Inter Milan maestro Marcelo Brozovic put on a stunning performance for Croatia in Vatreni’s penalty shootout win over Japan in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 tournament.
In the quarterfinals, the Croatians face Brazil, the previous World Cup champions, and Brozovic and his Croatian teammates must perform at their absolute best in order to defeat the tournament favorites.
Brozovic, 30, played a huge role in Croatia’s penalty shootout victory over the Japanese in Al Wakrah. He is now an important part of the Croatian and Intermidfields.
In a tireless performance in the Blazers’ midfield, Brozovic played the entire 120 minutes.
The Nerazzurri midfielder also ran 16.7 kilometers, breaking his own World Cup record, which he set in Russia in 2018.
In order for Croatia to have a chance of defeating Tite’s Little Canary and facing the formidable Brazil in the quarterfinals, they will need to perform at their absolute best.
However, the Checkered Ones, who reached the World Cup final in Russia in 2018 to the surprise of everyone, will not be complacent.
If you enjoy betting on the World Cup, there are increased odds of 9/1 for Croatia to win in the 90.
Even though Brozovic isn’t known for scoring goals, he can help out when it’s needed.
The Inter No. 77 goals scored in September’s Serie A matches against AC Milan and Torino.
At 14/1, we have added Brozovic to score at any time to our World Cup predictions.
Brozovic is a real favorite among Giuseppe Meazza fans because of his never-say-die attitude, which makes him invaluable to Inter.
The midfielder has played in every minute of Croatia’s World Cup campaign in Qatar this season, making 17 appearances for club and country.
Croatia have advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals once more despite only winning one game during normal time.
They won against Canada and drew with Morocco and Belgium to advance to the knockout stages with five points.
At Al Janoub Stadium, Zlatko Dalic’s troops engaged the Japanese in a close and tense battle in the 16th round.
After Daizen Maeda had given Japan the lead in the 43rd minute, Tottenham Hotspur superstar Ivan Perisic scored an excellent equalizer in the second half.
Croatia prevailed in the shootout to advance to the quarterfinals in Qatar after the tie went to penalties.
The Croatians won 3-1 from a penalty kick, thanks to goals from Brozovic, Mario Pasalic, and Nikola Vlasic.
Obviously, everything points to a victory for Brazil on Friday, but Croatia has enough talent to pull off a major upset at the World Cup.
In the Lusail semi-final, the winner of the tie will face either Argentina or the Netherlands.