World Cup | Brazil – Croatia | The keys to success for Luka Modric and his teammates

The Modric houses

But if Tite opts for the tenure of Fred rather than that of Paqueta, it will lead to a direct duel between the Croatian maestro and Casemiro. Two men who know each other by heart. The movements and choices of the Madrid player will therefore be crucial, especially on the counter phases if the Seleção find themselves cut in half again, in 5+5, as was often the case against South Korea. Tantalizing.

Hit from afar

This is how Hwang put Alisson in danger on the first opportunity (17th) and this is also how Paik reduced the score (76th). Players like Perisic, Brozovic or Kovacic are all capable of exploiting this possibility.

insist left

Croatia has a big strong point: its left lane. That’s good, the right side is also the weak point of the Seleção. Danilo not being as efficient as Alex Sandro, Eder Militao – used in this position to compensate for the absence of one or the other – not being a specialist in the position, Brazil left a few holes.

It’s very simple: with the exception of the goal, which came from a set piece, the four other chances that Korea created came from the weak side of the Seleção. With Perisic, impressive since the start of the tournament, the Vatreni will probably exploit this weakness, in particular by following a big trend of this tournament, namely the overcrowding of a wing to open spaces on the opposite side.

Count on Perisic

The quality and mobility of the men making up this offensive front make them almost indefensible for a four-man defense. This is why the withdrawal of the Tottenham player to accompany Raphinha will be one of the tactical challenges of the match.

Surprise Brazil

On Wednesday, at a press conference, Vinicius already had a fairly clear idea of ​​the strategy that Croatia should adopt. “If they go out to play, it will be much betterhe blurted out. Including for those who will watch the game. But everyone has their own philosophy and you have to respect it. If that of the Croats is to stay behind to try to keep the draw, it is their responsibility …“. The Vatreni are indeed ready for the fight and have shown it since their 2018 campaign.

But the Seleção is also used to facing low blocks and has learned to find solutions, as in the three high-stakes matches played since the start of this World Cup. In this context, taking risks, alternating weak times and strong times to try to disrupt the first Brazilian recovery could be fruitful. The reaction of the auriverde selection when it left its comfort zone is still unknown. So why not try to explore this track?