Japan vs Croatia live stream and match preview, Monday December 5, 3pm GMT
Japan vs Croatia live stream and match preview
Looking for a Japan vs Croatia live stream? We’ve got you covered. Japan vs Croatia is free on BBC in the UK. Brit abroad? Use a VPN to watch World Cup 2022 free (opens in new tab) from anywhere.
Japan advanced to the knockout stage in dramatic fashion on Thursday, as they came from a goal down to beat Spain 2-1.
That was enough for the Samurai Blue to finish top of Group E ahead of both Spain and Germany.
Croatia finished second in Group F after hanging on for a 0-0 draw with Belgium last time out.
Kick-off is at 7pm GMT. Make sure you know how to watch World Cup 2022 (opens in new tab) wherever you are.
Line-ups
Japan (3-4-3)
Gonda; Tomiyasu, Yoshida, Taniguchi; Ito, Endo, Morita, Nagatomo; Doan, Maeda, Kamada
Croatia (4-3-3)
Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Barisic; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Kramaric, Petkovic, Perisic
Team news
Hajime Moriyasu has made full use of his Japan squad (opens in new tab) so far, as the manager’s half-time substitutions changed the game against Spain. The three-man defence from the Spain game returns – as does Arsenal star Takehiro Tomiyasu to the starting line-up for the first time. Ritsu Doan starts from the off too, after impressive performances.
Every member of the Croatia squad (opens in new tab) is available for selection for this game. Zlatko Dalic has selected a familiar line-up, however, with Petkovic preferred to Marko Livaja in attack.
Form
Japan began their campaign with a dramatic 2-1 triumph over Germany, before suffering a shock defeat by Costa Rica. Moriyasu’s men then shocked Spain on Thursday.
Croatia drew 0-0 with Morocco on matchday one, before a 4-1 victory over Canada and another goalless draw with Belgium.
Referee
Ismail Elfath (USA) will be the referee for Japan vs Croatia. You can find out more about the World Cup 2022 referees here (opens in new tab).
Stadium
Japan vs Croatia will be played at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah. Take a look at all of the World Cup 2022 stadiums (opens in new tab) and see how it ranks.
Players to watch / key battles
Japan are an adaptable team that can either sit deep and form a compact defensive shape, or press high and force turnovers in advanced areas.
The Samurai Blue will look to quicken the tempo, while Croatia will be more content to slow it down as they aim to establish control through the midfield trio of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic.
Read more about the Japan and Croatia full World Cup 2022 squads (opens in new tab).
Kick-off and channel
Japan vs Croatia kick-off is at 3pm GMT on Monday 5 December in the UK. The game is free to watch on BBC One and iPlayer.
In the US, kick-off time is 10am ET / 8am PT. The match will be shown on FOX/FS1 in the US. See below for international broadcast options.
VPN guide
If you’re out of the country for the World Cup 2022, then you won’t be able to watch on your domestic streaming service as usual. The broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!) and blocks you from watching it. You can use a VPN to get around that, though, without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, creates a private connection between your device and t’internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and will let you watch. And all the info going between is entirely encrypted, anonymous and safe – and that’s a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there. For the World Cup 2022, FourFourTwo currently recommends:
International World Cup 2022 TV rights
UK
All of the games in the UK are either on the BBC or ITV.
USA
Fox are the World Cup rights holders in the States. Games are on Fox or FS1 cable channels.
If you don’t have cable, you can use services such Sling and FuboTV to get the Fox channels. You can also watch the games on Peacock TV with Spanish commentary.
Canada
TSN is showing every game. You can subscribe for direct streaming or get it as part of your cable package.
- TSN (opens in new tab) ($19.99/mon or $199.90/year)
Australia
As in the UK, coverage of the World Cup 2022 is entirely free to air. You can watch all 64 games on the SBS TV channel and stream it online too with SBS On Demand.
New Zealand
Paid provider Sky Sports are the World Cup 2022 rights holders in New Zealand. You can watch as part of your Sky subscription of pick up a Sky Now TV pass. There is also a 7-day free trial.