Croatia defeats Japan on penalties and reaches the quarter-finals

Croatia qualified for the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup after beating Japan 3-1 on penalties, after goalkeeper Dominic Levakovic saved three penalties, and following a 1-1 draw after normal and extra time on Monday.

Daisen Maeda scored the goal to advance Japan in an even match in the round of sixteen, after he took advantage of a defensive confusion after a corner kick in the 43rd minute, and it seemed that the team might achieve a new surprise after defeating four-time world champions Germany and 2010 world champion Spain in the group stage.

But Ivan Perisic equalized for the Croatian national team, which lost the 2018 World Cup final, with a header in the 55th minute


. In the penalty shootout, goalkeeper Levakovic shone to gift his country the qualifying card for the quarter-finals and await the winner from today's confrontation between Brazil and South Korea.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news