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120 minutes of football were not enough as Croatia beat Denmark 3-2 on penalties in the Round of 16 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. After two hours of play, the teams were level at 1-1 with both the goals coming in the first five minutes of the game itself.
Mathias Jorgensen put Denmark in front after just 58 seconds before the Croatians struck back immediately through Mario Mandzukic in the fourth minute. Luka Modric had a golden opportunity late to win the game late in extra time but his weak spot kick was saved by Kasper Schmeichel and a penalty shootout followed.
The goalkeepers of both sides were the heroes as the duo made a string of stunning saves but Danijel Subasic's save off Nicolai Jorgensen and a resulting Ivan Rakitic conversion saw Croatia emerge as triumphant.
Here are the best and worst players from the game:
#5 Best - Domagoj Vida
For the fourth consecutive game in the World Cup, Domagoj Vida was a defensive rock against the Danish frontline. The leadership has helped out his partner, Dejan Lovren immensely as both of the central defenders have established a strong understanding amongst each other and conceded just two goals in the tournament.
Vida was everpresent in the middle of the defence as he successfully completed last-ditch challenges, recoveries and repelled danger despite becoming nervy at times during the latter stages of the game.
On the attacking end, the 29-year-old was unable to contribute anything of sorts as his long passes were not precise enough and were easily cut off by the Danish back line. But, other than that, Vida excelled throughout the game and played to his strengths.
The Besiktas centreback completed a whopping 12 clearances along with three interceptions and won five aerial challenges as he made it extremely hard for Denmark to penetrate through or find space in and around the box.
#4 Worst - Christian Eriksen
Christian Eriksen has been off-colour for the past couple of matches in the World Cup and the same continued against Croatia. He was relied upon to be the creator and influencer in the final third of the pitch but he did not turn up as Denmark were eliminated in the Round of 16.
Eriksen started off slow but moderately became involved in the game as he was unable to get many touches early on playing behind the striker. He then tried his luck from long range but his attempts never bothered the Croatian goalkeeper and the 26 year old failed to have any shots on target.
The Tottenham playmaker's distribution was also below par as they completed just one key pass with an accuracy of just 80%. Similarly, Eriksen drifted out left and tried creating opportunities but his game lacked conviction and several crosses turned out to be unsuccessful that eventually resulted in a loss of possession.
Eriksen's night from bad to worse when he missed Denmark's first spot kick in the shootout before his side went out of the tournament as a result of a crushing and slender defeat on penalties.
#3 Best - Kasper Schmeichel
Kasper Schmeichel was in the shooting range of the Croatian players for the greater portion of the 120 minutes in Nizhny Novgorod. However, the Leicester City keeper was up for the challenge and carried on his good form to restrict Croatia to just a solitary goal.
The 31-year-old made five saves on the night but the most decisive one was Luka Modric's penalty save in the 117th minute. The spot kick was poor by Modric but Schmeichel jumped rapidly off his goal line towards his left and pounced on the ball for an easy collection to force a penalty shootout.
In the shootout, Schmeichel made two saves in total with his first one being Croatia's first penalty as he deflected away Milan Badelj's shot with his legs.
He was unable to stop the next two spot kicks but fourth time he guessed the right direction and made an excellent one-handed save to deny Josip Pivaric and preserved the scoreline at two goals apiece.
However, the fifth penalty was missed as Denmark narrowly crashed out in the Round of 16 as Kasper Schmeichel's Man Of The Match performance wasn't enough to take his team over the line and onwards to the next round.
#2 Worst - Andreas Cornelius
Andreas Cornelius was basically isolated in the Round of 16 as the towering centre-forward had just 18 touches before being taken off midway during the second half following a disappointing outing.
The Atalanta striker was dynamic in the air, winning a total of four aerial duels and linked up well with his fellow attackers as his hold-up play turned out to be decent at times.
However, Cornelius was incapable to turn his aerial strength into anything substantial and finished with no attempts at goal. He played a very limited part in the game and at the same time, lacked service as Denmark failed to utilise his physical presence in the box until he was replaced by Nicolai Jorgensen in the 65th minute.
#1 Best - Danijel Subasic
For the major span of 120 minutes, Danijel Subasic did not face much of a threat on his goal as only three Denmark shots were on target. However, his error did lead to Croatia falling behind instantly after kick off as he let the ball slip under his hands and ended up conceding a sloppy goal in the very first minute.
Subasic started off strong by saving the very first penalty of the shootout, denying Christian Eriksen as he pushed the ball towards the post and out of danger. This was followed by the Danish converting their next two spot kicks but the veteran shot-stopper made amends on the next two spot kicks.
First, the Monaco goalkeeper made an acrobatic save on Denmark's fourth attempt as he leapt right and punched away Lasse Schone's shot to keep it level at 2-2.
Next, Nicolai Jorgensen drilled his shot straight down the middle but Subasic saved with his legs as the score remained tied but Croatia upheld the advantage.
Ivan Rakitic scored the following penalty for the win as Danijel Subasic's heroics guided Croatia to their first ever World Cup Quarter Final in 20 years, where they will face hosts Russia on July 7 in Sochi.
