Japan vs Croatia: Blue Samurai look to take down another giant
Japan will look to beat yet another European side and book their spot in the quarter-finals when they face Croatia on Monday. The Samurai Blue are shaping up to potentially be this year’s surprise packages after stunning everyone by finishing top of a quartet that they weren’t expected to even get out of. Along the way, Hajime Moriyasu’s men came from behind to beat both Germany and Spain, and in doing so, dumped four-time World Cup winners Germany out of the competition.
Despite slipping up in a surprise 1-0 loss to Costa Rica, Japan recovered quite well to defeat Spain on matchday three and set up a showdown against Croatia in the round of 16. The Vatreni were the 2018 World Cup finalists, and like Japan, were not a highly fancied side coming into this competition. Four years later, Zlatko Dalic’s side are no longer surprise packages, but they have been determined to prove that their success four years ago was not just a fluke. So far, Croatia have come into this competition in solid form, with just one loss in their last ten World Cup ties. They started their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign by drawing Morocco, but sprung to life as they crushed Canada 4-1. While they were unlucky not to be able to score against Belgium, the Vatreni had done enough to earn five points and head into the round of 16 as runners-up, behind Morocco, who have had an outstanding World Cup so far.
Additional reading: Brazil vs Korea: Asia’s most successful side look to stage upset against South American titans
Japan are into the round of 16 for the second consecutive time, but clearing the fourth game hurdle is something that has plagued the Asian nation since making their debut back in 1998. They were painfully close to ending this hoodoo back in 2018 after going 2-0 up against Belgium, only to see the Belgians overturn that deficit and manage to score three goals sans reply. Four years later, they are on the cusp of finally making history, and having already beaten two top European sides with five World Cups between them, Japan will certainly be fancying their chances against Croatia.
To date, Japan and Croatia have faced off twice before at World Cups, and the Asian side have never won, with a 1-0 loss during their debut in 1998 followed by a goalless stalemate in 2006. Still, their improvement against European teams is worth mentioning; prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Japan had won just two of their last ten World Cup games against UEFA sides (D3 L5); they are now two wins in their last two. That being said, Croatia do have solid track record in the knockout rounds, with just two losses in their last eight (W4 D2). The Vatreni also have dominated when the match goes to penalties, as shown during the 2018 edition that they needed two sets of penalties to defeat Denmark in the round of 16 and then against now-banned Russia in the quarter-final.
Nonetheless, Japan, having already beaten two European giants, will be full of hope as they face yet another European side. Will they be able to dispatch the 2018 World Cup finalists and make history in the process?
