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Highlights: Croatia 1-1 Denmark (3-2 on pens)
Danijel Subasic saved three penalties as Croatia knocked out dogged Denmark in a nerve-shredding shootout to set up a World Cup quarter-final tie against hosts Russia.
It came at the end of a largely disappointing tie - and one that had seen Luka Modric spurn a golden chance to snatch a late winner when his penalty shortly before the end of extra-time was superbly saved by Kasper Schmeichel.
The Leicester City goalkeeper also saved two penalties in the shootout at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium but he could not prevent Ivan Rakitic slotting home the decisive 10th kick.
The Croatia players charged towards Rakitic after his decisive strike with the look of a team who knew they had survived an almighty scare against a Danish side that seemed to have the momentum with them moving into the shootout.
It was a match that ended in stunningly dramatic fashion - and started that way as well.
Martin Jorgensen capitalised on the chaos caused by a long throw to fire a weak shot beyond Subasic in the opening minute.
A scuffed clearance and an inadvertent header off Danish midfielder Martin Delaney left Mario Mandzukic with a good chance that he gobbled up, shooting beyond Schmeichel as Croatia soon levelled.
Neither side had previously conceded from open play in Russia - but the prospect of an unexpected glut of goals faded as quickly as the tempo.
It was a lacklustre tie played with front of a largely delighted crowd as the local fans inside the stadium revelled in Russia's earlier shootout victory over Spain.
The second half was particularly dreadful and the match seemed to have an inevitability of penalties from well before the start of extra-time.
An off-colour Modric fluffed his big chance but did convert in the shootout as Croatia stay alive in the competition and remain in the hunt to emulate the side of 1998, which reached the last four in France.
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Relive the penalty shootout
Player Rater: Croatia v Denmark
Croatia ride their luck
Croatia were superb the last time they played in Nizhny Novgorod, humbling Argentina 3-0 and laying down a real marker than they are contenders here in Russia.
But they were a shadow of that side on Sunday.
Their passing was off, they seemed to lack energy and ambition - and their ability to unpick a well-drilled opposition was limited.
Modric had warned before Sunday night's encounter that the Danes would provide a "stern test" and his words proved prophetic.
The Real Madrid man had come into this match on the back of several excellent displays but he and fellow influential midfielder Rakitic were well below par.
Modric's evening was perhaps summed up when he missed the chance to snatch a late win from the penalty spot.
In one of the few bright spots of his evening he had played an exquisite through ball to Ante Rebic, who seemed certain to score after adroitly rounding Schmeichel before he was brought down by goalscorer Jorgensen with the empty net gaping.
But Modric struck his kick at a good height for a keeper and Schmeichel, diving to this left, managed to hold the ball.
Croatia had been dumped out of Euro 2016 by Portugal in the last 16 after conceding late in extra-time and, as Denmark went into the shootout with their tails up, it did look as though they might suffer late heartbreak again.
But they survived - arguably fortunately - and remain alive in what is seen as the favourable half of the draw, with none of the teams left in Fifa's top 10 rankings.
Back in Euro 2016 Croatia missed out on winnable ties against Poland and Wales - and they do not want to do pass up a chance to go deep again.
Martin Jorgensen became the first Huddersfield player to score at a World CupDenmark so close to the class of 98
Denmark had only once previously reached the last eight of the World Cup - losing to Brazil at France 98 - but Age Hareide's side can consider themselves unfortunate to have lost against Croatia.
They sparked the game into life with their first-minute goal, which saw Huddersfield's Jorgensen shoot between the legs of two Croat defenders and defeat Subasic with what was a very saveable shot.
It came after a long throw from Ipswich's Jonas Knudsen and was very much made in the English Championship.
And they can hardly be blamed for playing to their strengths of defensive organisation and looking to capitalise on long throws and the occasional openings that come their way.
Christian Eriksen - who never lacked effort and endeavour but was a largely peripheral figure - clipped the apex of the goal in the first half and Denmark were undoubtedly the more ambitious side in an atrocious second half.
Denmark made a huge contribution to the worst game of the tournament so far when they and France played out a mutually convenient, insipid goalless draw in their final group match.
But they cannot be accused of spoiling this tie in Nizhny Novogorod, although in truth they probably exit the World Cup at a stage that is commensurate with their ability.
Man of the Match - Kasper Schmeichel
Saved a penalty in extra-time and two in the shootout. He also made several saves during the match and was unfortunate to be on the losing sideQuick off the mark - the stats
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Croatia have qualified for their first World Cup quarter-final since 1998.
Denmark have lost two of their three penalty shootouts at major tournaments, also losing against Spain in the Euro 1984 semi-final (they won the other at Euro 1992 against Netherlands).
This match was only the second in World Cup history to see both teams score inside four minutes, after Argentina v Nigeria in June 2014.
Mathias Jorgensen scored for Denmark after 57 seconds, the fastest goal scored in a World Cup match since Clint Dempsey scored after 29 seconds for USA against Ghana in 2014.
Mario Mandzukic's equaliser for Croatia after three minutes and 40 seconds was Croatia's second fastest World Cup goal, behind only Darijo Srna's strike against Australia in June 2006 (1:56).
Since 1966, only one penalty has been taken later in a World Cup match than Luka Modric's penalty for Croatia (115mins 46secs) - Asamoah Gyan for Ghana against Uruguay in 2010 (121:27), whose penalty hit the crossbar.
Mandzukic scored his third World Cup goal for Croatia (also two goals in 2014), with only Davor Suker (6) scoring more for the Croatians.
Both Croatia and Denmark played their 20th World Cup games in this match, with this the first time for each nation that any of those 20 games has gone to extra-time.
Denmark have conceded three penalties at the 2018 World Cup, the most by a team in a World Cup since Greece in 1994 (also three conceded).
Today is only the second day in which two World Cup games (Spain v Russia, Croatia v Denmark) both went to a penalty shootout - the other was June 21, 1986 (France v Brazil, Mexico v Germany).
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Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text
Line-ups
Croatia
23Subasic
2Vrsaljko
6Lovren
21Vida
3StrinicSubstituted forPivaricat 81'minutes
11BrozovicSubstituted forKovacicat 71'minutes
18Rebic
10Modric
7Rakitic
4PerisicSubstituted forKramaricat 97'minutes
17MandzukicSubstituted forBadeljat 108'minutes
Substitutes
1Livakovic
5Corluka
8Kovacic
9Kramaric
12L Kalinic
13Jedvaj
14Bradaric
15Caleta-Car
19Badelj
20Pjaca
22Pivaric
Denmark
1Schmeichel
14Dalsgaard
4Kjaer
13M JorgensenBooked at 115mins
5Knudsen
20Poulsen
6ChristensenSubstituted forSchöneat 45'minutes
8DelaneySubstituted forKrohn-Dehliat 98'minutes
11BraithwaiteSubstituted forSistoat 105'minutes
10Eriksen
21CorneliusSubstituted forN Jørgensenat 66'minutes
Substitutes
2Krohn-Dehli
3Vestergaard
7Kvist
9N Jørgensen
12Dolberg
15Fischer
16Lössl
17Stryger Larsen
18Lerager
19Schöne
22Ronnow
23Sisto
Referee:
Néstor Pitana
Attendance:
40,851
Match Stats
Home TeamCroatiaAway TeamDenmark
Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home20
Away14
Shots on Target
Home6
Away3
Corners
Home5
Away4
Fouls
Home5
Away19
Live Text
Posted at
Match ends, Croatia 1(3), Denmark 1(2).
Penalties overPosted at 130'
Penalty Shootout ends, Croatia 1(3), Denmark 1(2).
Goal!Posted at 130'
Goal! Croatia 1(3), Denmark 1(2). Ivan Rakitic (Croatia) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Posted at 129'
Penalty saved! Nicolai Jørgensen (Denmark) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the centre of the goal.
Posted at 128'
Penalty saved! Josip Pivaric (Croatia) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, left footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
Posted at 127'
Penalty saved! Lasse Schöne (Denmark) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
Goal!Posted at 126'
Goal! Croatia 1(2), Denmark 1(2). Luka Modric (Croatia) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal.
Goal!Posted at 125'
Goal! Croatia 1(1), Denmark 1(2). Michael Krohn-Dehli (Denmark) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal!Posted at 124'
Goal! Croatia 1(1), Denmark 1(1). Andrej Kramaric (Croatia) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Goal!Posted at 123'
Goal! Croatia 1, Denmark 1(1). Simon Kjaer (Denmark) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top right corner.
Posted at 122'
Penalty saved! Milan Badelj (Croatia) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
Posted at 122'
Penalty saved! Christian Eriksen (Denmark) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
Penalties in progressPosted at
Penalty Shootout begins Croatia 1, Denmark 1.
Posted at 120'+2'
Second Half Extra Time ends, Croatia 1, Denmark 1.
Posted at 120'
Attempt missed. Andrej Kramaric (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Luka Modric.
Posted at 119'
Attempt saved. Luka Modric (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Milan Badelj.
Posted at 117'
Milan Badelj (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 117'
Foul by Nicolai Jørgensen (Denmark).
Posted at 116'
Penalty saved! Luka Modric (Croatia) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom right corner.
BookingPosted at 115'
Zanka (Denmark) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Posted at 114'
Penalty Croatia. Ante Rebic draws a foul in the penalty area.
Posted at 114'
Penalty conceded by Zanka (Denmark) after a foul in the penalty area.
Posted at 113'
Attempt missed. Nicolai Jørgensen (Denmark) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Simon Kjaer with a headed pass.
Posted at 110'
Ante Rebic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 110'
Foul by Zanka (Denmark).
SubstitutionPosted at 108'
Substitution, Croatia. Milan Badelj replaces Mario Mandzukic.
Posted at 108'
Attempt missed. Pione Sisto (Denmark) right footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Michael Krohn-Dehli.
Posted at 106'
Attempt blocked. Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Andrej Kramaric.
Posted at
Second Half Extra Time begins Croatia 1, Denmark 1.
SubstitutionPosted at 105'
Substitution, Denmark. Pione Sisto replaces Martin Braithwaite.
Posted at 105'+2'
First Half Extra Time ends, Croatia 1, Denmark 1.
Posted at 105'
Corner, Croatia. Conceded by Nicolai Jørgensen.
Posted at 104'
Corner, Croatia. Conceded by Kasper Schmeichel.
Posted at 102'
Offside, Croatia. Mateo Kovacic tries a through ball, but Mario Mandzukic is caught offside.
Posted at 100'
Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 100'
Foul by Lasse Schöne (Denmark).
Posted at 99'
Attempt missed. Lasse Schöne (Denmark) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Nicolai Jørgensen with a headed pass.
SubstitutionPosted at 98'
Substitution, Denmark. Michael Krohn-Dehli replaces Thomas Delaney.
SubstitutionPosted at 97'
Substitution, Croatia. Andrej Kramaric replaces Ivan Perisic.
Posted at 95'
Corner, Denmark. Conceded by Dejan Lovren.
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goal
Source: bbc.com
Source: bbc.com