Key Croatia stat will make Brazil positive ahead of quarter-final tie | OneFootball

Croatia take on Brazil in the quarter-final of the FIFA World Cup but their record in the knockout stages is rather disappointing.

Zlatko Dalić’s side did reach the final of the tournament in 2018 and have now become a rather respectable unit at the highest stage, but their overall record in the knockout stages of the World Cup is rather disappointing.

More than disappointing, ‘result-oriented’ would be a better word since Croatia have not won a single knockout game in normal time since 1998, which was their first ever World Cup. Since then, they have won certain knockout games but those wins have come in either extra time or penalties.

In the 2018 edition of the World Cup, they beat Denmark, Russia and England but all the wins came after either extra time or penalties. Against Japan, they won on penalties too. While Brazil have not beaten a European side in the knockout stages since 2002, Croatia’s record in knockout stages could be a positive for the Selecao.

GWFN