The Samurai Blue have the chance to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in the history of the Japan national soccer team. For that to happen, they need to knock Croatia out of the tournament. Can they pull it off?
Before Betting on Japan vs. Croatia
Japan finished top of Group E with six points (2-0-1 record). They defeated Germany 2-1 in the first round, then lost to Costa Rica 1-0, before beating Spain 2-1 in the decisive match.
The win in question is somewhat controversial with rumors about Spain deliberately playing in first gear that afternoon. The thing is that by finishing second, Spain will be able to avoid Brazil and Argentina on the road to the final.
This, however, doesn’t mean Japan were bad in that game. They did, though, have a very low possession. In fact, they had the ball in their possession for just 17.7% of the time.
On Monday, you can bet that Croatia aren’t going to go easy on Japan. Instead, they’re going to hit them with all they have. And they do have a lot of weapons in their arsenal. After all, this is the team that finished second four years ago in the World Cup in Russia.
Sure, many of the players from the silver generation are no longer on the roster, but some of them are, most notably, the team captain Luka Modric.
Japan vs. Croatia Offshore Odds & Pick
| Offshore Sportsbook | Japan | Draw | Croatia |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetOnline | +310 | +221 | +111 |
| Bovada | +285 | +230 | +105 |
| BetUS | +310 | +220 | +105 |
| SportsBetting.ag | +310 | +221 | +111 |
| Pinnacle | +306 | +222 | +112 |
| MyBookie | +290 | +224 | +107 |
Japan can count themselves lucky for getting to the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup. We think their luck ends on Monday morning. Croatia are just much, much better than them.
Pick: Croatia
