World Cup Preview: Japan vs Croatia Fixed Betting Odds

Both Japan and Croatia suffered defeats in their first outings at Germany 2006. Now the hopes of two nations rest on victory in Nuremberg on Sunday. Anything less, and their prospects for the Round of 16 will look bleak at best.

Japan took the lead against Australia in the 26th minute of their Group F opener and held the advantage for nearly an hour. Then, in a dramatic change of fortune, the Oceania champions hit back with three goals in the last eight minutes to seal an unlikely victory. Croatia, meanwhile, took the game to reigning world champions Brazil in their first match, before ending up on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline.

Japan and Croatia met at the group stage in France 98. On that occasion Japan pressed hard but Croatia came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a second-half strike by Davor Suker. In an international friendly on 8 June 1997, Japan emerged 4-3 winners in a dramatic battle of changing fortunes.

Alessandro Santos v Darijo Srna. Both teams make heavy use of the wings, and both have a highly attacking player with the stamina to keep moving along the flank from start to finish: for Japan, left wing-back Alessandro 'Alex' Santos and on the right side for Croatia, Darijo Srna. The question of which wide man spends more time on the attack - forcing his counterpart back to attend to defensive duties - could have a bearing on which team takes control.