After beating Germany and Spain to top Group E, Japan now take on 2018 finalists Croatia on Monday at the Al Janoub Stadium, Qatar to try to reach the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Notably, Japan topped Group E with 6 points, while Croatia finished second in Group F courtesy of a win and two goalless draws. Japan, who defeated both Germany and Spain 2-1 — two former world champions — but also suffered a 1-0 loss against Costa Rica in the group stage, are appearing in the knockout stage for the fourth time and are searching for their first win as they suffered defeat in 2002, 2010 and 2018. However, given their current impressive form, not many will be surprised if Japan beat Croatia to make it to the quarterfinals. Croatia, on the other hand, aim to follow their footsteps of four years ago, when they reached the final of the 2018 World Cup before eventually losing to France. Croatia, who are 12 places higher than Japan in the FIFA world rankings, are undefeated in nine of their last 10 World Cup matches. Their last defeat in World Cup came in Russia four years ago when a Kylian Mbappé-inspired France secured a 4-2 win in the final. Talking about their head-to-head record, Japan and Croatia have faced each other thrice so far and both teams won a game each, while the remaining one ended in a draw. Read all the Latest News ****, Trending News ****, Cricket News ****, Bollywood News ****, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook ****, Twitter and Instagram ****.
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