World Cup 2022: Reasons for Croatia to be confident of beating Brazil

The 2018 runners-up - who finished second in Group F - were held to a 1-1 draw by Japan in their last-16 battle, but Zlatko Dalic's men prevailed 3-1 on spot kicks.

Few will be expecting the Checkered Ones to pull off a quarter-final surprise on Friday afternoon, but there are some reasons for optimism for those in red and white as they prepare to take on many people's favourites.

Here, Sports Mole looks at three factors which could help Croatia stun the Brazilians and advance to face either the Netherlands or Argentina in the semi-finals.

Unbeaten run

Ever since being dumped out of Euro 2020 by Spain on penalties, Croatia have proven incredibly difficult to beat in competitive and friendly fixtures, and they enter Friday's quarter-final having only lost once in the last 15 months.

That defeat surprisingly came at the hands of Austria in the Nations League back in June, but Dalic's side have otherwise posted an impressive 13 wins and six draws from their last 20 matches in all competitions, and their existing unbeaten streak also stands at 10 matches.

Furthermore, Croatia have made a habit of performing well against the big names in 2022, having been paired with reigning world champions France in their Nations League group but managing to take four points from their two meetings with Les Bleus.

Dalic's side also did the double over Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark, although the Scandinavians have not been one of the success stories of the 2022 World Cup, while Belgium huffed and puffed but also failed to penetrate the Checkered Ones' backline in the group stage.

Defensive nous

As much as Romelu Lukaku's wasteful finishing was to blame for Belgium's failure to find the back of the net against Croatia, take nothing away from the stellar defensive efforts of Dalic's side, who have been one of the best rearguards of the tournament so far.

Indeed, Croatia have only conceded two goals in their four matches in Qatar thus far and are blessed with the in-demand Josko Gvardiol, the 20-year-old RB Leipzig centre-back who performed out of his skin to keep Belgium at bay.

A 33-year-old Dejan Lovren is not as quick as he used to be, but he still demonstrated what he has to offer with a delightful assist for Ivan Perisic against Japan, while a return to fitness for left-back Borna Sosa will also help Croatia's creative output.

Furthermore, Dominik Livakovic has now proven his prowess from the spot by saving three Japan penalties - albeit tame ones - in their last-16 battle, and Croatia have only conceded five goals in 10 matches since that 3-0 loss to Austria in June, and never more than one a game.

Brazil's European struggles

Remarkably, it has been 20 years since Brazil last managed to win a knockout match against European opposition at the World Cup, which came in the 2002 final as they bested Germany 2-0.

Since then, facing UEFA nations in the latter stages of the tournament has been the Selecao's Achilles heel, and they could now suffer a sixth straight defeat to a European side in the knockout round of the World Cup.

Furthermore, three of Brazil's last four World Cup exits have come in the quarter-final stage, as France sent the five-time winners packing in 2006 en route to the trophy, and the Netherlands ran out 2-1 winners over the Selecao in the last eight of the 2010 tournament.

Then came the Rio humiliation, a 7-1 defeat to Germany in the 2014 semi-finals, and their quest for a third-placed consolation prize against the Netherlands also ended in tears following a 3-0 loss.

Most recently, Brazil's run in the 2018 edition ended at the hands of Belgium in the quarter-finals, but they have already beaten Serbia and Switzerland in the group stage of the current tournament, and Croatia are not held in as high regard as previous European teams to have put Brazil to the sword at this stage.

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