• Still undefeated in the competition and reigning vice-world champion, Croatia wants to go even further this year in Qatar.

  • Facing her, the Samuraï Blue arrive in full confidence after beating Spain and Germany in the group stage!

  • The match will be played on the lawn of the 974 stadium, which can accommodate 44,089 spectators.

Opposing the finalist of the last World Cup and the surprise team of the World Cup in Qatar, this round of 16 will be worth the detour.

We expected a Belgium - Germany, we will have a Japan - Croatia, after the elimination of the two cadors of world football. 

This shows the level of his two teams who are ready to do battle to face the winner of Brazil - South Korea in the quarter-finals.

On which channel to watch the match Japan - Croatia?

The match will be broadcast on Monday, December 5 at 4 p.m., on BeIN Sports 1 and BeIN Sports 2, only for subscribers to the channel.

You can also follow the Japan - Croatia match live on 20 Minutes via our live commentary. 

Japanese people to take seriously

Who would have imagined that Japan would come out on top of a group with Spain and Germany?

After beating La Roja and Mannschaft by the same score (2-1), the Samuraï Blue proved that they could win against any team in the world.

Quite impressive for the 24th in the FIFA rankings! 

Led at the break against Spain, the Japanese completely turned things around in 3 minutes and showed that they deserved their place in the top 16 by taking the 3 points.

Curiously, it was against the weakest of the group, Costa Rica, that the Japanese fell (1-0).

With 2 goals scored in 3 matches (against Spain and against Germany, sorry...), Ritsu Doan is the top scorer of this selection.

It also counts in its ranks Take Kubo, trained at Barça and who defends the colors of Real Sociedad at only 21 years old.

Former Marseille Hiroki Sakai, Rémois Junya Ito and Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu are also part of this talented generation. 

Finalists of the last Asian Nations Cup, Hajime Moriyasu's men want to do better than elimination in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Russia.

Croatia, to experience

The Vatreni are no longer a surprise.

Worn by the 2018 Ballon d'Or Luka Modric, the Croatians are regulars at major events.

Defeated by the French team in the semi-finals in 1998 and in the final in 2018, they have the attention to go to the end this year (especially since the Blues are in the other part of the table).

Although, let's be honest, they didn't show much in the group stage.

Against Belgium, they even owe their salvation to an unusually clumsy Romelu Lukaku in a 0-0 that will not go down in football history.

With another goalless draw, against the surprising Morocco, and an easy victory against Canada (4-1), the team at the checkered flag validated its ticket for these 8th finals.

Zlatko Dalic's men can count on the aforementioned Modric (37), but also on Ivan Perisic (33) and Lovren (33), to name a few.

Beyond the individualities, it is the collective strength and the solidity of its block that make its strength. 

We remember that in 2018 she reached the final after resorting to extra time in the round of 16, in the quarters and in the semi-finals!

Never seen !

Needless to say, you'll have to do better to defeat the sharp-toothed Samurai Blue.

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