Ivan Perisic, Tottenham winger, came to Croatia’s rescue on Monday and he leveled the score in the round of 16 against Japan with a header in the 56th minute. Zenit defender and former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren assisted Perisic with a long cross.
Japan advanced, two minutes before the break, in the 43′, on Croatia with a goal from Daizen Maeda, a Glasgow Celtic winger, who beat Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, in a good collective play by the Japanese and Assisted by Maya Yoshida
Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol, one of the stylish defenders, made his first mistake in this World Cup or at least the first one that he was not able to correct after this Japanese game with the exit of a corner.
Japan has been one of the great surprises of the World Cup so far, as they defeated the two world champions, Spain (2-1) and Germany (1-2, was eliminated), finishing first in group E.
Croatia reached Qatar 2022 as the current world runner-up after losing the Russia 2018 final against France (4-2). They reached the last eight as second in group F, behind Morocco (Spain’s rivals on Tuesday), and eliminated Belgium, third in the last World Cup, with a 0-0 victory on the final day.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
