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Japan has been no stranger to upsets in this tournament with all three of its group-stage games falling into that category – beating Germany and Spain but losing to Costa Rica. Croatia’s experience is huge and it will know to deal with whatever pressure the scrappy Asians bring. But we’ve seen Samurai Blue able to hit effectively off the counter and can do it again here. This game should be decided by penalties, in which we’ll give Croatia the edge.
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Brazil 2, South Korea 0
We’re going to throw out that upset loss Brazil suffered with its backups in and continue to believe this team is a strong contender to win it all. South Korea scored an emotional win to make the knockout stage, but its underdog run ends here. While Neymar won’t be around to provide some playmaking magic, there is still plenty of elite talent in Brazil’s attack to cause headaches all day.
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Paul Chapman’s picks
Croatia 2, Japan 1
Japan has shown amazing resiliency in this tournament, you can never count them out and it is constantly working. Croatia loves to slow the game down, control the ball and dictate the pace of play. Good contrast in styles but ultimately the Croatian midfield should be the decider here.
Brazil 2, South Korea 0
Brazil has still looked like it is strolling through this tournament at ¾ speed. It has had some troubling injuries in attack with Neymar and Gabriel Jesus seemingly having no hope of coming back. Shouldn’t be a problem on first glance with Richarlison and Gabriel Martinelli looking so good, but injuries or cards could challenge their depth. South Korea won’t make it easy on them and we all know Son Heung-Min can provide a moment of brilliance that could shock the South Americans, but ultimately it will need a huge slice of luck to get past Brazil.
