Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic saved three penalties to book their spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Japan began the match brightly and almost went ahead when Shogo Taniguchi headed wide. Ivan Perisic, on the other end, was guilty of wasting a one-on-one chance against Shuichi Gonda.
Japan would punish the Croatians for the wasted opportunities when Daizen Maeda handed Hajime Moriyasu’s side a 1-0 lead minutes before halftime.
Perisic would pull the 2018 finalists level after the break when he headed in Dejan Lovren’s cross.
The match would then end level, and after another goalless extra time, the match would be decided on penalties.
Takumi Minamino and Kaoru Mitoma saw Japan’s first two penalties saved. 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.
