FIFA World Cup 2022: Croatia beat Japan 3-1 on penalties to reach quarter-finals

Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved three penalties in the shoot-out to help Croatia reach the quater-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Monday. The 2018 runners-up Croatia beat Japan 3-1 on penalties in their Round of 16 encounter at Al Janoub stadium. The match went to the penalties after it ended levelled at 1-1. Livakovic saved penalties from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and Maya Yoshida before Mario Pasalic, who came as the fourth penalty taker for Croatia, netted the winning spot-kick. Only Takuma Asano scored for Japan in the shoot-out, while Marko Livaja missed for the winners. Nikola Vlasic and Marcelo Brozovic were the other penalty scorers for Croatia. Japan took a 1-0 lead at the halftime break with a goal from Daizen Maeda in the 43rd minute. Croatia levelled the scoreline 10 minutes into the second half when Ivan Perisic scored the equaliser with a stunning header. After that, the two teams failed to break the deadlock even after using 30 minutes of extra time.