CROATIA WIN CRAZY SHOOTOUT
Schmeichel saves three penalties . . . and he’s still on his way home!
(1-1 after extra time; Croatia win 3-2 on penalties)
AFTER the heroics of the two goalkeepers, six missed penalties and a hatful of missed chances, it was Croatia who took their place in the last eight of the World Cup.
Ivan Rakitic scored the decisive spot-kick after Danijel Subasic saved three from Denmark in what must be one of the worst set of penalties recently seen at an elite tournament.
Kasper Schmeichel also made three saves, two in the shootout and one six minutes from time, with his father Peter on his feet in the stands.
The teams were locked together at 1-1 and six minutes from the end of extra time when Luka Modric released Ante Rebic and he skipped around Schmeichel. Rebic was about to roll the ball into an open goal when Mathias Jorgensen scythed him down from behind.
Modric took the penalty and Schmeichel saved, diving to his left to take this last-16 tie into the penalty shootout.
Modric had the bottle to take another and this time he scored. Christian Eriksen, Lasse Schone and Nicolai Jorgensen missed for the Danes.
Croatia now move on to face Russia in a quarter-final in Sochi but were far from impressive.
After two scruffy goals inside the first four minutes, this promised to be total mayhem. But for the next couple of hours it set about proving why everyone is in such a tiss about this side of the draw. There really is nothing extra special.
There are teams who can have a good day. These include Croatia, as they proved against Argentina.
And there are teams that can be difficult to play against. But there is no team to fear and no team with experience of the late stages of an international tournament.
Only 57 seconds had ticked by before Denmark took the lead. An enormous throw, hurled deep into the Croatia penalty area by Ipswich defender Jonas Knudsen, reached Mathias Jorgensen at the back post via Thomas Delaney and the Huddersfield centre half hit the target.
He stabbed a firm side-footer through a crowd of legs as Subasic threw down his left hand, but the goalkeeper was only able to divert the ball under his body, against a post and into the net.
Denmark rejoiced as Jorgensen became the first Huddersfield player to score in a World Cup but the lead was wiped out within three minutes. Croatia levelled when a scramble took hold at the other end after a powerful charge down the right wing by Rebic.
Sime Vrsaljko opted for power rather than accuracy as he toepunted a low cross from the right and the Danes self-destructed when an attempt to clear by Henrik Dalsgaard smacked team-mate Andreas Christensen in the face.
Chelsea centre half Christensen, deployed by the Danes as a deep midfielder, collapsed in a heap and the rebound spilled to Mario Mandzukic, who swept the bouncing ball past Schmeichel on the turn.
From there, Denmark looked most threatening from set-pieces and panic took a grip at the back when Croatia pushed forward.
Wideman Ivan Perisic and Rebic kept energy levels high in the first half and Modric probed with passes from midfield, but they often lacked composure in advanced areas.
For what was Croatia’s first World Cup knockout tie since the semi-final of France 98, boss Zlatko Dalic reverted to the team who beat Argentina so convincingly.
Schmeichel saved from Ivan Rakitic and Perisic snatched at the chance which followed. Dejan Lovren ought to have hit the target having climbed to get his head to a Modric free-kick. Danish opportunities were more fleeting.
Subasic dashed from his line to smother one at the feet of Martin Braithwaite and Christian Eriksen clipped the frame of the goal with what appeared to be a cross.
Denmark boss Age Hareide, once a defender at Manchester City and Norwich, made a switch at halftime as Christensen came off to be replaced by Lasse Schone of Ajax.
The Danes managed to engage higher up the pitch and neutralised the Croatian wingers.
The midfield areas became congested, Modric and Rakitic found it increasingly difficult to dictate the pattern of the tie and very few clear-cut chances were eked out.
Nicolai Jorgensen tested Subasic soon after coming on and longrange efforts were traded without anything threatening. Pione Sisto came closest for Denmark in extratime before Schmeichel denied Modric from the spot. CROATIA (4-3-3): Subasic 6; Vrsaljko 6.5, Lovren 6, Vida 6, Strinic 6 (Pivaric 81); Modric 7.5, Brozovic 6,5 (Kovacic 71, 6.5), Rakitic 6.5; Rebic 7, Mandzukic 6.5, Perisic 6.5. Scorer: Mandzukic 4. Manager: Zlatko Dalic 6. DENMARK (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 7; Dalsgaard 6, Kjaer 6, M.Jorgensen 6.5, Knudsen 6; Christensen 5 (Schonne 46, 6), Delaney 7; Yurary 6, Eriksen 6, Braithwaite 6; Cornelius 5 (N Jorgensen 66, ). Scorer: M Jorgensen 1. Booked: M Jorgensen. Manager: Age Hareide 6. Referee: Nestor Pitana (Arg) 6. Attendance: 40,851.