World Cup - Qatar 2002 ___ vs ___ Date: Dec 9, 2022 (Friday) Stadium: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan (Cap. 44,677) Previous Meetings Preview Onto to the QFs !!! Brazil breezed through South Korea with a convincing 4 x 1 win and now meets Croatia in the QF at the Education City Stadium. We have met Croatia twice in WCs and won both times (2014 and 2006). Both games were in group stages and this will be the first meeting between both teams in the KO round. Croatia qualified in 2nd out of Group F with 1 win and 2 draws. Belgium pushed them to the brink in the last match day but they held on in the end. In the R16 they beat Japan on PKs so they may have some tired legs. As a curiosity, including WC18, Euro20, and WC22, 5 out of their last 6 KO games have gone to extra time. I wouldn't be surprised if they play defensively but they have skillful players who take take the game to us. Obviously everyone knows Modric. Even at 37 Modric can ball. Gvardiol is a young defender that is making some waves in the WC. Perisic will be a forward to keep an eye on. He is experienced and scored a nice header vs Japan. But their attack is not as good as it was 4 years ago when they placed 2nd in the WC. On our side, it looks like we came unscathed from the game vs South Korea. No new injuries reported and no bookings. Danilo and Neymar seemed to have held off their injuries well. I don't see Tite making any lineup changes. Paquetá is playing well and the defense is not being put under pressure with the more defensive setup with Fred in the midfield. The only change I see is if Alex Sandro recovers from his injury and then Tite will put Danilo back at RB. I have a feeling that Raphinha will keep his spot even after his missed chances. He did well enough vs Japan otherwise. Bookings (Pendurados): Fred, Militão, Bruno Guimarães Injury List / Doubtful: Alex Sandro (hip)
I'm hoping we'll have Alex Sandro back and he and Danilo look solid. They will play a big role in preventing Croatia from getting service into the box from the flanks. Of course, they also have an exquisite midfielder in Modric. I think we'll go with Casemiro and Paquetá again this time, so I don't expect changes beyond the return of Alex Sandro.
As far as I can see it this Brazil is better than 2018 and this Croatia is worse than 2018, so as it gets it will be a similar level of difficulty as you had vs Switzeland but maybe Croatia won't defend so deep, and Croatia gives more spaces. The only real upgrade they had on individual players compared to 4 years ago was Gvardiol, Modric is great but 4 years older and Perisic the same, and this time around they don't have Mandzukic who really was a top player for them.
Brazilian sports media has articles commenting on Croatia being an old and tired team. Even other countries' media has done this. However, during the group stage, the Croatian back line was comprised by: Right-back Josip Juranović - 27 Center-back Dejan Lovren - 33 Center-back Joško Gvardiol - 20 Left-back Borna Sosa - 24 When it comes to defenders, age can be a blessing due to experience. But three of these four players are under 30, and with these back 4 in a 4-3-3/4-1-2-3 system, Croatia allowed 1 goal in 3 matches. In yesterday's match against Japan, Borna Barišić (30) replaced Sosa. Sosa was never yellow-carded during the group stage, and the Japanese goal resulted from a foul kick into the area from the left side of the Croatian defensive area halfway between the box and the center circle. I didn't watch the play up to that foul, so even if Barišić made an error resulting in that foul kick, Barišić held on towards the end. This is a defensive system which therefore allowed 2 goals in 4 matches and one of them, again, resulting from a quick melee in the Croatian box following a set play. Therefore, even if some of the star playmaking/frontline players are older/aged, the defense is not. Lovren is the exception, but again, zagueiros being a bit older can be an asset. The Republic of Korea made one huge error yesterday: it tried to play Brazil "de igual" and it was punished for it. Croatia will never commit this mistake, all the more as they witnessed what happened to Serbia and to Switzerland: they lost, but after a lot of hammering by a persistent Brazilian team. I predict Brazil will win and feel confident Brazil is the superior team, but it will likely be a very difficult match.
I have the feeling that Spain is somehow going under the radar. Everyone is speaking about Brazil, France, Argentina. Spain also has a good team and can surely surprise everyone.
Out of all the potential teams to meet in an eventual final, Spain would probably be my favorite. I think Portugal would be good matchup for us too.
They are a dangerous team, but they showed weaknesses after the Costa Rica game. They are a team that will create chances and score, but defensively, I am not convinced they can keep a strong team off the score sheet. France is a bad matchup for them. I think Portugal is the worst matchup for France on that side of the bracket.
Alex Sandro trained today with the ball and with the rest of the group. But not word if he will be ready for Friday.
Did you see Gvardiol's last millisecond tackle of what would have been a certain Belgium goal? Lukaku had already cocked his leg to shoot as Gvardiol dove in and tipped it away. (Alt angle) If this goal had gone in, Belgium would have made the second round.
The only lineup question for this game is whether Alex Sandro would be back and we'd see the same team as vs. Serbia or if he wouldn't be back and we'd see the same team as vs. Korea. Looks like Alex Sandro is training but not yet ready to return and will be on the bench. Starting line-up would be: Alisson; Militão, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Danilo; Casemiro, Paquetá, Neymar; Raphinha, Richarlison, Vini Jr.
I had not seen this, but thanks for the links. Indeed, he does seem like a zagueiro who combines bulk with speed and athleticism - the kid is not even legally old enough to drink alcohol in the U.S. But he could, theoretically, prevent Brazil's frontline from scoring. A major reason I'm confident of Brazil winning tomorrow is that the initial scare over Neymar and Danilo is over, and also because unlike 2018, Brazil has lost no significant players for the quarterfinal match due to yellow cards. And while the round of 16 match was atypical in how the opponent gave us too much space, Brazil showed that it can function as an efficient attacking time de futebol. On a different note, I have not forgotten you married a woman from Argentina. Should our team win tomorrow and then the Dutch lose, you and she will have an interesting Tuesday next week.
Lineup confirmed. Same starting lineup as the S. Korea game with Militão on the right and Danilo on the left. Alex Sandro is on the bench.
Can't blame Tite for being cautious here, but I hope it isn't a factor. If it is, at least he has the opportunity to adjust with a sub. Militão is on a yellow and we can't afford to lose another defender.