Croatia came back after conceding in the opening minute to earn a World Cup quarter-final berth after edging Denmark 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the two sides drew 1-1 in the round of 16 matches on Sunday. Croatia and Denmark were meeting for the sixth time. Croatia now has three wins to Denmark’s two (one draw) head-to-head. Sunday’s match began with a bang, as each team scored one goal within the first four minutes. That would be the end of the scoring until the match reached penalty kicks after extra time. Croatia advances to play Russia in the quarterfinals. Danijel Subasic saved three penalties to help Croatia reach the World Cup quarter-finals with a 3-2 shootout victory over Denmark following a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
Ivan Rakitic scored the decisive penalty after Subasic had used his feet to stop an attempt from Nicolai Jorgensen. Croatia captain Luka Modric, who also scored in the shootout, had a chance to put his team ahead late in injury time, but his penalty was saved by Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Croatia will next face host Russia in the quarter-finals on Saturday in Sochi, Russia. Denmark took the lead in the first minute when defender Mathias Jorgensen scrambled in a shot that went in off Subasic’s left hand and then the left post. It was Denmark’s fastest ever World Cup goal. Croatia equalized in the fourth minute with another untidy goal at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. Henrik Dalsgaard’s clearance hit a teammate and fell for Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic to hook the ball in. The teams stayed even for the next 116 minutes, including the 30 minutes of extra time.
Russia is staging its first-ever FIFA World Cup, which kicked off in Moscow with a spectacular opening show at the Luzhniki Stadium on the night of June 14. Eleven host cities, namely Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara, were selected to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup. A total of 32 national football teams entered the 2018 FIFA World Cup and only 16 of them proceeded to the knockout phase after the group stage, which kicked off on June 14 and ended on June 28.
