In Friday's opening quarterfinals matchups, Croatia will take on the 2022 World Cup frontrunners Brazil. After a valiant effort against Japan, the 2018 World Cup runners-up advanced to the knockout round on penalties.
To this point, the efforts of the Checkered Ones have been unimpressive and sluggish. But it's no secret that Zlatko Dalic's squad is notoriously tough to break down and beat. At the same time, Brazil's four first-half goals were enough to seal the deal against South Korea and advance from the Round of 16.
The Seleço are hoping that their performance in which several starters were rested will lead to further success. Meanwhile, Croatia have only lost once since being eliminated from Euro 2020 last summer, so they have reason to be confident in keeping this one close.
What would happen if Brazil beat Croatia in the Qatar 2022 Quarter-Finals?
In the event of a victory against Croatia, Brazil would progress to the tournament's Semi-Finals for the first time since 2014. There, they would then play the winner of the Netherlands vs Argentina encounter. Tite's side had to beat South Korea 4-1 to get to the Qatar World Cup Quarter-Finals. Meanwhile, the European outfit set up a meeting with the five-time World champions after overcoming Japan on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Round of 16.
If Neymar and co. can beat the Vatreni on Friday, December 9, they will have until Tuesday, December 13, to prepare for their next encounter. The Brazilians will have three days to prepare for either one of the two possible opponents. They last competed in a World Cup Semi-Final match, in 2014, when they suffered THAT loss to Germany with a final result of 7-1.
