A seasoned Croatia stands in the way of a stylish Brazil in pursuit of a sixth World Cup crown, and the pair promise a tough matchup on Friday in Al Rayyan.
The 58th match of the 2022 World Cup kicks off with a quarter-final, with Neymar leading the all-star CONMEBOL team Tite against the 2018 runner-up.
Croatia beat Japan on penalties and will now be dreaming of two victories that could take them back to the final, where France could once again be in for a juicy rematch.
Croatia needed penalties to beat Japan in the round of 16, while Brazil beat South Korea 4–1. Croatia has never beaten Brazil in four encounters, losing in the 2006 and 2014 World Cups.
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Here’s everything you need for Croatia vs Brazil.
Latest World Cup News
How to watch Croatia vs Brazil live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10:00 AM ET, Friday, December 9th.
Stadium: Educational City Stadium, Al Rayyan
TV channels in Spanish: Telemundo
Broadcast in Spanish: peacock (all 64 matches)
Key storylines, players to keep an eye on
Dominik Livakovic of Croatia was fantastic on penalties against Japan to get here, but Luka Modric continues to do what keeps Croatia out of trouble and stumping opponents. Yosco Guardiola may have been the defender of the tournament and the 20-year-old looks to test his mettle again against Selesao.
Pick a Brazilian who failed to impress and you’ve achieved an outstanding result. Neymar was fantastic when he was healthy, while Richarlison was seriously in contention for the Golden Boot. Alisson Becker has flexed his muscles once or twice against South Korea and believes he will be busier as competition continues to heat up in Qatar.
Quick facts about Croatia
Current FIFA World Ranking: 12
World Cup titles: 0
World Championship appearances: 6
How they qualified: Automatically qualified from UEFA (1st place)
Coach: Zlatko Dalic
Key Players: Luka Modric, Andrej Kramaric, Mateo Kovacic, Josko Guardiol.
Quick facts about Brazil
Current FIFA World Ranking: 1
World Cup titles: 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
World Championship appearances: 22
How they qualified: Automatically qualified from CONMEBOL (1st)
Coach: Tite
Key Players: Neymar, Thiago Silva, Casemiro, Alisson Becker.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is on a tight schedule and this tournament in Qatar has been a sensation as the knockout rounds will capture the imagination of the world.
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Japan, Australia and Morocco were among the last 16 due to so much upheaval during the tournament, but the Atlas Lions are the only of the trio to make it to the quarter-finals. Germany, Denmark and Belgium were eliminated in the group stage.
Argentina will face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals for a familiar matchup between Lionel Messi and a semi-final date with either Brazil or Japan.
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On the other side of the grid, Morocco faces Portugal for the right to take on the winner of the England-France match.
So yes, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final should be explosive. Bring. It. On the.
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Below is the full schedule, details on how to watch the games and everything else you need.
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Latest World Cup News
World Cup 2022: schedule, start time, dates, how to watch live
- When: November 20, 2022 to December 18, 2022
- Playoff start time: 10:00 am, 2:00 pm (both ET)
- Location: Qatar
- TV channels in Spanish: Telemundo, Universe, peacock
- Streaming in spanish: peacock (all 64 matches)
Follow along with ProSoccerTalk for the latest news, scores, storylines and updates related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and be sure to subscribe to NBC Sports on YouTube!
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H | Full tables
Schedule 1/8 finals
Game 49 – Saturday, December 3: Netherlands 3-1 USA – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Match 50 – Saturday 3 December: Argentina 2-1 Australia – Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Game 52 – Sunday, December 4: France 3-1 Poland – Al-Tumama Stadium, Doha
Match 51 – Sunday, December 4: England 3-0 Senegal – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Match 53 – Monday, December 5: Japan 1-1 (AET, PC 1-3) – Al Janub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Match 54 – Monday, December 5: Brazil 4-1 South Korea – 974 Stadium, Doha
Match 55 – Tuesday 6 Dec: Morocco 0-0 (AET, 3-0 PC) Spain – Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Game 56 – Tuesday 6 Dec: Portugal 6-1 Switzerland – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail
Quarter-final schedule
Match 58 – Friday, December 9: Croatia – Brazil (preview) – Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan – 10:00.
Match 57 – Friday, December 9: Netherlands v Argentina (preview) – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail – 14:00.
Match 60 – Saturday, December 10: Morocco – Portugal (preview) – Al-Tumama Stadium, Doha – 10:00.
Match 59 – Saturday, December 10: England – France (preview) – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor – 14:00.
Semi-final schedule
Match 61 – Tuesday, December 13: Match 57 Winners – Match 58 Winners – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail – 2:00 pm
Match 62 – Wednesday, December 14: Winners Match 59 – Winners Match 60 – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor – 2:00 pm.
Playoffs for third place
Match 63 – Saturday, December 17: Match 61 Losers vs. Match 62 Losers – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan – 2:00 pm
The final
Match 64 – Sunday, December 18: Match 61 Winners – Match 62 Winners – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail – 10:00 AM
Group stage results
Group A
Recap/Highlights: Qatar 0-2 Ecuador – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Recap/Highlights: Senegal 0-2 Netherlands – Al Thumama Stadium, Al Khor – 5:00
Summary/Highlights: Qatar 1-3 Senegal – Al Tumama Stadium, Al Khor
Recap/Highlights: Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Summary/Highlights: Netherlands 2-0 Qatar – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Recap/Highlights: Ecuador 1-2 Senegal – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Group B
Recap/Highlights: England 6-2 Iran – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: USA 1-1 Wales – Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: England 0-0 USA – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Recap/Highlights: Wales 0-2 Iran – Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: Wales 0-3 England – Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: Iran 0-1 USA – Al-Tumama Stadium, Al-Khor
Group C
Recap/Highlights: Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail
Results: Mexico – Poland 0:0 – Stadium 974, Doha
Recap/Highlights: Poland 2-0 Saudi Arabia – Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: Argentina 2-0 Mexico – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail
Results: Poland – Argentina 0:2 – Stadium 974, Doha
Recap/Highlights: Saudi Arabia 1-2 Mexico – Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail
Group D
Recap/Highlights: France 4-1 Australia – Al Janub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Recap/Highlights: Denmark 0-0 Tunisia – Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: France 2-1 Denmark – 974 Stadium, Doha
Recap/Highlights: Tunisia 0-1 Australia – Al Janub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Recap/Highlights: Tunisia 1-0 France – Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: Australia 1-0 Denmark v Al Janub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Group E
Results: Spain 7-0 Costa Rica – Al Tumama Stadium, Al Khor
Recap/Highlights: Germany 1-2 Japan – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
Recap/Highlights: Spain 1-1 Germany – Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
Summary/Highlights: Japan 0-1…
Source: soccer.nbcsports.com