Four years after their stunning World Cup run in Russia, Croatia want to do it all again. They beat Japan on penalties after a draw at the stadium. They will play either Brazil or South Korea in the quarterfinals on Friday.
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The Croatians did it by at least partially turning Japan's favored script on its head, falling behind against the tournament's upset artists just before half-time then levelling with a resounding head from IvanPerisic early in the second half. Neither side could make a convincing claim for being the better team in extra time, and Croatia won the game on the penalty kicks. The Croatians poured onto the field after Mario Pasalic hit the final penalty.
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Japan, the tournament's consensus Cinderella after beating Germany and Spain in the group stage, went ahead just before the break with a close-range blast from Daizen Maeda. Croatia was more precise after the interval and had more chances as the game went on.
Kaoru Mitoma's shot in the first half of extra-time was hopeful, but ultimately Japan couldn't find a last-minute drama. The final result was inevitable when Takumi Minamino and Mitoma missed their spots.
Player ratings, best and worst performers, highlights and notable moments, post match quotes, and key statistics are included in the jump.
Zlatko Dalic, Croatia's coach, was determined to paint his team as the lively outsiders they have proved themselves to be in European football.
Dalic said that the results of Croatia on the world stage are miraculous. They took Spain to extra time in the round of 16 at Euro 2020 after being surprise finalist in Russia.
Luka Modric is still the focal point, but their quality runs much deeper. The first goal was amazing. After a few directionless passes, Dejan Lovren sent in a swooping cross that Dejan Lovren absolutely hammered with a head from fifteen yards out and Gonda's dive was just for show.
The coach's faith in his bench was proved as Croatia got through.
In addition to leveling the score in this match, he also scored tying goals in the semifinals and finals of the World Cup. His six career World Cup goals are the most by a Croatia player.
The psychological effects of what happened to the Japanese in Russia, when they gave up three goals in the final 21 minutes, hung heavy over this game. Veteran Yuto Nagatomo said in the build up that he was haunted by the result and that he relived the disappointment at random moments over the past four years.
Nagatomo told his teammates to be brave and to make history by reaching the final eight of the World Cup. He said that the Japanese samurai wouldn't be able to use their weapons fully if they were scared. In football, it's the same.
Japan began to do that early on. The plan was to play from the wings in order to counteract Croatia's advantage in the middle and they created several chances from out wide before taking the lead.
They looked uncomfortable playing with the lead and their vaunted counterattack never clicked as the game went on, while the shootout was disappointing from the start.
The tournament of inspiration for Japan ended brutally.
Croatia made it through 120 minutes of back-and-forth emotion. Either a South Korean group is riding the upset of their lives or Brazil is going to win the tournament.
It's hard to argue that Croatia wouldn't have a puncher's chance, but Brazil's depth will be a big advantage. Croatia went the distance at the end of the group stage, so fatigue will be an issue.
Four years ago, they did it and could definitely do it again. Livakovic will be flying after he made three saves in the penalty shoot out.
Junya Ito, Wataru Endo, Hidemasa Morita, Yuto Nagatomo, and Daizen Maeda are all from Japan.
Hiroki Sakai, Takuma Asano, Kaoru Mitoma, Ao Tanaka, and Takuma Minamino are on the subs.
Luka Modric, Josip Juranovic, Dejan Lovren, and Borna Barisic are all from Croatia.
Mario Pasalic, Ante Budimir, Lovro Majer, Mislav Orsic, and Marko Livaja were on the subs.
The best is Dominik Livakovic.
It doesn't get much better for a team in a shoot out than having their goalie make a save. Livakovic was the one who delivered in penalties.
Maya Yoshida was the worst performer.
It's hard to find a suitable candidate here as both teams waged a very even battle, but after Marko Livaja hit the post for Croatia in the shoot out, Yoshida followed up with a weak penalty.
Mario Pasalic scored the winning penalty in the shoot out, sparking wild celebrations among his teammates.
CROATIA WINS IT IN PENALTIES 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/xV6UmuHHuR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 5, 2022
A new era of Japanese football was shown by the players. They should use the feeling of being upset to their advantage. It's not possible to be a superhero in one day. We have to make improvements step by step. We can play on the world stage if we reach a level where we can. I asked the players if they could score and if they could not, but the players still needed to try, and I think I would like to praise their effort.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said, "This is a great result, we fought the whole match and in the end we were rewarded." After controlling the first half, we conceded a goal and had to pull ourselves together. It messed us up a little. I don't have anything to complain about. The boys ran the game well.
The first goal of the World Cup was scored by Japan. The only Asian team to score a goal at the World Cup was North Korea in 1966, who lost to Portugal in the round of 16.
Japan's lead was their first at half-time of a World Cup match since 2010 when they led 2-0 against Danes.
Japan are the first team to score a goal in the knockout phase of a competition since they did it against Belgium in the group stage of the World Cup.
Ivan Perisic's goal was his sixth in the World Cup, tying him with Davor Suker for the most in Croatia's history. The second most goals for the Croatian men's senior national team was scored by Mario Mandzukic. Davor is the only one with more.
With his 10th goal at a World Cup or Euros, the Spurs winger became the Croatian with the most goals at a major tournament.
The last three equalising goals have been scored by Croatia's Perisic. In the final of the World Cup, he scored levellers.
It was Lovren's first competitive assist for Croatia. It was his first assist in over a year and a half.
In the 2010 World Cup, Japan played in the round of 16 against Paraguay. They lost that game as well as the one before it.
If Luka Modric plays in the quarterfinals, he will become the sixth player in the history of the men's senior international team to play 160 times.
The Samurai Blue don't have a match in their schedule at the moment, but they will be preparing for the Asian Cup in the summer by playing some friendly games.
Croatia will have four days to recover before they play either Brazil or South Korea in the quarterfinals. The game will be held at Education City Stadium. There is an hour and a half later.
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