It was just a matter of time before a knockout game would end on penalties: the first shootout of this World Cup edition promoted Croatia, who overcame Japan thanks to their goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic’s saves.
The Dinamo Zagreb shot-stopper denied three Japanese players from the spot, following the steps of his predecessor Danijel Subasic who sent Croatia through four years ago in a Round of 16 matchup against Denmark.
The regular times had ended on a 1-1 score as Ivan Perisic equalized Daizen Maeda’s opener. Neither side was able to furtherly break the balance and so the qualification went down to the wire. Livakovic did shine in the final showdown but he was also helped by the Japanese’s inefficiency for the spot.
The Blue Samurai‘s dream was thus shattered once again as they failed to reach the Quarter Finals milestone once again. Croatia, on the other hand, will face the winner of tonight’s clash between Brazil and South Korea on Saturday.
Like it often happened in this World Cup so far, it took some time for the game to catch fire. The first half was played at a high pace but the two sides nullified each other. Croatia kept the ball and appeared a bit more proactive as Japan were forced to defend themselves.
The Vatreni came close to break the deadlock but Bruno Petkovic and Andrej Kramaric missed the last touch in two occasions. Japan slowly woke up and sent a warning sign as a Daichi Kamada curl from a Wataru Endo pass narrowly sailed off target on 40 minutes.
Japan put their heads ahead soon after that, as Maeda pushed the ball into the back of the net to finalize a chaotic action in the Balkan’s defensive area. He was picked by Ritsu Doan with a phenomenal cutting pass form the right side of the pitch.
The Blue Samurai went to the locker room on a one-goal lead but their joy lasted approximately 12 minutes. Ivan Perisic put Croatia back on track on 56 minutes, as he stood over Junya Ito and headed the ball out of Shuichi Gonda’s reach and into the bottom right corner of the net. Kudos to Dejan Lovren for servicing the former Inter winger with a perfectly-timed cross.
With the score set at 1-1 and despite a few occasional shots, the clash became the perfect prototype of a World Cup playoff destined to end on penalties. As minutes went by, both sides seemed to be willing to put their chips on the shootout lottery rather than aiming for a winner.
And so, penalty shootout it was. Croatia found their new hero in their goalkeeper Livakovic, who pushed back shots from Takumi Minamino , Kaoru Mitoma, and Maya Yoshida. Serie A players Nikola Vlasic, Marcelo Brozovic, and Marko Pasalic buried their spot kicks to send the Vatreni through.
MATCH SCORECARD
December 5, 2022 – FIFA World Cup Round of 16
JAPAN – CROATIA 1-1 after extra times, 2-4 on penalties
SCORERS: 43′ Maeda (J), 56′ Perisic (C)
PENALTY SEQUENCE: Minamino (J) saved, Vlasic (C) goal, Mitoma (J) saved, Brozovic (C) goal, Asano (J) goal, Livaja (C) post, Yoshida (J) saved, Pasalic (C) goal
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JAPAN (3-4-3): Gonda; Tomiyasu, Yoshida, Taniguchi; J. Ito, Endo, Morita (105′ Tanaka), Nagatomo (64′ Mitoma); Doan (87′ Minamino), Maeda (64′ Asano), Kamada (75′ Sakai) (Kawashima, Yamane, Shibasaki, Machino, Ueda, Schmidt, Soma, H. Ito) Coach: Moriyasu |
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CROATIA (4-3-3): Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Barisic; Modric (98′ Vlasic), Brozovic , Kovacic (98′ Majer); Kramaric (68′ Pasalic), Petkovic (62′ Budimir, 105′ Livaja), Perisic (105′ Orsic) (Grbic, Erlic, Vida, Ivusic, Sutalo, Sucic, Jakic) Coach: Dalic |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Kovacic, Barisic (C); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 4′, 1st Extra Half 2′, 2nd Extra Half 1′
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