FIFA World Cup 2022: Why Croatia’s quarter-final meeting with “terrifying favourites” Brazil is shaping up to be an even affair – tactical preview

As World Cups go, this will undoubtedly be one that many will remember for reasons both on and off the field. Off it, there has been controversy and conversations over human rights and other ethical issues, whilst on it, there have been shocks aplenty as many big hitters have been sent home earlier than many thought or expected.

With the last eight now on the horizon, two sides who will be thankful to have so far avoided an upset are Croatia and Brazil, and both will now surely have their sights set on going all the way. They meet in the first of the quarter-final games at Education City Stadium on Friday, and this tactical analysis will preview all of the action, with information on potential lineups, how the teams set up in attack, defence and during transitions and a predicted outcome for the encounter. The analysis will also look back at the previous performances of the two sides, seeing where they have looked vulnerable and where their opponents can hurt them once the game gets underway.

Team news

Croatia have not reported any new injury concerns following their penalty shootout win against Japan, so are expected to field roughly the same team that started their round of 16 encounter with the East Asian side. The star midfield trio of Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić and Marcelo Brozović are all expected to start, as well as central defensive duo Dejan Lovren and Joško Gvardiol, and the only new face in the side could be left-back Borna Sosa, who missed the last match with illness but could return in time to take over from Rangers’ Borna Barišić.

Brazil, meanwhile, continue to be without on-loan Sevilla left-back Alex Telles and Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, who will both miss the rest of the tournament, whilst Alex Sandro is another doubt, having missed their win against South Korea in the last round with a hip injury. As a result, Danilo may continue in that role against Croatia, whilst head coach Tite also has some decisions to make over the makeup of his midfield, depending on whether he wants defensive protection or creativity at the top of the field.

Croatias attack

Croatia’s attacking play has largely been very similar throughout their time in Qatar, with their tactics tending to revolve around building attacks and finding their key offensive threats as quickly as possible once the chances to do so arrive.

Whilst the midfielder and forwards have obviously been central to that way of playing, the two centre-backs Dejan Lovren and Joško Gvardiol have also played their part in getting up the field and looking to play the ball into advanced areas of the pitch. As this graphic shows, a high percentage of Lovren’s touches of the ball have come around the midway line and inside the opposing side’s half, and it is the same story with Gvardiol on the other side of the field.

Therefore, it is clear that, when Croatia are in possession and advancing up the field, they rely on the support of their defenders to enable them to keep the pressure on their opponents, and doing so is why they have been able to find results and reach this stage despite performances sometimes lacking overall quality.