Goalkeeper's penalty heroics save Croatia

1 year ago 91

Croatia is going heavy astatine different World Cup, and the squad is taking the agelong way erstwhile again.

Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved 3 punishment kicks Monday successful Croatia's 3-1 triumph implicit Japan successful a shootout, securing a instrumentality to the quarterfinals for the runner-up successful the 2018 tournament.

On its tally to the last 4 years ago, Croatia needed other clip successful each circular successful the knockout signifier — and doubly came done a punishment shootout.

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"We successful Croatia bash things this way, you could spot that 4 years agone arsenic well," said Livakovic, who was the back-up goalkeeper to Danijel Subasic successful 2018. "I continued the tradition."

This time, Mario Pasalic converted the clinching punishment for Croatia aft the teams were tied astatine 1-1 aft other time.

After the shot deed the net, Pasalic and the remainder of Croatia's jubilant players headed close for Livakovic, who had saved penalties from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitomo and Maya Yoshida.

While Croatia — a semifinalist successful 1998 — prepares to instrumentality connected Brazil oregon South Korea successful the quarterfinals, Japan exits a World Cup successful the circular of 16 for the 4th time, conscionable similar successful 2002, 2010 and 2018. The Asian squad besides mislaid successful a punishment shootout to Paraguay astatine that signifier successful 2010.

Asia is inactive waiting for a 2nd squad to beforehand beyond the past 16, aft South Korea connected location ungraded successful 2002.

Japan made its people successful Qatar, though, having beaten Germany and Spain — 2 of the past 3 World Cup champions — successful immense upsets successful the radical stage.

"The players showed a caller epoch of Japanese football, I think," Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu said. "They should usage this feeling of being upset and effort to spell further adjacent time.

"We cannot beryllium superheroes successful 1 go. We person to amended measurement by step. But Japan is reaching a level wherever we tin play connected the satellite stage."

In an adjacent 90 minutes of regularisation play, striker Daizen Maeda enactment Japan up successful the 43rd infinitesimal by sweeping successful a close-range decorativeness aft Yoshida had inadvertently deflected the shot crossed the beforehand of extremity pursuing a transverse into the area.

Ivan Perisic equalised by gathering Dejan Lovren's transverse from the close with a header into the bottommost country from adjacent the punishment spot successful the 57th.

The effect guarantees astatine slightest 1 much World Cup crippled for 37-year-old Croatia skipper Luka Modric, 1 of the champion midfielders of his generation. Modric was substituted successful the archetypal fractional of other clip and wasn't portion of the shootout.

Since 1998, each of Croatia's knockout matches astatine a World Cup oregon European Championship person gone to other clip but for the 2018 World Cup last nonaccomplishment to France.

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