Brazil seek a reset. Croatia smell another scalp.
The two nations meet in a midweek friendly that feels anything but friendly for a Brazil side stumbling towards the summer, and for a Croatia team quietly sharpening their tools for yet another deep run at a major tournament.
Where to watch
In the UK, the game is free to air. Public broadcaster ITV holds the rights, meaning anyone with access to its channels or streaming platform can tune in without paying extra.
In the US, ESPN will show the match, giving American viewers a straightforward route to the action.
Fans travelling or living abroad face the usual geo-blocking issues on streaming services. Many turn to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to mask their location, regain access to their usual subscriptions and tighten up their online security at the same time. TechRadar’s testing ranks NordVPN among the standout options for speed, security and reliability when unblocking streams.
Brazil under strain
Brazil arrive on the back of a bruising defeat to France, another reminder that the aura around the five-time world champions has dimmed. Carlo Ancelotti’s side were undone by goals from Kylian Mbappé and Hugo Ekitike in Georgia, with Gleison Bremer’s late strike for Juventus offering little more than cosmetic repair.
The result deepened a worrying pattern. Brazil have managed only two wins in their last six games, a return that jars with the country’s expectations and with Ancelotti’s reputation as a serial winner in Europe. The Champions League mastery he has shown at Real Madrid has yet to translate into the same level of control or conviction with the national team.
This fixture carries an extra edge. Croatia were the ones who sent Brazil home from the 2022 World Cup, holding their nerve in a penalty shootout that still stings in Rio and beyond. Even in the context of a friendly, that memory lingers.
With the World Cup on the horizon, Brazil need more than a decent performance. They need rhythm. They need authority. They need a result that looks and feels like Brazil.
Croatia’s familiar resilience
Croatia, by contrast, arrive with their usual sense of quiet menace. They came from behind to beat Colombia 2-1 in their last outing, flipping the game after conceding to Jhon Arias inside two minutes.
Luka Vuskovic and Igor Matanovic turned that match on its head, underlining once again how often Croatia find a way to drag themselves into control, even when the opening blows go against them.
Zlatko Dalic has a largely clean bill of health. Backup goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski dropped out injured before the Colombia win, but the rest of the squad remains intact. That continuity has been one of Croatia’s greatest strengths over the past decade: a core that understands tournament football and thrives in tight, tense contests.
Andrej Kramaric, enjoying an excellent season with Bundesliga high-flyers Hoffenheim, is expected to return to the starting XI, potentially at the expense of Nikola Vlasic. His movement and finishing offer a different threat, especially on the counter against a Brazil back line that has looked far from watertight.
A test of intent
For Croatia, this is another chance to fine-tune a group that has grown used to the latter stages of major competitions. For Brazil, it feels like something heavier: a test of character, of direction, of whether Ancelotti can impose his club-game clarity on a national side that looks short of identity.
The prediction is bold. FourFourTwo expects Brazil to respond and win 3-0, a scoreline that would send a statement and briefly silence the doubts.
If they don’t, the questions around this Brazil team will only get louder as the summer closes in.
