Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was the Croatian hero with three saves. Japan’s penalties were as poor as they had been in the previous 120 minutes as Livakovic had low saves from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and captain Maya Yoshida before Mario Pasalic converted Croatia’s fourth and third successful spot-kick. Six of Croatia’s last seven knock-out games at major tournaments have gone to extra time, with the only exception being the final loss to France in Russia four years ago, and cool heads prevailed once again. Quick guide
Qatar: beyond football
projection This is a World Cup like no other. For the past 12 years the Guardian has been covering the issues surrounding Qatar 2022, from corruption and human rights abuses to the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. The best of our journalism is brought together on our dedicated Qatar: Beyond Football page for those who want to delve into issues beyond the pitch. The Guardian’s reporting goes well beyond what happens on the pitch. Support our investigative journalism today. Photo: Caspar Benson Thanks for your response. Japan’s veteran defender Yuto Nagatomo had evoked the spirit of the Samurai on the eve of the game, but this was less a warrior and more a hypnotherapist trying to cure insomnia. Incense in the corner. The game was written on penalties long before the painful reality set in for Japan, who have now suffered four World Cup exits at the round of 16. Hajime Moriyasu’s side had won a half-time lead thanks to sharper distribution, movement and clever set-pieces, although it was a low-quality affair. There was a subdued atmosphere in the stands where thousands of seats remained empty in the 44,325 capacity arena and 42,523 was given as the official attendance. In no case. There was a lackluster first-half display from Croatia with Zlatko Dalic’s men showing signs of fatigue in their fourth match of the tournament. Their blunt edges allowed Japan to avoid punishment for several defensive mistakes. Samurai Blue took the game to Croatia initially. Shogo Taniguchi sent a header wide from a well-worked short corner by Junya Ito and Wataru Edo. The defender’s reaction confirmed he should have found the target after escaping the attention of rival centre-half Dejan Lovren and Josko Guardiol. Croatia’s Ivan Perisic scores his team’s goal with a powerful header. Photo: Eugene Hoshiko/AP Ito often beat Borna Barisic for pace and his deliveries from the right unstuck the Croatian defense in the opening exchanges. Daizen Maeda and Nagatomo failed to connect with an attractive cross across goal. Daichi Kamada missed another decent chance after Hidemasa Morita, Maeda and Endo combined impressively to set him free inside the Croatia area. Croatia’s brightest moments in a flat first half came from the Japanese’s mistakes rather than the gifted midfield of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic. Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu scored the first when, trying to turn a long distance back to the safety of his goalkeeper, he was lightly pushed by Ivan Perisic and made a mistake. The Tottenham midfielder made a clear sprint but was denied from a tight angle by Japan goalkeeper Suichi Goda. A furious Bruno Petkovic, making his first World Cup start, pounced on the rebound. Petkovic found himself on target when Guardiol’s long ball out of defense resulted in a communication breakdown in Japan’s back line. The Dinamo Zagreb striker lacked the pace to produce a finish but had Andrej Kramaric completely unmarked on his right. A woeful effort to find his fellow striker summed up Croatia’s first-half performance. Japan grabbed a deserved lead just before the break from another smart corner routine. Ritsu Doan, who was rewarded with a start for his substitute performances with goals against Germany and Spain, did not leave Kamada. He found Morita, who returned possession to Doan. Taniguchi met the attacking midfielder’s surprise cross with a header that clipped Petkovic and fell perfectly to Majda and the Celtic striker gave Livakovic no chance from close range. Subscribe to Football Daily Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. At that stage, the World Cup was slipping away from Croatia and the 2018 runners-up were going home with a whimper. But they produced the second-half improvement they desperately needed to drag another knockout tournament tie into extra time. Dominic Livakovic Croatia equalized 10 minutes after the restart and in style when Perisic met Lovren’s deep cross with an accurate, powerful header into Goda’s bottom left corner. It also went the distance and gave Perisic his 10th goal in a major tournament, surpassing Croatia’s Davor Suker’s record of nine. Goda rolled over to prevent Modric putting Croatia in front with a shot from 25 yards and Livakovic did the same to deny Edo at the other end. Otherwise, there was precious little incident or finesse as the tie drifted into extra-time, where the miserable ordeal continued. Nikola Vlasic and Brozovic both hit their spots before Marko Livaja carelessly hit the post but, with Japan losing their nerve and Livakovic excelling, it fell to Pasalic to put Croatia through.
