Venue: Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo
Kick-off: 9pm (5pm, Brazil time)
TV coverage: ITV1, from 7pm
Odds: Brazil 1/3, Draw 4/1, Croatia 8/1
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura, Japan
Managers:
Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil)
Niko Kovac (Croatia)
Team news: To follow...
Neymar has recovered from a training ground knock that left an entire nation holding its breath and is likely to start on the left in Scolari's typical 4-2-3-1 formation with Hulk on the opposite side and Fred playing as a lone striker. Scolari is set to keep faith with Chelsea playmaker Oscar in the No 10 playmaker position, although if his inconsistent form continues he could turn to his club teammate Willian.
Croatia will be without their most potent forward, Mario Mandzukic, who is suspended following his red card in the play-off game against Iceland in November.
That means that Eduardo is likely to lead their attack against the country of his birth - with the striker recently admitting he might sing both national anthems.
One to watch: Mateo Kovacic (Croatia)
Dubbed ‘Little Mozart’ by the Italian press for the manner in which he has controlled games at times for Inter Milan this season, the 19-year-old was instrumental in Croatia’s impressive qualifying win over Serbia and could start as a No 10 against Brazil.
Head-to-head record: Played 2 Brazil Wins 1 Draws 1
Key clash: Neymar v Vedran Corluka
In his prime Vedran Corluka was a decent centre-back but his mobility has taken a drastic turn for the worse in recent years, which makes the prospect of facing Neymar, one of the most skilful players all the planet, all the more daunting.
Kick-off: 9pm (5pm, Brazil time)
TV coverage: ITV1, from 7pm
Odds: Brazil 1/3, Draw 4/1, Croatia 8/1
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura, Japan
Managers:
Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil)
Niko Kovac (Croatia)
Team news: To follow...
Neymar has recovered from a training ground knock that left an entire nation holding its breath and is likely to start on the left in Scolari's typical 4-2-3-1 formation with Hulk on the opposite side and Fred playing as a lone striker. Scolari is set to keep faith with Chelsea playmaker Oscar in the No 10 playmaker position, although if his inconsistent form continues he could turn to his club teammate Willian.
Croatia will be without their most potent forward, Mario Mandzukic, who is suspended following his red card in the play-off game against Iceland in November.
That means that Eduardo is likely to lead their attack against the country of his birth - with the striker recently admitting he might sing both national anthems.
One to watch: Mateo Kovacic (Croatia)
Dubbed ‘Little Mozart’ by the Italian press for the manner in which he has controlled games at times for Inter Milan this season, the 19-year-old was instrumental in Croatia’s impressive qualifying win over Serbia and could start as a No 10 against Brazil.
Head-to-head record: Played 2 Brazil Wins 1 Draws 1
Key clash: Neymar v Vedran Corluka
In his prime Vedran Corluka was a decent centre-back but his mobility has taken a drastic turn for the worse in recent years, which makes the prospect of facing Neymar, one of the most skilful players all the planet, all the more daunting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment