Croatia edge Japan 3-1 (1-1) on penalties to enter Quarters

Mario Pasalic struck the winning penalty to send Croatia through after Dominik Livakovic had saved three of four Japanese penalties.

Croatia defeated Japan 3-1 (1-1) in penalty shootout to book quarter-finals berth.

Mario Pasalic struck the winning penalty to send Croatia through after Dominik Livakovic had saved three of four Japanese penalties.

Both Japan and Croatia squandered a few early opportunities to score. But, just minutes before the half-time whistle, Daizen Maeda opened the scoring for Japan from a well-worked corner kick.

Early into the second-half, Ivan Perisic put Croatia level 1-1 through a terrific header. The two teams couldn't be separated in 90 minutes, pushing the match into extra-time for the first time in this edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Even in the extra-time, the two teams couldn't be separated. The Croatian goalkeeper stepped up in the shootout as his side secured a 3-1 (1-1) win in the penalty shootout.

Croatia now face Brazil in the last eight and continued midfield icon Luka Modric’s stay at his fourth and likely final World Cup.