Croatia cruise past Japan on penalties to advance to FIFA World Cup quarter final stage

Croatia cruise past Japan on penalties to advance to FIFA World Cup quarter final stage

After defeating Japan 3-1 on penalties in the round of 16 match on Monday afternoon at the Al Janoub Stadium, Croatia advanced to the quarterfinal stage of the FIFA World Cup. Croatia cruise past Japan on penalties to advance to FIFA World Cup quarter final stage

Croatia entered the game with perfect recordΒ in group play, but they could only manage second place after defeating Canada 4-1 and drawing 0-0 with Belgium and Morocco in Group F.

Zlatko Dalic’s team was under duress against Belgium in their final group match, but they battled to secure a significant point.

Meanwhile, Japan shocked a lot of football fans by upsetting both Germany and Spain 2-1 in their quest to get to this stage.

Japan and Croatia ended their Round of 16 Qatar 2022 World Cup match in a 1-1 draw.

Daizen Maeda opened scoring in 43rd minute of the first half of the match.

Ivan Perisic equalized for Croatia in 55th minute of the second half after receiving a pass from Dejan Lovren.

The Japan vs Croatia match played at Al Janoub Stadium became the first Round of 16 match to go into extra time as the others ended after ninety minutes of regulation time.

The match still ended 1-1 after 120 minutes ( including 30 minutes time). Croatia scored three out of five penalties, while Japan scored one out of five.

There wasn’t much action in ET, so the match went to the shootout, Croatia’s familiar territory.

Once again, the reigning silver medalists progressed through the FIFA World Cupβ€―β€―β€― knockout stage after the penalty shootout.

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About the Author

Obum Akawor
A retired Senior Civil Servant and sports journalist. A Fellow, Chartered Institute of Administration, FCAI.

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