He advanced to the big battle, and even continued to beat England in overtime in the semi-finals, and finally lost to France in the final to win the runner-up.


As for Brazil, in addition to hosting the World Cup in 2014 and winning the third place, from the 2006 World Cup to 2018, they can only stop at the quarter-finals. This will be a dilemma that the Brazilian team needs to break through.


Preview of the World Cup Quarterfinals: Brazil vs. Croatia in the history of the battle. Can the golden generation beat the five-time champion?


Injuries of both camps


Croatia's 22-year-old defender Josip Stanisic is doubtful for this innings due to a muscle injury, while 24-year-old defender Borna Sousa, who missed the previous game with an illness, will return to the line-up.


Brazil is facing more injury problems. As of today, a total of 3 players have missed training due to injuries, and they are likely to miss today's quarter-finals. The 31-year-old defender Alex Sandro is likely to be unable to participate in today's battle due to a hip muscle strain. The 29-year-old defender Alex Telles and the 25-year-old forward Gabriel Jesus both have knee injuries. Likely to miss this game as well.


Brazil's key players, however, were striker Neymar, 30, and defender Danilo Luis da Silva, 31, both returning from ankle injuries to feature in the last 16. And Neymar even scored a penalty kick against South Korea, becoming the first Brazilian player to score goals and assists in 3 different World Cup games, and won his seventh goal and assist in 12 World Cup games. 3 assists.


Preview of the World Cup Quarterfinals: Brazil vs. Croatia in the history of the battle. Can the golden generation beat the five-time champion?


Match predictions - Five-time winners Brazil still have scoring advantage


Although Croatia is good at playing protracted battles, Luka Modric, the captain of the golden generation, is 37 years old. Like Belgium, he is close to the serious aging of the core main force, which is not optimistic about Croatia's situation in this game. In addition, Croatia's performance in this World Cup is also a thrilling victory. Under Brazil's strong offensive, it may be difficult to replicate the tie in overtime against the Asian team Japan.


Once Brazil breaks through, Croatia will completely fall and cannot escape defeat. However, Croatia's defense should not be underestimated. If Brazil is dragged into overtime or a penalty shootout by the experienced and resilient Croatia, Brazil's situation will become worrying. It is predicted that Croatia will struggle to reach extra time, and Brazil will be able to beat Croatia 2-1 or by a larger margin.