Brazil and Croatia will clash against one another in a very competitive warm-up friendly on Sunday in Liverpool, England. Brazil are one of the big favorites to win the World Cup, but Croatia have a great generation of players and will look to get the best out of them.
Brazil dominated the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, as they destroyed everything and everyone in their path. They easily finished at the top spot of the group (12-1-5) and were one of the first few teams to mathematically book their ticket to the World Cup. Since the Qualifiers were concluded, Brazil have played four friendly matches, where they have recorded away wins against Japan (3-1), Russia (3-0) and Germany (1-0), while holding for a goal-less draw against England. The new coach has transformed Brazil into the fearsome opponents they once were, and they will go to Russia looking to win the World Cup.
Croatia didn’t have a very easy job in the qualifiers, but they eventually finished at the 2nd spot of Group I (6-2-2). They were actually stunned by Iceland who topped a seemingly very easy group. In any case, Croatia played a couple of playoff matches against Greece, whom they destroyed by a massive 1-4 at home before a goal-less draw on the road. Croatia have only played a couple of friendlies since then, a 0-2 loss against Peru and a 1-0 win over Mexico. Croatia arguably have the best generation of players they’ve had in years, with players like Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic, Perisic and so many more.
