Japan vs Croatia Preview
Croatia have never lost in the Round of 16 in a men’s FIFA World Cup while Japan have never gone beyond this stage. However, when these two meet on Monday at the Al Janoub Stadium, the historical facts won’t mean a thing, and in all candour, fearless Japanese will be a cause of grave concern for Zlatko Dalić’s Croatia.
Hajime Moriyasu’s incredibly bold Japan have been the story of the tournament. By beating the 2014 and 2010 men’s World Cup winners to finish on top of Group E, booting out Germany in the process, they’ve accomplished the unthinkable.
Although the Samurai Blue unexpectedly lost 1-0 to Costa Rica on matchday 2, mostly they’ve been a meticulous, superbly well-organised, and hard-working unit in this campaign.
They’ve followed the template of defending with a mid-block, staying compact and narrow, usually playing on the counter, and selectively but vigorously squeezing their opponents – especially in the second half while chasing the game – by pressing high and hard.
For example, let’s look at the game against Spain: Despite setting up for counterattacks and only controlling a miserly share of possession (16.69%), Moriyasu’s team was highly efficient and thoroughly direct when moving forward. In the limited time that they spent on the ball, they managed to equal Spain’s xG of 1.13 with 36.8% of their passes being progressive and forward.
This template has evidently done wonders for them, and expect them to do more of the same against a Luka Modrić-led Croatia.
Croatia’s journey so far, on the other hand, has not been as smooth as desired. They were surprisingly dull in their draw against Morocco and, in their final game, in an all-hands-on-deck situation, the Vatreni endured a rampage of Belgian incursions in the final 20 minutes of the fixture, and only have the sloppiness of Belgium and Romelu Lukaku to thank for their progression into the next round.
The highest point of their campaign was the crucial 4-1 victory over Canada, where their gameplay, orchestrated by their midfield base, had a touch of liquidity about it while an inspired Andrej Kramarić bagged a brace. The Croats notched up an impressive xG of 2.6 and hit the target 10 times. They would love to touch these levels on Monday.
Moreover, with the know-how of handling tournament football of the highest degree, a majestic fulcrum of Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, and Marcelo Brozović, and the safety of an…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at FootTheBall…