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World Cup tips Croatia v Brazil: Richarlison and Neymar set to dismantle Croatian rearguard

We've reached the business end of Qatar's winter World Cup, and Tipstrr's football expert Sergiu Baltuta has been busy looking for the best batting value from the first of Friday's two quarter-finals.

Croatia face Brazil in the first quarter-final on Friday, when they will hope to improve a poor record that sees 2018's 3-0 win against Argentina as their only World Cup knockout round success in five attempts against South American teams.

Surprisingly, Brazil's record is even worse, as the Selecao have lost all five of their knockout games against European opposition since beating four in straight games at the 2002 tournament.

Brazil have become a constant presence in the quarter finals, but will be aware that since reaching three straight finals in 1994 (winner), 1998 (runner-up) and 2002 (winner), they have only once progressed beyond the last eight, and that resulted in their humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in 2014.

Croatia are in the quarter-finals for the third time in their history, and of course made the final four years ago in Russia. However, they have failed to sparkle so far in Qatar, and have reached this stage with only one actual win from four games, and even then they had to come from behind to beat Group F underdogs Canada 4-1.

That success was sandwiched between goalless draws against Morocco and Belgium, while in the first knockout Zlatko Dalic's team needed penalties to get past Japan.

In that game, Croatia's once-revered passing game seemed pedestrian and unimaginative and they will need to add some energy and invention against a Brazilian defence that has only conceded five goals in its last nine World Cup outings. 

Of those, the two in Qatar came when fielding a second string defence against Cameroon, and from a consolation 30-yard worldie from South Korea, so Croatia's legendary midfield will have to be at their creative best to broach Brazil's formidable defensive unit.
Brazil are obviously one of the strongest teams in Qatar, where they have grown into the tournament, easing past Serbia (2-0) and Switzerland (1-0), and they can probably be forgiven for slipping to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cameroon after Tite has rested most of his first-choice line-up.

All of his stars were back in force for the last-16 game against South Korea, including Neymar and Danilo, who had been missing since the opening group game. 

Those stars shone brightly during an exceptional first-half performance that saw the Selecao blow the Koreans away with some scintillating football, scoring three high-quality goals, supplemented by a Neymar penalty, allowing them to take the foot off the pedal after the break and settle for a comfortable 4-1 win.

Most importantly for Tite, both Neymar and Danilo survived their comeback games unscathed, while the pace and fluidity of Brazil's forward movement, especially in the first half, was the best yet seen in Qatar.

Against Croatia, Tite will probably use the same starting eleven he used for the South Korea game, with Neymar again free to roam pockets of space between the lines, leaving Richarlison up top where he will be looking to add to the three goals he has already notched.

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