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Post-Match Recap: Round of 16 Japan vs Croatia & Brazil vs South Korea

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The latest World Cup in Qatar results from today’s matches are here. Now that we’re far into the Round of 16, WorldCup22 brings you what you might have missed.

The Rundown: Japan vs Croatia

After a 1-1 draw in the Round of 16, the match went to penalties, where Croatia triumphed 3-1, advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup in Al Wakrah.

The 2018 finalists battled early on, and Daizen Maeda, a striker for Celtic, rightly put Japan ahead before halftime. After the break, though, Zlatko Dalic’s seasoned squad rallied, and Ivan Perisic, a winger for Tottenham, sprinted into the box and headed the ball in to tie the game.

After 120 minutes of play resulted in a scoreless draw, in case you missed our World Cup 2022 free livestream, the game went to a penalty shootout, which Croatia ultimately won thanks to Dominik Livakovic’s three saves on penalties from Japan and Mario Pasalic’s game-winning strike.

Player of the game: Dominik Livakovic

Both of Japan’s penalty kicks that Livakovic saved were headed toward the corner. Over three goals were projected to be scored once those four penalties were assessed. Only one person was able to defeat him. The Croatian keeper made some excellent saves.

Livakovic had already taken 54 penalties in his career before this game, with a conversion record of 74% against him. Like the Japanese goalie Gonda, the average conversion rate is around 78%. The numbers and Livakovic both supported his claim.

Japan v Croatia final score

Team1H2HFinal
Japan101
Croatia011

The Al Janoub Stadium had a grand opening from end to end. Japan got off to a rousing start, with Shogo Taniguchi heading narrowly wide off a short corner and Maeda charging down Livakovic. The other end then saw a flurry of activity in the goal area, with Shuichi Gonda thwarting Perisic and then pouncing on the ensuing loose ball.

The victory sets up Friday’s quarterfinal match between Croatia and Brazil. On Tuesday, December 13, the victor of that matchup will advance to face either the Netherlands or Argentina in the semifinals. Our World Cup 2022 fixtures Singapore time page will have all the remainder of the matches.

The Rundown: Brazil vs South Korea

Brazil’s 4-1 Round of 16 thrashing of South Korea was an artistic statement in the team’s pursuit of a sixth World Cup title. The Selecao haven’t won the World Cup since Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and Ronaldo led a rout in 2002, but their first-half performance at Stadium 974 was deserving of the legacy they hope to continue. Keep in mind that Brazil is also the World Cup betting odds 2022 favorite to win the whole tournament.

Vinicius Jr. calmly found an opener in the seventh minute, and Pele, who issued a tweet of encouragement from his Twitter account promising he would watch on from his hospital bed, might have seen something in the amazing liveliness of Brazil’s play from that point on as well.

Neymar, returning from an ankle injury, scored a penalty in the 13th minute and set up goals by Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta before halftime. Even though Paik Seung-ho made sure that Brazil wasn’t the only team scoring amazing goals, this performance should still give quarterfinal rivals Croatia and the rest of the teams in Qatar pause.

Before and after halftime, Korea’s goalkeeper Kim made a series of spectacular saves, but he was helpless to prevent Richarlison from scoring the game-winning goal in the 29th minute. After halftime, Korea continued to focus on their goal, and they were aided by a testimonial atmosphere when Brazil substituted third-string goalkeeper Weverton for Alisson.

After making a couple of great stops from Hwang Hee-chan, Liverpool’s starter was helpless to save a 25-yard shot from replacement Paik. Whether any team can beat Brazil is still up in the air.

Player of the game: Vinicius Junior

In retrospect, it should not have come as much of a surprise that the 22-year-old Real Madrid forward would play a vital part when Tite’s team finally turned on the flair, since he had been one of the brightest offensive sparks in Brazil’s muted group-stage performances.

While under intense pressure, Vinicius Junior showed poise by taking a touch before calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net. His assist was also the result of a brilliant play, as Lucas Paqueta expertly finished his scooped cross.

Brazil v South Korea final score

Team1H2HFinal
Brazil404
South Korea011

After halftime, Tite’s players tried to add to their already insurmountable lead, but they were stopped by an amazing effort from goalkeeper Seung-Gyu Kim. On the other hand, Brazil dominated Doha and moved closer to victory.

Brazil has advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals and will play Croatia on Friday for a chance to move to the tournament’s semifinals.Our daily roundup comes to a close as these two Round of 16 matches ends. Don’t miss Solarbet’s free World Cup bets, it’s a great way to support your favorite teams throughout the tournament!