The round of 16 in the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar is heating up as teams continue to fight for a quarterfinal berth. Two more high-octane clashes are scheduled for today where two Asian teams take on European and South American giants. Japan will take on Croatia in the first match, whereas Brazil will lock horns with South Korea in the next game of the day. Here, we shall take a look at how the two teams stack up and what could be the outcome of the two contests.
Japan vs Croatia
Japan enjoyed remarkable and unforeseeable success in the group stage as they defeated giants like Germany and Spain to finish at the top of Group E. They came up with superb returns in both offense and defense and now they will be eager to pull off another upset and qualify for the quarterfinals. Croatia, on the other hand, finished second in Group F. They didn’t lose any match but dropped points in two games. Their attacking returns weren’t that good but Croatia were brilliant defensively as they conceded only once in three games. But we are backing Japan to win here 2-1 as they have the momentum and confidence on their side.
Brazil vs South Korea
South Korea is another Asian team that stunned the world by beating Portugal in the group stage. They finished second in Group H to qualify for the round of 16 and now they will be eager to deliver another strong performance here to progress further. But that is going to be pretty difficult against an in-form Brazil. The South American team has quality and experience on both sides of the pitch and are expected to register a convincing 3-1 win here.
