Croatia vs Brazil Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips – 2022 World Cup: Who Will Win?
| Timetable | Friday 9th of December at 15:00 GMT |
| Prediction | Brazil to Win! |
| Odds | Brazil to Win @ 1.40 |
| Bookmaker | TonyBet Sports |
18+ | New customers only. Min stake €10 | 30 days to qualify | Payment method restrictions exist | Play Responsibly | Terms and Conditions apply. | http://www.begambleaware.org
18+ | New players only | Min. deposit 20EUR | Max number of winnings using bonus funds is 10,000 EUR | Bonus validity 14 days from receipt | Free spins given within 5 days from bonus activation, Wagering req. : 6x bonus + deposit | Wagering, banking, terms & conditions apply | Play Responsibly
18+ | New players only | Min. deposit 10EUR | Max number of winnings using bonus funds is 10,000 EUR | Bonus validity 14 days from receipt | Wagering req. : 16x bonus | Wagering, banking, terms & conditions apply | Play Responsibly
Friday 9th December will see the first two quarterfinals of the World Cup take place, with the intriguing clash between Croatia and favourites Brazil kicking off proceedings at 15:00 at the Education City Stadium.
This encounter pits 2018 finalists Croatia against the record five-time winners, with Seleção going in search of a sixth World Cup crown and their first since 2002.
As the outright FIFA World Cup betting favourites, Brazil are obviously fancied to win in Al Rayyan against Croatia.
But will this scenario play out, or can Croatia leverage all of their experience and technical quality to spring yet another monumental upset? Let’s find out!
💯 Croatia vs Brazil Betting Odds
Before we take a closer look at both sides, we’re going to analyse the key betting markets associated with this game. These include match betting, both sides to score and the over/under market for total goals scored, and we’ll explore these in a little more detail below.
🏅 Croatia vs Brazil Odds: Match Winner
Match wagering is offered by all of our recommended betting sites, and you’ll find some of the most competitive Croatia vs Brazil odds below.
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia to Win | 9.80 | 9.80 | 9.60 | 8.50 | 8.50 | 9.00 | 9.00 |
| Brazil to Win | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.36 | 1.33 | 1.36 | 1.35 |
| Draw | 4.50 | 4.50 | 5.00 | 4.50 | 4.50 | 4.60 | 4.75 |
⚽Croatia vs Brazil Odds: Both Teams to Score
You can also bet on both sides to score at the Education City Stadium, or place a wager on only one team finding the back of the net. Here are the latest odds for this market:
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 2.20 | 2.20 | 2.25 | 2.00 | 2.10 | 2.10 | 2.20 |
| No | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.73 | 1.70 | 1.75 | 1.67 | 1.62 |
🥅 Croatia vs Brazil Odds: Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Finally, you can also wager on whether you believe over or under 2.5 goals will be scored during the game. This is a popular but often challenging market to call, although it’s a little easier to navigate during the World Cup knockout stages where games are typically tight and keenly contested.
| | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over 2.5 Goals | 1.83 | 1.83 | 1.83 | 1.73 | 1.80 | 1.80 | 1.80 |
| Under 2.5 Goals | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.05 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 1.95 | 1.91 |
🏠 Croatia Preview
Many pundits thought that Croatia’s run to the 2018 World Cup final was a final hurrah for an aging team, but Zlatko Dalić’s men have once again proved to be a difficult side to beat in the heat and humidity of Qatar.
Incredibly, they’ve also reached the quarterfinals despite winning just one of their four matches outright in Qatar, drawing 0-0 with both Morocco and Belgium during the group stages will requiring a penalty shootout to edge Japan in the round of 16.
The victory against Japan demonstrated all of Croatia’s knowhow and resilience, as they withstood Japan’s aggressive pressing and periods of high tempo attacking play to see out a 1-1 draw after extra-time. They even recovered from falling a goal behind thanks to Ivan Perisic’s superb second half header (his 10thgoal at major tournament finals), before converting three of their four penalties to win the shootout with the minimum of fuss.
Croatia also showcased their attacking flair and quality during a 4-1 win over Canada, and they’ll need to showcase this in addition to their experience and technical ability if they’re to beat the might Brazil!
📰 Latest Croatia World Cup News
Tweets by HNS_CFF☍ Brazil Preview
Unlike Croatia, Brazil have won three of their four World Cup finals matches so far, with their only blemish being a surprise 1-0 defeat to CAF nation Cameroon (although this came after Brazil had secured qualification and manager Tite rested many of his first-choice players).
However, while the Seleção were efficient and largely dominant during their group stage wins against Serbia (2-0) and Switzerland (1-0), they struggled for fluency and often failed to find the optimal balance between defence and attack. This wasn’t helped by the ankle injury sustained by Neymar in the game against Serbia, which saw Brazil adopt a more conservative 4-3-3 formation and introduce the combative Fred to the starting 11.
However, it was all change in the round of 16 match against South Korea, as a fit-again Neymar was restored to the starting line-up behind a front three of Vinicius Junior, Richarlison and Raphina. This proved to be the catalyst for a sparkling first half display, during which Brazil scored four times without reply and showcased all of their pace, attacking flair and rapid movement.
Sure, they were aided by the naïve tactical approach of their opponents (which saw South Korea adopt a de facto 4-2-4 formation), but the ease with which Brazil raised their game for this knockout clash will have made for ominous viewing if you’re a Croatia fan.
📰 Latest Brazil World Cup News
Tweets by CBF_Futebol🟨 The Latest Injury News and Suspensions
Croatia have a couple of significant injury concerns ahead of the Brazil game, with Mateo Kovacic thought to be managing a foot complaint that could make him a doubt for the Brazil match.
Similarly, Borna Sosa missed the round of 16 clash with Japan through illness, and while he still has time to recover, it’s unclear whether he’ll be ready in time for Friday.
The good news is that while the talismanic 37-year-old midfielder Luka Modric was forced off during extra time against Japan, this was more an issue of fatigue than anything else, and the Real Madrid man should be fit and raring to go against Brazil!
As for Brazil, they were helped by the return of Danilo last time out against Korea, with left backs Alex Telles and Alex Sandro both sidelined with knee injuries.
While Telles won’t appear again in the World Cup finals, Sandro is fit again and pushing for a return, and could replace Militao with Danilo returning to the right-hand side of the defence.
Elsewhere, Gabriel Jesus is the only other absentee from the initial, 26-man squad, and Tite is largely expected to field the same midfielders and attacking players that he did in the 4-1 thrashing of South Korea.
🏆 Key Matchups
Both teams deploy similar formations, so there’s a danger that they could cancel each other out during the course of a tight and tense quarter final clash.
This also means that individual duals will be crucial to determining the outcome of the game, so here’s a glimpse at the important matchups and why they’re so influential.
Dejan Lovren vs Richarlison
Richarlison has scored three goals so far in this tournament, two of which are contenders for goal of the tournament (including the third strike against Korea that followed some brilliant ball juggling and a slick passing move).
He has also scored 12 goals in his last 18 appearances for Brazil dating back to the beginning of 2021, while his pace, strength and agility make him a handful for any defender.
Croatia’s 76-cap veteran Dejan Lovren will be tasked with stopping Richarlison, and he’ll need to deploy all of his physical strength and knowhow to keep the Spurs man at bay.
Of course, he will be helped that Croatia will most likely deploy a deep defensive line and compact shape, and he’ll definitely need support if he’s to quell Brazil’s most potent attacking threat.
Luka Modric vs Casemiro
As Luka Modric continues to age, he tends to find himself higher up the pitch, where he can deploy all of his vision and full range of passing without having to do as much midfield running or tracking.
This could put him in direct opposition to the understated by brilliant Casemiro, with the Manchester United star described by international teammate Neymar as “the best midfielder in the world” after he struck the winner against Switzerland.
This could be a fascinating dual, which will see Modric look to drift and find pockets of space in between the midfield and attack, while Casemiro uses his positional sense to control the middle of the pitch and deny his opponent space in key areas.
Whoever wins this battle could prove key, especially as nullifying Modric will minimise Croatia’s attacking threat throughout.
Andrej Kramarić vs Alex Sandro
Typically, the 31-year-old Kramaric has played on the right of a three-man attack throughout the World Cup, providing a constant threat with his runs inside and aerial threat when pulling onto the shoulder of his full back.
This should provide a significant test for the returning Alex Sandro, who may not be 100% fit after missing the round of 16 clash with Korea due to injury.
Sandro will also have to be wary of the striker’s predatory movement and aerial strength, as he’s scored 22 goals in just 78 international caps during his career so far.
With Brazil likely to dominate the ball, however, Sandro will look to attack the left-hand side and push Kramaric towards his own goal, and his ability to do this successfully will have a huge bearing on the outcome of the game!
⚡ Croatia vs Brazil – The Head-to-Head Statistics
As Croatia only became an independent nation state in the early 1990s (and the Croatian side didn’t contest their first official game until 1994), they have a limited history in the international game.
So far, they’ve only contested four matches against Brazil, losing three of these and securing a single draw in their first friendly meeting in June 2005.
They’ve also played twice at the World Cup, with Brazil victorious in 2006 and winning again as the host nation in 2014. In the latter outing, they prevailed 3-1 in Sao Paolo during the group stages, with Neymar among the goals and both Thiago Silva and Dani Alves starting the game.
Most recently, Brazil won 2-0 in a friendly at Anfield in July 2018 ahead of the Russia World Cup. Neymar once again opened the scoring here, before Roberto Firmino (who didn’t make the squad in 2022) scored an injury time second.
🥇 Croatia vs Brazil Prediction - Who Will Win?
Ultimately, there’s little in the head-to-head statistics to encourage Croatia, while Brazil undoubtedly boast superior individual quality in the attacking third of the pitch.
Brazil are also unbeaten since losing the 2021 Copa America final to Argentina, with this sequence lasting nearly 18 months and including an impressive array of high scoring victories.
However, it can be argued that Croatia have superior technical quality in midfield, especially in the form of Mateo Kovacic and the aforementioned Modric, while their incredible experience and knowhow at major tournament finals make them some of an immovable object.
They’ll come up against a truly irresistible force against Brazil, however, and we’re backing the Seleção to take another step towards a sixth World Cup crown here.
Our Croatia vs Brazil match prediction: Brazil to win 2-0.
🔍 Our Croatia vs Brazil Betting Tips?
As we can see from the latest World Cup football betting odds, Brazil are odds-on favourites to win here so there’s little value to be had in straight match betting.
While you can lengthen the price by applying a -1.5-goal handicap to Brazil, we wouldn’t necessary recommend this given the competitive and resilient nature of this Croatian team.
There is value in betting on there being under 2.5 goals scored in the game, however, as the match should be incredibly tight and Croatia will have limited attacking opportunities. This outcome is priced at 2.05 with LeoVegas Sports.
Similarly, you can bet on both sides not to score at 1.75 with BetVictor, with this wager most likely to apply during the initial 90-minute period.
"There is value in betting on there being under 2.5 goals scored in the game, as the match should be incredibly tight and Croatia will have limited attacking opportunities."
🎁 Croatia vs Brazil World Cup Free Bets
Before you go, we thought we’d share some of the best World Cup free bets from our recommended sportsbooks.
These can unlock up to €100 in free bets, which can be deployed on Croatia vs Brazil and a host of other knockout matches.
| Sportsbook | Offer | Visit Sportsbook |
|---|---|---|
| Receive up to €50 in Free Bets | |
| Free Bet Offer up to €100 | |
| 100% Matched Free Bet up to €100 | |
| Profit Boost Welcome Bonus up to €400 | |
| Free Bet Offer up to €50 | |
| €20 Free Bet Bonus | |
| €30 free bet Welcome Bonus | |
 | €100 Bets Bonus Offer | |
 | Receive up to €20 Free Bet Bonus | |
 | Cash back bonus up to €40 | |
 | 100% Matched Free Bet up to €100 | |
 | €35 Free Bets Welcome Bonus |
✒️ Lewis Humphries - Sports Journalist, Tipster and Betting Expert
This Croatia vs Brazil 2022WC Prediction was written by Lewis Humphries. Lewis is a business and iGaming copywriter from the UK, who has a passion for sports betting and online casino gaming. He's reviewed some of the world's leading casino platforms, while creating blog posts and landing page content for various sports betting brands.
His content has also featured on a number of different sites, including Life Hack, Investopedia, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider. He also pens regular sports features for sites including 90 Minutes, Think Football Ideas and Sportsblog.
