Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's World Cup warm-up match between Brazil and Croatia!

Liverpool's Anfield home is the setting for this match, and with less than two weeks to go before the start of this summer's tournament, it is an important one for both sides. Squads must be finalised tomorrow too, so time really is running out for players to impress their managers.

Let's start with a look at the team news from Merseyside...

BRAZIL STARTING XI: Alisson; Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marcelo; Paulinho, Casemiro, Fernandinho; Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Coutinho

BRAZIL SUBS: Ederson, Cássio, Fágner, Marquinhos, Pedro Geromel, Filipe Luís, Fred, Taison, Neymar, Roberto Firmino

CROATIA STARTING XI: Subasic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Corluka, Vida; Badelj, Rakitic, Modric; Perisic, Rebic, Kramaric

What can we make of those two teams, then?

Well, the headline news comes from the bench, with Neymar named amongst the substitutes for Brazil. The PSG superstar is expected to feature today, which will be his first competitive outing since breaking his metatarsal in February, and all eyes will be on how that holds up.

Brazil have no shortage of star names, but many of their hopes still rest on the shoulders of the world's most expensive player, who directly contributed to 43 goals in just 28 games for PSG before his injury earlier this year.

Neymar has a whopping 53 goals in just 83 appearances for Brazil, placing him fourth on the all-time scoring list for his country already, just two behind legendary striker Romario.

The PSG winger is both the most experienced member of the squad and unsurprisingly the highest scorer in the squad, with Paulinho the only other player to have reached double figures for his country. His importance to the Brazil cause cannot be overstated.

As I mentioned, though, there are no shortage of other star names in that Brazilian team, and they certainly should not be lacking in the goals department with Willian, Gabriel Jesus and Philippe Coutinho making up the front three.

This will be Coutinho's first return to Anfield since leaving for Barcelona in January, and it is a ground where he spent five very successful years. His former Liverpool teammate Roberto Firmino is also in the squad today, but he is only named on the bench just eight days after playing in the Champions League final.

Marcelo and Casemiro both took part in that Champions League final as well, however, and they do start this afternoon having lifted the trophy as Firmino and Liverpool's expense in Kiev last Saturday.

Thiago Silva will captain the team from defence, while behind him rumoured Liverpool target Alisson is once again preferred to Manchester City's Ederson. City do have three players in the Brazilian starting lineup, though, with Danilo, Fernandinho and Jesus all included.

Douglas Costa and Renato Augusto miss out through injury today, but Tite has already whittled his squad down to the required 23 players - a decision which still awaits Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic.

The deadline for the final World Cup squad lists is tomorrow, so you would imagine Dalic already has a pretty good idea of who will miss out from the current crop of 27, but today's game is the final chance for any of those fringe players to perhaps change his mind.

That said, Dalic has not exactly gone for fringe players from the start here, with most of Croatia's big names included in the XI. Mario Mandzukic is the highest profile absentee from that team, with Kramaric leading the line, but there is little doubt that Mandzukic will be on the plane.

Mandzukic is unsurprisingly the highest scorer in the current Croatia squad with 30 international goals to his name, but they actually have goals throughout this team, with Perisic, Kalinic, Rakitic and Modric all having also reached double figures for their country.

There is also plenty of experience in the Croatian squad, and the three most-capped players available to Dalic all start today, with Modric leading the way in what will be his 105th international appearance.

Vedran Corluka is still knocking about and will win his 98th cap, while Rakitic will earn his 91st. This World Cup is perhaps the last chance for this golden generation to impress, though, as Mandzukic, Modric and Rakitic are all in their 30s now.

Modric, like his Real Madrid teammates Marcelo and Casemiro, starts the game just eight days after his Champions League final exploits, and the same is true of Dejan Lovren, who will be playing at his club's home ground this afternoon.

Lovren, who has had his issues with the national team in recent years, is named alongside Corluka in a centre-back pairing Brazil may feel they can get at this evening, although there is a lot of experience there.

Brazil will, of course, be the favourites for today's match, and they will travel to Russia as one of the favourites to go all the way and lift the trophy too - as they usual do on the biggest stage.

The five-time champions will be particularly keen to make amends for the end to their last World Cup, when they were incredibly thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the semi-final on home soil - their heaviest ever defeat and arguably the lowest moment in the nation's proud footballing history.

Brazil have not won the World Cup since 2002, which is quite a drought by their standards, but they do seem to be back on the right track under manager Tite, who took over the team in 2016 following their group-stage exit from the Copa America under Dunga.

The Selecao have since lost just one of their 19 matches under the manager, who immediately turned their qualifying campaign around and has restored some faith in the national team after a dark couple of years.

Tite's first nine games in charge of Brazil all ended in victory before losing to Argentina in a friendly 12 months ago, and overall he has now won 15 of his 19 games at the helm.

Indeed, heading into this match Brazil are unbeaten in their last nine outings, including four wins from their last five. The only exception in that run did come on English soil - a goalless draw with England at Wembley in November - but so far this year they have beaten the World Cup hosts and the World Cup holders - Russia and Germany - without conceding a goal.

It is no surprise that Brazil will be fancied by many to lift the trophy, then, and the group-stage draw would not have done much to dissuade them from backing the World Cup's most successful nation.

Brazil will get their campaign underway against Switzerland in Rostov-on-Don on June 17 before facing Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E. Switzerland pushed Portugal all the way in qualifying and Costa Rica pulled off some major shocks at the last World Cup, but Brazil will fancy their chances of winning all three of those games.

Before that, Brazil will be looking to safely negotiate their two World Cup warm-up games, of which this is the first at Anfield today.

After this clash with Croatia - a match designed to help them prepare for taking on Serbia - they will then face an in-form Austrian team, who are fresh off the back of beating Germany, in Vienna. That Austrian test is designed to prepare them for Switzerland.

Brazil are usually associated with flair, skill and attacking football - and of course with the players at their disposal they still possess those traits, but Tite has first and foremost turned them into a fearsome defensive unit.

The Selecao have conceded just five goals in their 19 games since Tite's appointment, keeping 14 clean sheets in that time and never letting in more than one goal in a single game. Just one goal has been shipped in their last six outings ahead of this one, including an ongoing run of three successive clean sheets.

As if that record was not daunting enough, Brazil also boast incredible recent form in friendlies, losing just one and winning 27 of their last 29 such outings stretching back to August 2013.

That stunning form included a run of 23 successive wins before their defeat to Argentina, and England are the only other team in that time to have prevented Brazil from running out as winners in a friendly encounter.

Brazil's defensive record in those last 29 friendlies is equally as impressive, with 22 clean sheets and just seven goals conceded, so there is a huge task ahead of Croatia on Merseyside today.

There is no doubting the quality of some of Croatia's individuals, but this golden generation has so far failed to live up to its billing and this summer's World Cup may be their final chance. A win against Brazil in the warm-ups would certainly send out a message.

Considering the talent at their disposal, it is quite surprising that Croatia have not managed to even make it past the group stages at a World Cup since their memorable tournament debut in 1998.

On that occasion in France 20 years ago Croatia finished in third place - helped by tournament top scorer Davor Suker - but in their three World Cup tournaments since then - 2002, 2006 and 2014 - they have fallen at the first hurdle.

Plenty will fancy Dalic's side to end that torrid run this summer, though, with Croatia second-favourites in Group D behind Argentina.

It won't be easy for them in a group which also contains Nigeria and Iceland, but before the tournament they will certainly fancy their chances. Argentina only just qualified for the tournament but are favourites, Nigeria went through qualifying unbeaten but are the lowest-ranked African team, whereas Iceland impressed at Euro 2016 but are making their first appearance at a World Cup, so it really is an intriguing group.

Croatia's campaign gets underway in just under two weeks' time now when they take on Nigeria in Kaliningrad on June 16, before then facing Argentina and Iceland respectively in their next two outings.

As is the custom nowadays, they have tailored their warm-up matches to best prepare them for their opposition, with Brazil hopefully giving them a taste of Argentina today and Senegal giving them an African outing on Friday in preparation for Nigeria.

Croatia should be fully prepared for Iceland, meanwhile, having also been in the same qualifying group as them, finishing in second place as the European minnows took top spot and enjoyed an automatic passage into the tournament.

Croatia recorded a crucial 2-0 win over Ukraine on the final matchday to secure second place in the group, earning them a replay against Greece, which they duly won 4-1 on aggregate with all of the goals coming in the home first leg.

It was not straightforward, then, and the Croatian FA took a huge risk just two days before that winner-takes-all match against Ukraine by sacking manager Ante Cacic and replacing him with Dalic, who went on to oversee the all-important 2-0 win.

Dalic had previously spent seven years managing in the Middle East at clubs in Saudi Arabia and UAE, including leading Al-Ain to the AFC Champions League final during his time in the latter.

Croatia come into this match having lost just one of their last six outings, although their form has been inconsistent ever since the start of last year and many fans may be wary of their chances in Russia as a result.

Since the beginning of 2017, Croatia have won six, lost six and drawn two games across all competitions, with those defeats including going down at the hands of China, Estonia, Turkey, Peru and Iceland - al of whom they would be expected to beat with the players at their disposal. Indeed, even some of the wins have been unconvincing, including just a 1-0 triumph over minnows Kosovo.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Anfield, which means that it is time for a prediction!

Croatia certainly have a lot of talent in their team, but everything points to a Brazil win here. Tite's side are in good form, have the pace up front which could cause problems for Croatia's ageing defence and also have the Neymar factor off the bench if things are not going as planned. I am going for a comfortable Brazilian victory.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Brazil 3-0 Croatia

This will be just the fourth meeting between these two sides, and Croatia are still searching for their first ever win over the might of Brazil.

However, they have only ever met once before in a friendly match, and on that occasion Croatia came away with a draw in what was the first ever edition of this fixture. That came in August 2005, when Niko Kranjcar and Luis Ricardinho were on the scoresheet.

The most recent meeting between these two sides came in the very first game of the last World Cup, when hosts Brazil fell behind early to a Marcelo own goal but fought back to get their campaign off to a winning start.

Neymar was influential with two goals before Oscar killed the game off in stoppage time, although that World Cup would, of course, end in humiliation for the hosts.

The only other time these two teams have faced off also came at a World Cup - in Germany in 2006 when Kaka scored the only goal of the game.

Brazil's key players have a habit of stepping up against Croatia, then - at least in competitive matches - so it will be all eyes on their stars today.

Right, the players are out, the anthems are being sung and it's just about time to get going at Anfield. Let's have a quick reminder of the team news before we do get started...

BRAZIL STARTING XI: Alisson; Danilo, Thiago Silva, Miranda, Marcelo; Paulinho, Casemiro, Fernandinho; Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Coutinho

CROATIA STARTING XI: Subasic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Corluka, Vida; Badelj, Rakitic, Modric; Perisic, Rebic, Kramaric

KICKOFF: Here we go! Croatia get us underway at Anfield!

Good pressing from Croatia as they look to close down Alisson, who is forced to boot the ball out of play for a throw-in.

Croatia have started this match sharply here, and it is noticeable that they are looking to press Brazil very high up the field whenever they get the chance.

Brazil have not quite got into their rhythm yet. I expected them to be a lot sharper in possession in these opening exchanges, but they have made a slow start here.

Brazil make their first real attacking thrust forward, with Jesus knocking the ball through for the overlapping Danilo, who tries to cut the ball back for Willian. Willian tries a flicked finish, but doesn't make contact and the ball runs through to safety for Croatia.

Croatia haven't created any chances yet, but they are playing with plenty of energy and urgency. Every time they win the ball they are looking to get forward quickly in numbers.

Badelj floats a clever ball into the box and Kramaric looks like he may get on the end of it, but Thiago Silva comes across to make an important interception.

CHANCE! Big chance for Croatia as Lovren climbs highest from the resulting corner and plants a firm header narrowly wide of the target.

YELLOW CARD! This is a naughty one from Kramaric as he slides into the challenge with a high boot, catching Silva right on the knee. It was a strange and needless one from the Croatian striker, particularly in a friendly like this.

Thiago Silva spent time on the ground after that challenge and Brazil hearts are in mouths for a moment, but their skipper is back on his feet and looks like he will be able to continue.

SAVE! Brazil are sloppy again here as Miranda gives the ball away in a dangerous area. Modric picks it off and goes for goal with a low drive, but Alisson makes the save and gathers it at the second attempt.

Brazil are trying to play out from the back today, but on a couple of occasions their distribution has been poor and has gifted Croatia the ball already. It is far from the Brazil we were expecting to see so far.

Gabriel Jesus has barely been involved so far today, with the only exception being that half-chance for Willian when he missed the ball from Danilo's cutback. Brazil need to get him involved more here.

Lovren comes through the back of Paulinho and leaves the Brazilian midfielder in a heap, but Paulinho is soon back on his feet and there does not appear to be any lasting damage.

SHOT! Coutinho gets his first sight of goal back at Anfield as he collects the ball around 25 yards from goal and only has one thought in his mind. He spins and puts his laces through it, but his effort is always rising.

SHOT! We have seen Coutinho do this plenty of times for Liverpool and for Barcelona as he dips inside before trying to wrap his foot around the ball, but this time he fires it a long wide high and wide of the target.

Croatia appear to have identified Alisson as a possible weak link with the ball at his feet here. Every time he is in possession they are quick to close him down, forcing him to rush his clearance which in turn prevents Brazil from building from the back.

CHANCE! Chance for Croatia here as Perisic makes good ground down the left flank, cutting inside before playing a low ball into the box which Kramaric completely misses when he would have been left with a really good opening!

More good play from Perisic as Croatia sustain their pressure, but Marcelo makes a couple of important contributions at the back post in quick succession to deny Dalic's side another clear chance.

CHANCE! Brazil respond with a good chance of their own as Willian cuts back onto his left and scoops a shot/cross towards the far bottom corner which is hooked away just a couple of yards in front of the Croatian line.

This is more like it from Brazil and Paulinho is the latest to have two sights of goals in quick succession, although both are bravely blocked by Croatia's defence.

Brazil come forward again here but once more there are too many Croatian bodies in the way! Brazil keep it alive and the ball is knocked back to two yellow shirts on the edge of the area, but they get in each other's way and that allows Croatia to launch a counter-attack.

Just under 10 minutes to go in this first half now, and Croatia will be the happier of the two teams at this stage. They have been the better side so far, which will be very encouraging for them ahead of the World Cup.

YELLOW CARD! Perisic is the second name in the book today for a swipe at Jesus.

YELLOW CARD! Michael Oliver brandishes yet another yellow in this first half as Fernandinho goes into the book for a dangerous high boot which caught Vrsaljko.

Sighs of relief for Croatia as Vrsaljko is up and looks fine to continue. The full-back was down for a while then, and both managers may want things to calm down a little in the second half so as to avoid any injuries so close to the World Cup.

Croatia now have Rebic and Vida down and needing more treatment. Not only will these be testing the nerves of both managers, but they are also disrupting the flow of the game.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

Rakitic clips a ball over the defence for Rebic to chase, and he almost beats Alisson to the ball too. The Brazil keeper is quick off his line but fires his clearance into the Croatian man, although it bounces behind for a goal kick.

The first half comes to an end at Anfield, and we are still goalless between Brazil and Croatia after a first half which didn't quite live up to expectations.

Croatia have been slightly the better team and have certainly created the best chances so far, so Brazil will be demanding an improvement in this second half.

The best chance of the match so far saw Dejan Lovren almost score on his home patch, rising highest inside the area to thump a firm header narrowly wide from a corner.

Moments later Alisson was called into action for the first time following a defensive error from Miranda as Croatia continued to look the most likely to break the deadlock, while Kramaric has also missed a decent chance after good work from Perisic.

As for Brazil, they have been limited to a clearance just in front of the Croatian line when Willian's cross/shot threatened to sneak in at the back post, but there really has been very little to shout about for the hosts.

Coutinho has had a couple of long-range efforts on his return to Anfield, while Willian missed an attempted flicked shot, but they need more inspiration in this second half.

KICKOFF: Brazil get us back underway for the second half, and they have made a very notable change at the interval with Neymar replacing Fernandinho. It is his first appearance since February!

Jesus thinks that he is through on goal for a moment as Willian sneaks a pass to him inside the box, but the linesman's flag is correctly raised.

Brazil seem to have a greater degree of control over the game since the interval, although we are still only five minutes into this second half. It was an attacking change from Brazil, though, and that is helping them to put Croatia under more pressure.

Willian darts past Vida to earn a yard to cross, but his low drive into the area is well cut out by Lovren at the near post.

CLOSE! This would have been some way to open the scoring! A corner is cleared as far as Marcelo, who takes a touch before drilling a low strike which fizzes just wide from around 30 yards out.

CROATIA SUB: Change for Croatia here as Duje Caleta-Car makes his debut, replacing Corluka.

Croatia win a free kick in a good crossing position, but Modric puts too much on his delivery and it is easy for Alisson to gather.

A free kick is played short into the box and knocked back to Danilo, but he never looks set and blazes his effort a long way over the crossbar.

SAVE! Neymar's first sight of goal comes just before the hour mark as he cuts inside and looks to pick out the far top corner with a curling effort, but Subasic is well placed and easily collects it.

CROATIA SUB: Another change for Croatia, and it is Real Madrid for Real Madrid as Mateo Kovacic replaces Modric.

CHANCE! Good chance for Croatia again here as Kramaric swings a dangerous cross into the box which Rebic meets with a glancing header. It is on target, but Alisson gets across to make the save.

BRAZIL SUBS: Brazil make two more changes, and one of them is particularly popular at Anfield as Roberto Firmino replaces Jesus. Filipe Luis also comes on for Marcelo.

CROATIA SUB: Another change for Croatia as Badelj is replaced by Marcelo Brozovic.

CROATIA SUB: Subs galore, as usual in these games, and Croatia make another here as Rebic is replaced by Marko Pjaca.

BRAZIL SUB: Brazil make another of their own, with Marquinhos replacing Miranda.

Brazil have been a little better in this second half, but they are still nowhere near as fluid as you might expect from a team with so many stars. Croatia, on the other hand, have impressed so far today.

He's back! This is brilliant from Neymar as he marks his return from injury with a trademark goal to finally break the deadlock in this match!

Coutinho plays the ball to the PSG winger, who dribbles into the area, cuts inside past Vrsaljko and then lashes his finish in off the underside of the crossbar to leave the goalkeeper no chance. That is his 54th goal for Brazil!

Every Brazilian goal will always be celebrated by every Brazilian, but that one will make them particularly happy. Their star man is back, and he looks like he is right back to his best as well. That was a really good goal from Neymar.

What have Croatia got in response here? They have played fairly well today and will feel hard done by if they lose this one, but they need to create more going forward as they have been pretty toothless in this second half so far.

Just 15 minutes remaining now, and this may well be a sign of things to come at the World Cup from Brazil. A win and a clean sheet is something they have made a habit of under Tite, and while the performance has not been as eye-catching as you might expect from Brazil, it is winning football.

Brazil come pouring forward again here as Willian collects the ball on the right channel before trying to earn a yard and shoot, but this time Vida is there to block the shot.

YELLOW CARD! Rakitic is the latest player in the book for a sliding challenge which leaves his Barcelona teammate Coutinho in a heap on the floor.

BRAZIL SUBS: Two more changes for Brazil and Coutinho and Willian are replaced by Taison and Fred.

CROATIA SUB: Change from Croatia too as Rakitic is replaced by Filip Bradaric.

Just five minutes remaining in this match now, and Croatia look increasingly devoid of ideas here. There hasn't been much to separate the two teams in truth, but Croatia have just lacked the brilliance of a Neymar, which has made the difference.

SHOT! Neymar looks to double his personal tally with a free kick which almost sneaks in at the far post, but Subasic watches it all the way just wide of the target.

CROATIA SUB: Another change from Croatia here as Tin Jedvaj replaces Vrsaljko.

CHANCE! Almost a chance for Brazil to put this game to bed once and for all as Firmino darts down the right channel, but the angle is against him and he fires it off target at the near post.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.

Firmino gets in on the act with the final kick of the game, collect Casemiro's pass on his chest before holding off a wild challenge and lifting his finish over the crossbar. Anfield goes wild for the Liverpool man!

Just what the doctor ordered for Brazil - a Neymar goal on his return, a Firmino goal at Anfield and a clean sheet to cap off the victory. Brazil weren't at their best today, but they keep on winning and in the end had too much for Croatia on Merseyside.

Croatia cannot be too disheartened with their performance - indeed, they were the better side in the first half - but they will now be aware of the difference between themselves and the very best, with a moment of magic from Neymar in particular the difference today.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening!

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's World Cup warm-up game as the returning Neymar helps fire Brazil to victory over Croatia at Anfield. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too!

From me, though, it is goodbye for now!