Croatia will battle Tite's Brazil for a place in the semifinals of the World Cup after winning a penalty shootout against Japan in the Round of 16, before the Selecao made light work of South Korea.
Brazil have never lost in four previous meetings with the Croats in all competitions, although it has been four-and-a-half years since the teams last met, when they lined up for a friendly in England.
Zlatko Dalic's men have repeated some of the success of their run to the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, where all of their knockout games bar the final went to extra time.
They will be confident of giving Brazil their toughest test yet at the 2022 finals, after recovering from a goal behind in their Round of 16 match to edge through on penalties.
How close have the games between these teams been? Who have the bookmakers decided are going to win this one? The Sporting News weighs the contest up.
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Brazil vs Croatia history
Few teams have a positive record against Brazil, but the Selecao will be wary of Croatia from the previous meetings between these nations.
Croatia took a shock lead against the World Cup hosts in the opening game of the 2014 tournament and only Neymar's 71st-minute penalty eventually put Brazil ahead for the first time. The underdogs then pushed for an equaliser, before a 90th-minute goal from Oscar embellished the five-time champions' win.
Brazil were also behind before earning a 1-1 draw in the first-ever fixture between the sides, in 2005.
They also ended Croatia's 10-match unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory at the 2006 World Cup finals, setting a record of eight consecutive wins at the World Cup in the process.
Brazil vs Croatia head to head
Neymar is the top scorer in the fixture courtesy of three goals in the Paris Saint-Germain forward's last two appearances against Croatia.
Marcelo's own goal in 2014 leaves Niko Kranjcar as the only Croatia player ever to have scored against Brazil — and gives their current crop the chance to become the first to repeat the trick in more than 17 years.
| Date | Competition | Result | Scorers |
| August 17, 2005 | Friendly | Brazil 1-1 Croatia | Ricardinho (42); Kranjcar (32) |
| June 13, 2006 | World Cup | Brazil 1-0 Croatia | Kaka (44) |
| June 12, 2014 | World Cup | Brazil 3-1 Croatia | Neymar (29, 71), Oscar (90); Marcelo (own goal, 11) |
| June 3, 2018 | Friendly | Brazil 2-0 Croatia | Neymar (69), Firmino (93) |
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Last Brazil vs Croatia match
Returning from a long-term injury ahead of the 2018 World Cup, Neymar reassured Brazil of his fitness with an excellent strike to break the deadlock against a tough-tackling Croatia side at Liverpool's Anfield, slipping between two defenders and rifling in off the crossbar.
Roberto Firmino clearly felt at home on the pitch where the forward plays most of his club football, chipping in a close-range second in added time to seal a 2-0 win in a game featuring robust challenges from both teams.
Brazil vs Croatia World Cup odds
Brazil are odds-on to win in normal time and even more overwhelming favourites to advance, if you throw in the safety net of extra time or penalties.
The form guide shows that Croatia have taken seven of their last eight knockout games at major tournaments to added time.
Only one team has scored in 16 of Brazil's last 22 matches, while the same can be said of 11 of Croatia's 20 most recent games.
Odds via BetMGM (USA), Sports Interaction (Canada), SkyBet (UK), and Ladbrokes (Australia).
A reminder: All moneyline bets in soccer are for regulation time only, regardless of competition. If the match requires a winner and goes to extra-time or penalties, a moneyline bet of a regulation draw is successful and the rest of play does not factor in.
| BetMGM | Sports Interaction | SkyBet | Ladbrokes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia win | +700 | 7.80 | 8/1 | 6/1 |
| Draw | +360 | 4.60 | 4/1 | 3/1 |
| Brazil win | -250 | 1.36 | 1/3 | 1/2 |
| Both teams to score Y / N | +105 / -150 | 2.04 / 1.61 | 11/10, 4/6 | 19/20, 4/5 |
| Over / Under 2.5 goals | -130 / -105 | 1.78 / 1.93 | 8/11, 1/1 | 5/6, 10/11 |
| Brazil -1.5 | +105 | 2.05 | — | — |
| Croatia +1.5 | -155 | 1.72 | — | — |
| Brazil advance | -650 | 1.16 | 1/8 | 2/9 |
| Croatia advance | +360 | 4.70 | 9/2 | 3/1 |
