Sunday , 16 August 2026

Japan vs Croatia, Worldcup 2022 LAST 16

FIFA World Cup · 2022
Japan
2 – 4
1 – 3 pen
Full Time
Croatia
Mon 5 Dec 2022 · 15:00 UTC Al Janoub Stadium HT 45' · FT 45'
Y 90' Mateo Kovacic
Y 116' Borna Barisic

Overview

Match Preview

Japan vs Croatia — Worldcup at Al Janoub Stadium.

  • Japan 3 games · 5 pts (2026/26)
  • Croatia 3 games · 6 pts (2026/26)

Match Details

  • Referee Julio Bascunan
  • Referee Ismail Elfath
  • Referee Corey Parker
  • Referee Kyle Atkins
  • Referee Nicolas Gallo (Colombia)
  • Referee Mustapha Ghorbal

Standings

# Team P Pts
1 Mexico 3 9
2 South Africa 3 4
3 South Korea 3 3
4 Czechia 3 1
5 Switzerland 3 7
6 Canada 3 4
7 Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 4
8 Qatar 3 1
9 Brazil 3 7
10 Morocco 3 7
11 Scotland 3 3
12 Haiti 3 0
13 United States 3 6
14 Australia 3 4
15 Paraguay 3 4
16 Turkey 3 3
17 Germany 3 6
18 Ivory Coast 3 6
19 Ecuador 3 4
20 Curaçao 3 1
21 Netherlands 3 7
22 Japan 3 5
23 Sweden 3 4
24 Tunisia 3 0
25 Belgium 3 5
26 Egypt 3 5
27 Iran 3 3
28 New Zealand 3 1
29 Spain 3 7
30 Cape Verde Islands 3 3
31 Uruguay 3 2
32 Saudi Arabia 3 2
33 France 3 9
34 Norway 3 6
35 Senegal 3 3
36 Iraq 3 0
37 Argentina 3 9
38 Austria 3 4
39 Algeria 3 4
40 Jordan 3 0
41 Colombia 3 7
42 Portugal 3 5
43 Congo DR 3 4
44 Uzbekistan 3 0
45 England 3 7
46 Croatia 3 6
47 Ghana 3 4
48 Panama 3 0

Head-to-Head

1
Japan 1 games · Avg 6.0 goals Croatia
Last 5 meetings
2022-12-05 Japan 2–4 Croatia

Recent Form

Japan
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
05 Dec Croatia H 2–4 L
01 Dec Spain H 2–1 W
27 Nov Costa Rica H 0–1 L
23 Nov Germany A 2–1 W
24 Jun Ecuador A 1–1 D
20 Jun Uruguay A 2–2 D
Croatia
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
05 Dec Japan A 4–2 W
01 Dec Belgium H 0–0 D
27 Nov Canada H 4–1 W
23 Nov Morocco A 0–0 D
28 Jun Spain H 3–5 L
22 Jun Scotland H 3–1 W

Season Stats

Japan Croatia
#22 Position #46
5 Points 6
3 Played 3
1 / 2 / 0 W / D / L 2 / 0 / 1
7 Scored 5
3 Conceded 5
+4 GD +0
1.67 PPG 2.00
33% Win % 67%

Key Stats

100% Both Teams to Score
H2H (1 games)
100% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
25% Clean Sheets
Japan this season
25% Clean Sheets
Croatia this season

Japan are 22nd (5 pts). Croatia are 46th (6 pts).

Goal Timing (This Season)

Japan
0-15
1/–
16-30
1/–
31-45
1/–
46-60
2/2
61-75
1/2
76+
2/1
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Croatia
0-15
–/1
16-30
–/–
31-45
3/1
46-60
2/1
61-75
–/2
76+
1/2
■ Scored ■ Conceded

Top Scorers (This Season)

Japan
Ayase Ueda 2 G 1 A
Daichi Kamada 2 G

Events

Match Events

  • 0' The game is set. Croatia kicks off things out of here…
  • 5' It looks surprising Japan does not make any changes. Ante Budimir has some obvious troubles when approaching to the goal.
  • 10' A tactical chess match is unfolding here. The question is which manager blinks first.
  • 15' Ritsu Doan has been one of the livelier players on the pitch with 0 goals to his name this season.
  • 20' Dejan Lovren has been disciplined this evening — perhaps mindful of those 0 cards already picked up this season.
  • 25' Japan currently sit in the Array table. A result here could be decisive in the race for the top positions.
  • 30' The 33-year-old Mislav Orsic has been sensational this season — 0 goals and 0 assists is a remarkable return.
  • 35' will be watching from the dugout nervously. His Japan side need to improve if they are to claim all three points.
  • 40' The tempo has dropped considerably in the last few minutes. Hajime Moriyasu will be considering his options from the bench.
  • 43' What a strike from Daizen Maeda! The score is 1-0.
  • 44' What a strike from Daizen Maeda! The score is 2-0.
  • 49' Not even hints on scoring a goal over the last 49 minutes.
  • 54' Croatia seems to be on a short break. The game is mainly concentrated in the center. It’s high time they got back to action. Otherwise, it looks like a goalless game.
  • 55' Ivan Perisic makes no mistake. The score reads 2-1 and Croatia are in front.
  • 56' Ivan Perisic doubles the advantage! 2-2 and this game is slipping away from the opposition.
  • 61' named a earlier, and opted for a in response. A fascinating tactical duel is developing.
  • 62' Ante Budimir gets the nod from Croatia. He replaces Bruno Petkovic and will look to change the dynamic.
  • 64' A change in the Japan ranks — Yuto Nagatomo exits the field as Kaoru Mitoma enters on 64.
  • 68' Fresh legs for Croatia! Mario Pasalic comes on to replace Andrej Kramaric.
  • 73' The energy levels are beginning to show. Zlatko Dalić might look to freshen things up shortly.
  • 75' Time for substitution for Japan. Daichi Kamada is replaced by Hiroki Sakai.
  • 80' While players are taking a pause, let’s have a look at their stats. The teams met 0 times this season with winning -% of all matches.
  • 85' It’s high time Zlatko Dalić made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
  • 87' Another substitution for Japan to replace Ritsu Doan by Takumi Minamino on 87 minute.
  • 90' Croatia receives a Yellow card for a hard tackle on 90.
  • Another three points for Croatia.

Lineups

Japan Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Hajime Moriyasu

Croatia Lineups

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Zlatko Dalić

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
2 / 4
2.32 Japan xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
2.07 Croatia xG
I would bet for: Over 2.5 goals 80% + Both teams to score 78%

Match Result

✗ Wrong
Japan41% Draw24% Croatia35%
Actual: Croatia win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes78% 0% No22%
Avg goals/match: 4.39
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 98%
2%
± 1.5 93%
7%
± 2.5 80%
20%
± 3.5 63%
37%
± 4.5 44%
56%

Double Chance

Japan or Draw
65%
Draw or Croatia
59%
Japan or Croatia
76%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Japan35% Draw36% Croatia29%
Actual: Japan win at HT

Correct Score

✗ 2–4 not predicted
2 – 4
Actual
2 – 2
6.8%
2 – 1
6.8%
1 – 1
6.7%
1 – 2
6.1%
3 – 2
5.3%
3 – 1
5.2%
2 – 3
4.7%
1 – 3
4.1%
3 – 3
3.7%
2 – 0
3.5%
4 – 2
3.1%
4 – 1
3%

Asian Handicap — Japan

Handicap Japan covers Push Croatia covers
-2.5 14% — 86%
-2 14% 13% 73%
-1.5 27% — 73%
-1 27% 17% 56%
-0.5 44% — 56%
+0.5 65% — 35%
+1 65% 16% 20%
+1.5 80% — 20%
+2 80% 10% 9%
+2.5 91% — 9%

Clean Sheet

Japan keeps clean sheet
13% ✓
Croatia keeps clean sheet
11% ✓

Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.