One of the closest matches in the 2022 World Cup round of 16 is expected to take place on December 5 between Croatia and Japan and no one can guess which of the two teams will win.
This match pits Group E winner Japan against Group F runners-up Croatia. Japan may not be known for being one of the greatest teams of all time, but they had an incredible group stage, beating two legendary teams in Spain and Germany.
Croatia have a great track record, finishing second at the 2018 World Cup despite winning just one of their three group stage matches.
So it’s hard to guess which of these two teams will win, so it’s worth watching the match to find out. This guide will show you how to watch Croatia vs Japan game from all over the world.
How to watch Japan vs Croatia in USA
Japan vs. Croatia starts at 10:00am ET/7:00pm PT.
The game will be broadcast on Fox’s main channel. So if it’s included in your cable plan, you don’t have to pay anything extra. It will also be featured on foxsports.com (opens in new tab).
You can also use live TV streaming services to watch the game. Sling TV’s Blue plan is your cheapest option, costing $40 a month (and half the price of your first month), but you can also use FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, or YouTube TV.
Peacock also broadcasts the games if you have the premium plan for $4.99 or higher, but it’s a simulcast from Telemundo so it will be in Spanish.
How to watch Japan vs Croatia in UK
There is a 15:00 CET kick-off for the UK game.
It plays on BBC One, and you can stream it online on iPlayer too, so it’s pretty easy to see whether you’re equipped with a big screen TV or watching it on your phone.
Here’s how to watch Japan vs Croatia from anywhere
If you are away from home but still want to watch Japan vs Croatia game, you might encounter some problems. Luckily, you can solve exactly this problem with a Virtual Private Network (a VPN).
With a VPN, you can bypass the usual digital barriers by changing your IP address, which means you can watch your favorite TV shows even when you are away from where you would normally watch your favorite shows and movies. Our favorite is ExpressVPN (opens in new tab)which is currently the top rated VPN in the world according to our sister site TechRadar.
Japan vs Croatia: important information
When will Japan vs Croatia kick off?
Japan vs. Croatia begins at 10:00am ET/7:00am PT/3:00pm GMT.
It’s the first of two games that day, with the next being played four hours later.
Where will Japan vs Croatia take place?
Japan and Croatia meet at Al-Janoub Station in Al-Wakrah, Qatar.
This will be the last game of the tournament to be played in this 44,000 capacity seat, which was purpose-built for the 2022 World Cup.
What you need to know about the game
Japan and Croatia have met on the pitch a couple of times, but not for 12 years.
Japan is one of the biggest surprises of the World Cup so far, beating both Spain and Germany in the group stage, resulting in the latter being eliminated from the tournament entirely. Interestingly, it lost only to Costa Rica, who in turn lost to Spain and Germany.
Looking at their track record, Croatia are the better team with a draw at the 2018 World Cup. It also reached the last 16 of Euro 2020 before narrowly losing to Spain. However, they only managed to win one game at this World Cup, against Canada, drawing against Morocco and Belgium.
Of all the round of 16 games, bookmakers seem to be the most divided – no one can tell if the Asian team will continue their winning streak or if the European team will withdraw it.
