In-form Croatia will be hot favourites against Denmark, who have looked lacklustre in the group stages, when the two sides clash in the Round of 16 of the World Cup on Sunday. Croatia have won all their Group D matches, including a 3-0 hammering of Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Led by Real Madrid’s midfield lynchpin Luka Modric, Croatia also defeated Nigeria and Iceland to top Group D. Croatia have an experienced squad which could at least match their best-ever finish of a third place which happened in 1998 World Cup. [caption id=“attachment_4643461” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Croatia players celebrate after winning against Denmark. AP /Martin Meissner[/caption] “I was nine years old. I remember my mum screaming in the house when we scored,” central defender Dejan Lovren recalled Croatia’s 2-1 win over the Netherlands in 1998 that secured third place. “We can beat that, definitely, but we need luck. We have a good opponent in the next round, it will be difficult,” said Lovren, who is expected to return to the starting XI. His fellow defenders are expected to be Domagoj Vida, Sime Vrsaljko, Ivan Strinic – all were rested during the game against Iceland. Croatia will once again depend on Modric, who has been in outstanding form, and fellow midfielder Ivan Rakitic to deliver the goods. Modric scored a peach of a goal from distance against Argentina and along with FC Barcelona’s Rakitic, has been pulling the strings brilliantly for his national team. The younger crop of Croatia players like Ante Rebic, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic have also rose to the occasion making them a threat. Rebic, along with Andrej Kramaric and Ivan Perisic may feature ahead of the midfield duo of Modric and Rakitic. Mario Mandzukic will lead Croatia’s attack. Denmark, meanwhile, are happy to continue flying under the radar, buoyed by a 17-match unbeaten run. They have scored just two goals in three Group C games, finishing as runners-up, but will face their sternest test yet on Sunday. They too are seeking to match their 1998 achievement when they reached the quarter-finals before being beaten by Brazil in what was their best World Cup showing. Denmark coach, Age Hareide, wants his side to play more attacking football against Croatia and the team will rely heavily on key player Christian Eriksen for that. “We know that we don’t seem like the most fearsome bunch to go up against,” midfielder Thomas Delaney said. “We’re not going to lose 0-5 by trying to play tiki-taka football. But people shouldn’t get used to seeing us play like we did against France,” the Werder Bremen player added. “It’s seldom that we play like this, and the game against Croatia will be a very different spectacle.” Denmark have a strong defence with a centre-back pairing of captain Simon Kjaer, Andreas Cristensen and Mathias Jorgensen. In goal is Leicester City star Kasper Schmeichel. The expected attacking options are Nicolai Jorgensen, Yussuf Polusen, Celta Vigo’s Pione Sisto and Eriksen, with the latter tasked with creativity. With inputs from agencies Click here for full coverage of FIFA World Cup 2018 Click here to view the full schedule of FIFA World Cup 2018 Click here to view the Points Table of FIFA World Cup 2018
Highlights, Croatia vs Denmark, FIFA World Cup 2018, Round of 16 in Nizhny: Croatia through to quarters
In-form Croatia face Denmark in the Round of 16 of the World Cup on Sunday. Follow our live blog for scores and updates from Nizhny Novgorod.
 "Highlights, Croatia vs Denmark, FIFA World Cup 2018, Round of 16 in Nizhny: Croatia through to quarters")
A long day of football
One crazy day of football. Both the Round of 16 matches went to penalties to get the result. Heartbreak for Spain and Denmark while joy for Russia and Croatia.
Today’s winners will face each other in the quarter-final.
Thanks for joining today. We will also do the live coverage of tomorrow’s Round of 16 matches – Brazil vs Mexico and Belgium vs Japan. Do join us then.
That’s all from us, goodbye!
True that!
Luka Modric #cro been one of the players of this epic #WorldCup with his distribution, work ethic, leadership and one gem of a goal. Tonight he demonstrated his character and nerves of steel by stepping up in the shootout after missing earlier.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) July 1, 2018
Will they reach final this time around?
1 - Croatia have qualified for their first World Cup quarter-final since 1998, when they went on to finish third in the tournament. Ascendent. #CRODEN #CRO #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Xby7a9fHKE
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 1, 2018
A day for keepers!
Only one keeper has saved 3 penalties in a shoot-out before Danijel Subasic
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 1, 2018
It happened exactly on this day in 2006 - approximately 12 years & 3 hours ago, when Ricardo helped #POR knock out #ENG
With Schmeichel also saving 3 today, 1 July is clearly a day for keepers!#CRODEN pic.twitter.com/sAVJewO2yP
CRO 1-1 DEN (3-2 in penalties)
Croatia are through to the quarter-finals after a heart-stopping penalty shootout filled to the brim with excellent saves and poor misses.
Denmark will be heartbroken but they should also be proud of themselves, pushing Croatia to the brink. Kasper Schmeichel in particular had almost taken his side to a win, but the Croats slightly edged them out to win a memorable game.
Football, I tell you!
🇩🇰 Kasper Schmeichel vs Croatia:
— SPORF (@Sporf) July 1, 2018
🧤 Saves penalty in Extra Time
❌ Saves 2 penalties in shootout.
🏆 Still knocked out of the #WorldCup
💔 Heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/BjhAr5xW7b
CRO 1-1 DEN (3-2 in penalties)
Goodness, what a thrilling penalty shootout! Outstanding work by both the keepers. It all came down to Schmeichel and Rakitic. The Barcelona midfielder showed no signs of nervousness as he nailed the last penalty.
Well, one can say this is cruel on Denmark and Schmeichel.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Rakitic scores and Croatia win the match. 3-2 in penalties.
CRO 1-1 DEN
SAVE AGAIN. Subasic uses his legs to deny Jorgensen. If Croatia score the next goal, they are through.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Pivaric and SAVEEEE! What a save by Schmeichel. Denmark are alive.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Schone for Denmark and denied. Subasic dives to his right to stop Schone. 2-2 in penalties.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Pressure on Modric and he doesn’t fumble. Back of the net to make it 2-2.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Krohn-Dehli makes it 2-1 for Denmark in penalties.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Kramaric scores too. He sends Schmeichel the wrong way. It’s 1-1 in penalties.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Top-right corner. Kjaer scores for Denmark. They are 1-0 up in the penalties.
CRO 1-1 DEN
SAVE AGAIN!
Schmeichel saves the penalty with his legs.
CRO 1-1 DEN
SAVE!
Subasic deny Eriksen. And now it’s Badelj for Croatia.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Alright then, Eriksen to take the first penalty for Denmark.
CRO 1-1 DEN
Who had expected that the theme of the night at the end of the game would be Subasic vs Schmeichel? Two experienced campaigners now hold the keys to the fate of their respective nations in the World Cup.
Well, what can I say
When you give away a 114th minute penalty to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity in a World Cup knockout game... and they miss. pic.twitter.com/CssgtjPQ8h
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) July 1, 2018
CRO 1-1 DEN
We are heading into penalty shootouts for the second consecutive match tonight. How Kasper Schmeichel’s save off Luka Modric’s spot kick affects the momentum of either team remains to be seen.
120’ CRO 1-1 DEN
And it’s all over. For the second time today, the result of a match will be decided on penalties.
120’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Just one minute of additional time.
118’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Some late drama here at Nizhny as Denmark has probably thrown it away with just five minutes to go. Kramaric was through on goal and had skipped past Schmeichel only for Jorgensen to bring him down from the back. It’s a stonewall penalty.
And…Schmeichel saves!!! The Dane dives the right way for Modric’s spot kick and keeps Denmark in the game. This is the 4th penalty saved in this edition of the World Cup.
116’ CRO 1-1 DEN
MISS! Oh what drama!
Kasper Schmeichel pulls off a good save to deny Modric. Denmark’s World Cup hopes are alive and kicking.
113’ CRO 1-1 DEN
PENALTY!
Modric delivers a brilliant ball to release Rebic. He’s one on one with Danish goalkeeper but Jorgensen fouls him inside the box. The defender also gets a yellow.
110’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Denmark have started this period strongly as well – Hareide’s side putting in a shift which will be talked about for years to come irrespective of the scoreline. Croatia were easily the team with flawless performances in the group stage and Denmark have managed to underwhelm an opposition of such stature.
108’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Sisto was close to getting a second goal for his nation, but his shot is just wide off the mark. Croatia are subbing of Mandzukic and Milan Badelj is coming on to infuse some energy into the ranks.
107’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Sisto almost breaks the deadlock with a stunning turn and shot from the left side. His shot is just wide.
Substitution for Croatia. Badelj replaces goalscorer Mandzukic.
105’ CRO 1-1 DEN
The second period of the extra-time starts. One change by Denmark. Sisto replaces Braithwaite.
105’ CRO 1-1 DEN
The first half of extra time is over and we are nowhere close to finding out who will be facing Russia in the quarter-finals. Danes are bringing in more fresh legs into the fold with Sisto all set to come on.
105’ CRO 1-1 DEN
End of the first period of extra-time. If there’s nothing special in the next 15 minutes then we will have penalties again.
105’ CRO 1-1 DEN
A moment of magic from Luka Modric as he sends an exquisite long pass but Schmeichel rescues the Danes by just tipping it over.
Meanwhile, fourth official show one minute of added time.
104’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Croatia are still chasing loose balls in the opposition half, but there is no distinct style of play – all their composure disappeared way back. Merely knocking the ball around doesn’t amount to much and the Croats need to do something soon, else the game is slipping away from them.
103’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Terrific long pass from Modric to Kramaric, who controls the ball well but just couldn’t beat his markers inside the box.
100’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Almost ten minutes into extra-time and the deadlock still persists. Croatia look exahusted while Denmark is running the show, Knudsen among the thick of things in particular.
97’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Changes for both the sides.
Denmark’s Krohn-Dehli comes off the bench to replace Delaney.
For Croatia, Kramaric replaces Perisic.
95’ CRO 1-1 DEN
Not a bad start by Denmark. Couple of long throws into the box by Knudsen but nothing to show off. He also delivers a decent ball into the box which is cleared away to a corner.
91’ CRO 1-1 DEN
First period of the extra-time kicks off.
CRO 1-1 DEN
It’s full time and the game has been a tedious affair after the initial five minutes of play. For the second time today, we head into extra-time. Not many gave Denmark a realistic chance but the Danes have taken the opportunity granted to them and run with it. Now we wait to see whether thirty more minutes are useful or if this one will be decided on penalties as well.
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