Japan after having defeated two footballing giants Germany and Spain clashed with 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia in their Round of 16 match. Let’s see how the game played out.
Japan vs Croatia
Japan have been on a roll at this year’s event in Qatar. They have defied predictions and have moved onto the Round of 16 from a ‘group of death’ consisting of teams like Germany and Spain. They started the match brimming with confidence.
The two teams were cautious in their approach as none wanted a goal against them. Japan, however, were successful in breaking the deadlock in the dying embers of the first half as Daizen Maeda reacts in split second to put one past Croatia’s goalpost in the 43rd minute. The goal came following a corner from Doan which was won by Yoshida.
The Asian team held the fort and came out ahead in the first half following their goal. Croatia needed to get a goal in order to keep their World Cup hopes alive and that’s what they did in the second half.
Croatia’s first goal also came from a corner as Ivan Perisic thumped a header into the box to put Croatia level with Japan. The game remained at 1-1 after the end of 90 minutes as both teams did not budge from their defensive duties.
Penalty shootout (1-3)
After the extra time’s failure in separating the teams, it was the penalty shootout that had to bring out a winner. Japan looked not ready for the penalty shoot-out as they failed to convert three while Croatia took their chances. With 1-3, Croatia defeated Japan in the penalty shootout and move on to the quarterfinal of the World Cup 2022.
They will now face the winner of Brazil vs South Korea match.
