Brazil battles Croatia for a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinals on Saturday.
Brazil made light work of South Korea in their Round of 16 game. They put on an offensive masterclass, tearing their opponent apart. Brazil is approaching their best form, which is a scary prospect.
Croatia needed penalties to overcome Japan and reach this stage. Dominik Livakovic was the star of the penalties against Japan, making three saves, and he will likely to be very busy against Brazil’s talented strikers.
The player to watch in this game is Neymar, who has 11 goals and nine assists in 14 Ligue 1 games with Paris Saint-Germain this season. AccuScore gives a 45.3 percent chance to score against Croatia. He has 85 SCA and 14 GCA in 14 Ligue 1 games with Paris Saint-Germain this season.
FBRef defines SCA as “the two offensive actions leading directly to a shot, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls.” GCA is “the two offensive actions leading directly to a goal, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls.” Let’s take a closer look at where the value is at in this matchup.
DafaNews Picks
Team to Win (Regular Time)
• Brazil 1.39
• Croatia 9.00
• Draw 5.20
Spread
• Brazil -1, -1.5 (1.87)
• Croatia +1, +1.5 (2.06)
Total
• Over 2.5, 3 (2.02)
• Under 2.5, 3 (1.88)
Key Points to Consider
Head-to-Head: These two teams last met in international friendly action on June 3, 2018 and Brazil won 2-0.
Projected Leaders
For Brazil, Neymar has a 45.3 percent chance to score. He averages 1.48 shots overall per sim, 0.69 shots on goal per and 0.21 goals per sim.
For Croatia, Bruno Petković has an 18.8 percent chance to net the ball. He averages 2.76 shots overall per sim, 1.09 shots on goal per and 0.56 goals per sim.
Analyst’s Pick
Brazil finally clicked, while Croatia limped into the quarterfinals. Croatia has plenty of talent but Brazil will have too much for them.
Brazil 1.39
Two-star (out of four) AccuScore hot trend pick on Brazil in this one. Average score in simulations is Brazil 2.09 to Croatia 0.78.
