Monday at the World Cup: Japan's underdog tag suits them just fine 

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: Japan's head coach Hajime Moriyasu, left, and Yuto Nagatomo, right, prepare to pose for photographers. Pic: AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

Fixtures (all times Irish) 

Last 16, Japan v Croatia, Al Janoub Stadium, 3pm 

Zlatko Dalic’s side have looked a shadow of their 2018 selves and that’s hardly surprising. They are older and wiser but slower too, a lack of fresh blood all too evident. In essence they played well for a 50-minute spell against Canada who had arguably the second-worst defence at this tournament. Japan have been a revelation, knocking off the 2010 and 2014 world champions en route to topping Group E. They faltered in the one game they were expected to win. Being underdogs again at Al Janoub suits them just fine.

Last 16, Brazil v South Korea, Stadium 974, 7pm 

So, Brazil slipped up too. The purring pre-tournament (and all tournament long) was over the ridiculous attacking talents that Tite had at his disposal, yet when he unleashed all of his reserves on Cameroon they fell flat. Through over 300 minutes of football here, Richarlison is the only Selecao striker to score. Korea were insipid in their opener but then put four past Ghana and Portugal, Son Heung Min’s spectacular injury-time run against Portugal summing up their spirit as much as their energy reserves. They’ll try to frustrate the favourites for as long as possible.

Who’s hot and who’s not:

Cho Gue-sung has European clubs hot on his trail and has a social media army thirsting after his K-Pop boyband looks. All in all, it’s been a solid few days for him here. The Korean striker’s brace against Ghana was followed by another solid outing against Portugal and Celtic are among those eyeing him up (not in the same way the Twitter fiends do!). Croatian keeper Dominik Livaković is seen as a weak link and now we know why. If Romelu Lukaku had his shooting boots on last week, Croatia would be out.

Who to Watch:

Ritsu Doan went almost four years without scoring an international goal only to find his form in spectacular fashion. The Freiburg winger grabbed the crucial equalisers against both Germany and Spain coming off the bench both times.

Did You Know:

Tite has managed to use every single member of his Brazil squad, bar third-choice goalkeeper Weverton. Given the expansion of squads to 26, it’s impressive. With Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles out of the tournament and Danilo and Neymar doubts, the squad will be tested now.

Qatar question:

Will the clean-up crews have another easy night? Japanese fans have been doing Japanese things over here, cleaning up the arena all by themselves afterwards. Maybe they could help clean up the Croatians’ act while they’re at it, after FIFA launched an investigation into chants aimed at Canada’s Serb-born keeper Milan Borjan.