Croatia hope to continue their dream-like World Cup campaign when they face their toughest challenge yet in the form of Brazil. See Last Word on Football’s Croatia Predicted Lineup for their World Cup quarter-finals clash against Brazil.
Croatia Predicted Lineup vs Brazil
How Croatia Have Lined-up Recently
Croatia have ridden their luck a little bit in the competition, especially in their final group game against Belgium – where they were really close to being eliminated towards the end. However, the 2018 World Cup finalists have showcased sturdy character to fight their way to the quarter-finals.
They have basically gone with the same backline and midfield line for all of their games so far. The midfield consists of Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric and Marcelo Brozovoic – giving them a perfect mix of defensive rigidity and creative fluidity. Their backline consisting of the experienced Dejan Lovren, the young commander Josko Gvardiol, Josip Joranovic and Borna Barisic has been really sturdy so far, resulting in them only conceding two goals in four games so far.
In the frontline, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric have featured heavily to add more bite to the team. Croatia will definitely play their strongest XI in the Brazil game, involving the best available players.
Croatia Recent Form
The Croatian side enjoyed a pretty good run of form in 2022 before the World Cup, playing nine games ahead of the competition. They won six of those games, only losing once and asserted their authority as one of the major sides heading into the World Cup.
However, they didn’t really have the best of starts to the competition – playing out a goalless draw in their opening game that could’ve easily been a loss had Morocco converted their chances. Croatia bounced back brilliantly in the second game with a 4-1 thrashing of Canada, raising their chances of making it into the knockout rounds.
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Croatia had a pretty bad game in their final group game against Belgium, seeing their blushes being saved by the awful missed chances of Romelu Lukaku. They were able to book a place in the Round of 16 against Japan, which turned out to be a tough game. The Asian side took the lead, before Croatia were able to get the equalizer. However, neither side were able to score the winner in normal time or even in extra time – forcing a penalty shootout. It was here that Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic became the hero, making multiple saves and helping his side move onto the quarter-finals.
Croatia Tactics
Croatia are well aware of their limitations at the World Cup and have structured their entire playing style according to that. They’ve been content with focusing on their defensive work and at least ensuring that opposition teams can’t score many against them, even if that has meant they’ve been unable to score too many in the competition.
Their defensive structure has been really impressive, causing Croatia to only concede two goals in four games so far. That includes keeping two clean sheets, for which goalkeeper Livakovic is obviously to be credited – as he has constantly made vital saves to help them.
But not just him, but their entire backline has been rock-solid with their defensive work. Their 21-year-old centre-back Josko Gvardiol has been a breakout star, producing some memorable performances and being a really difficult man to get past.
The Croatian side like to sit back and sustain pressure, playing with a rather deep backline. Brozovic has helped in protecting his backline by sitting quite deep – while Modric and Kovacic are more involved with progressing the ball into the attack and helping create chances.
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Perisic, even at the age of 33, has been a leading force in the frontline – tormenting defenders with his movement and coming up with the goods in the final third. Kramaric has been a thorn for defenders with his smart off-the-ball runs as well as clever ability to pick out menacing shots on goal. Forward Bruno Petkovic is responsible for the hold-up play and linking up attacks, being the target man for his side.
Croatia are well aware that they’ll have to be near-perfect to pull off an upset against a dangerous Brazil side. That means needing to be defensively unpenetrable and clearing away danger before it can arrive at their penalty area. They’ll also have to be very clever with their counter-attacks and take whatever chances they get perfectly to get a win and continue their amazing World Cup story.
Croatia Injuries to Consider
Croatia could be sweating on the fitness of left-back Borna Sosa, who is suffering from an illness. Fortunately for Zlatko Dalic’s side, they have a fully fit team apart from that and are heading into the Brazil game with a strong squad.
Croatia Predicted Lineup vs Brazil
Dominik Livakovic, Josip Joranovic, Dejan Lovren, Josko Gvardiol, Borna Barisic, Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Ivan Perisic, Bruno Petkovic
