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After two goals scored by both teams, Croatia and Denmark lost 1-1 at the end of a 16-minute run before Ivan Rakitic scored decisive goal in a spectacular penalty shot in the quarterfinals. Croatia's Ivan Rakitic celebrates his fifth penalty in the 2018 FIFA World Cup ™ semi-final match between Croatia and Denmark at the Nizhny Novgorod stadium on 1 July 2018 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. (Getty Images)
More than two hours earlier, the match started off dramatically. The Danes took the advantage after a minute of play, thanks to Jorgensen de Mathias, who snuck a long pbad deep and beat goalkeeper Danijel Subasic
. Just three minutes later, Croatia equalized when Mario Mandzukic took advantage of a poor clearance and launched a shot from the right foot from inside the area that pbaded Kasper Schmeichel to make 1-1 in the fourth minute .
for the next 86 minutes plus the stop time was rather less spectacular. There was little to put a team apart in a close encounter that had its moments of drama, like that of Danish striker Yussuf Poulsen. .
But that seemed to lack real scoring opportunities for either team.
While Croatia is considered the most talented, the industry and the whirlwind of Denmark have mostly helped to contain the contenders. As the game progressed, it was the Danes who began to look at the dominant side
After 90 minutes plus three, referee Nestor Pitana whistled to his lips as the match took over. in advance. and penalties
The two leaders scrambled the game in stoppage time while they were looking for the key to get out of the stalemate. Danish boss Age Hareide brought Michael Krohn-Dehli for Thomas Delaney and Pione Sisto for Martin Braithwaite. Zlatko Dalic, manager of Croatia, introduced Milan Badelj for Mandzukic
Finally, after 115 minutes of play, Croatian striker Ante Rebic broke into the penalty area of Denmark. a foul by Jorgensen, deserving the penalty that would surely see Croatia in the quarterfinals.
Luka Modric took the place of Croatia. Modric, arguably the most talented player in the World Cup, simply had to pbad the ball to Schmeichel to send Croatia to the quarter-finals. Only he did not do it.
Modric tapped a bit at the right corner of the Danish goal, but Schmeichel guessed right. The guardian of the city of Leicester jumped on the ball, like a heroic soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save his platoon. Denmark was still in this game.
The Danes having survived the last warning, the match was sanctioned.
Christian Eriksen was the first to fight for the Danes. But playmaker Tottenham got his shot saved by a Subasic diver. Badelj was next to Croatia, but once again, Schmeichel kept him away.
Dane Simon Kjaer was the first to convert, badping his kick past Subasic. Andre Kramaric then converted to Croatia, before Krohn-Dehli did another for Denmark
Modric was replaced by Real Madrid, who defeated Schmeichel
. . But Schmeichel kept the Danish hopes alive, saving Josip Pivaric's effort before Subasic saved Nicolai Jorgensen's kick. In the end, everything was left to Rakitic
The Barcelona midfielder returned to the mark and fired a low shot and left. While Schmeichel went wrong, the ball hit the net, sending Croatia through and smashing Danish hearts.
Croatia is a competitor?
Croatia flew under the radar. But having clinically distinguished Argentina and taken the lead in the group stage, it has become a fashionable choice to reach, and perhaps even win, the final in two weeks. Denmark gave Modric, Rakitic and Co. his toughest test of this World Cup up here. And they have pbaded but just right.
Yet, with a quarter-final encounter with a lower-ranked Russia, Croatia's path to the final could be quite simple. In a World Cup where the outsiders have excelled, and we have already seen many of the best teams crush, the field seems to be very open for a team like Croatia that could potentially take the distance.
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