Japan had cut down two former World Cup winners but the 2018 finalists ended their run as the scourge of the European powers. The Blue Samarai were the conquerors of Germany and Spain but were denied a third major scalp by a hat-trick of penalty saves from Dominik Livakovic.
In an extraordinary display, the Croatian goalkeeper guessed right three times out of four, denying Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and finally Maya Yoshida to extend the World Cup career of Luka Modric. Croatia’s captain had gone off before the first shootout of the 2022 tournament. In his absence, Nikola Vlasic, Marcelo Brozovic and Mario Pasalic all converted, rendering Marko Livaja’s miss irrelevant and ensuring the Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper was the hero. Only his compatriot Danijel Subasic and Portugal’s Ricardo had ever made three saves in a World Cup penalty shootout before.
