Dominik Livaković was Croatia’s hero as they booked their spot in a third World Cup quarter-final by beating Japan on penalties. The goalkeeper made a hat-trick of spot-kick saves after their round-of-16 tie went to penalties following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of nail-biting football.
Dominik Livaković was Croatia’s hero
The early exchanges defied the expectations of a tight 90 minutes, as Japan came close to scoring with their first attack when Shogo Taniguchi headed wide. Ivan Perišić should then have put his side ahead at the other end as he burst through on goal after brushing past Takehiro Tomiyasu, only to criminally shoot too close to Shuichi Gonda when one-on-one.
Croatia had plenty of possession
But they lacked any cutting edge, evidenced by Bruno Petković wasting a glorious opening when dallying in possession and Andrej Kramarić failing to get on the end of Perišić’s flicked header. That left them open to a suckerpunch, and after Daichi Kamada had fired over from close range, Daizen Maeda handed Hajime Moriyasu’s side a 1-0 lead minutes before HT, converting when a dangerous right wing cross wasn’t dealt with.
Conceding first shouldn’t have bothered Croatia
Given they came from behind in each of their three knock-out matches en route to the 2018 final. And after Daicha Kamada had blazed over immediately after the restart, The Blazers duly regained parity when Perišić levelled with a wonderful guided header that crept in at the far post.
Japan responded quickly, with Waturu Endo having a long-range effort tipped over the bar, but Zlatko Dalić’s side were in the ascendancy now, with Luka Modrić forcing Gonda into a superb diving stop, while Ante Budimir nodded wide. Perišić’s fierce drive was then deflected for a corner by Tomiyasu, but with no further goal forthcoming, an additional 30 minutes were required in an attempt to separate the two teams.
Extra-time, though, was largely uneventful, as nerves set in given the prize at stake. Kaoru Mitoma had the best chance, carrying the ball 50 yards before having a powerful drive pushed over the bar, while Lovro Majer dragged a low effort wide in injury time, meaning penalties were needed to find a winner.
Takumi Minamino and Kaoru Mitoma saw Japan’s first two penalties saved, and it was always going to be an uphill battle for their side from then on. Maya Yoshida had a third effort stopped by Livaković before Mario Pašalić netted the winning penalty, ensuring Croatia go through to face either South Korea or Brazil, while Japan suffered a fourth round-of-16 defeat.
Culled: soccer24