World Cup 2022, Brazil vs Croatia: Everything you need to know

Brazil and Croatia are the first teams to play each other in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup. The match kicks off on Friday, December 9 at 10 a.m. ET from Education City Stadium. The two had very different paths to make it here. Brazil breezed past South Korea in the round of 16 while Croatia struggled to get past Japan, eventually beating them on penalties.

Croatia and Brazil have met twice before in the World Cup and Brazil won both times, both in the group stage. Croatia has only ever defeated a South American team once, when they beat Argentina 3-0 in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.

Brazil in the World Cup

The Brazilians have already lifted the World Cup trophy on five occasions, and they are well on their way to lifting a sixth in Qatar. The Selecao took a four-goal lead over South Korea in just 36 minutes in their Round of 16 match and they ended up smooth sailing to a 4-1 victory with goals by Vinicius Jr., Neymar, Richarlison, and Lucas Paqueta to take them to the quarterfinals.

In the 2022 World Cup so far, Brazil has lost only once, a 1-0 group stage loss to Cameroon. In fact, that was their first loss in the last 19 international games.

Though this is their seventh time to make it to a World Cup quarterfinal match, Brazil will not forget their recent history at this stage. In three of the last four competitions, Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2006, 2010, and 2018. Those losses came against France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. This time, though, they’re playing Croatia, a team they have beat in their last four meetings. They will be ready to lift themselves out of their quarterfinals slump on Friday.

Brazil does have a few injured players. Fortunately, Neymar is back after recovering from an ankle injury and looked fit in their game against South Korea. The same goes for Danilo. However, Gabriel Jesus and Alex Relles will not play the rest of the World Cup after suffering injuries in the final group stage game against Cameroon. Alex Sandro could potentially be healthy to play after missing the Round of 16 with a hip injury.

Brazil possible starting lineup vs Croatia

Croatia in the World Cup

Croatia made it to the finals of the World Cup last time around before losing to France in 2018. This year, however, they have made it to the quarterfinals, but it hasn’t been pretty. They have only one win in the tournament so far, a 4-1 group stage win over Canada, with three draws, and a win on penalties over Japan in the Round of 16. On the other hand though, they have not lost a game in the last 11 World Cup matches.

Though it’s been hard to beat captain Luka Modric and the Croatia team, they will be up against a tough Brazil team, and draws and penalty shootout wins probably isn’t going to cut it at this stage of the tournament.

Croatia will be dealing with at least one injury of note as well. Josip Stanisic missed the Round of 16 with a muscle injury and could be limited or miss the quarterfinals as well. Borna Sosa missed the game with an illness, but should be ready to play against Brazil.

Croatia possible starting lineup vs Brazil