Sports
FIFA World Cup: Japan to face Croatia, Brazil to take on Korea
FIFA World Cup Round of 16, Japan vs Croatia; Brazil vs South Korea
Doha: In FIFA World Cup 2022, Japan will lock horns with Croatia at the Al Janoub Stadium, while Brazil will play against South Korea at 12:30 tonight.
Last night, in the knock out stage of FIFA World Cup 2022, France beat Poland by 3-1 while England defeated Senegal by 3-0.
Japan vs Croatia
In their matchup against Croatia, the Samurai Blue will look to claim yet another outstanding victory at the tournament.
Croatia have performed wonders to punch above their weight for so long in international football and are determined to keep their reputation going against Japan in their last-16 match at the World Cup today, coach Zlatko Dalic said.
The 12th-ranked Croatians are favourites to beat 24th-ranked Japan, but the Samurai Blue astounded expectations to defeat two powerhouses and former World Cup winners, Spain and Germany, at the group stage in comebacks.
Brazil vs South Korea
The second game for the day will be played between Brazil and South Korea at Stadium 974.
Brazil making it to the knockout rounds of a World Cup is no surprise. A loss to Cameroon in its last group game didn’t stop the Selecao from making it past the group stage for the ninth consecutive edition.
However, the Brazilians will miss Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles as both men are out of the tournament with knee problems. While Richarlison, already the scorer of a wonder goal, will be leading the attack, Telles’ withdrawal and the recurrent hip problem of Alex Sandro might cause a problem for Tite for the left-back position.
But the philosophical Brazilian manager has always asked us to focus on all his 26 and not individual players. “Brazil has 26 great athletes. We do not call them starting players or reserves. They are all players.” he had said.
– With Additional Input From News Agencies