Croatia are through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup after beating Denmark in the second penalty shootout of the day
A frantic start saw Denmark score in under a minute as Mathias Jorgensen latched onto the end of a long throw that caused mayhem in the six-yard-box, but just three minutes later Mario Mandzukic equalised with a clinical finish after the ball punballed around the penalty area.
Denmark survived an early onslaught of Croatian possession but went on to have the better chances of the match as both Martin Braithwaite and Nicolai Jorgensen came close during the second half.
As the 90 minutes drew to a close, the two sides were limited to shots from range as neither wanted to risk committing too many men forward.
The game finally came back to life as Croatia were awarded a penalty 25 minutes into extra time after Mathias Jorgensen brought down Andrej Kramaric through on goal, but Kasper Schmeichel saved from Luka Modric to keep Denmark’s hopes alive and penalties were needed once again.
Both sides missed their first and fouth penalties as goalkeepers Schmeichel and Danijel Subasic stole the show. But it was Subasic who came out on top as he saved from Nikolai Jorgensen. Ivan Rakitic then went on to score the decisive penalty and win it for Croatia.
(Independent)
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