Croatia gamers have fun after successful the match’s first penalty shoot out through the 2022 World Cup spherical of 16 match between Japan and Croatia at Al Janoub Stadium on December 05, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar.

Dan Mullan/Getty Images

cover caption

toggle caption

Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Croatia gamers have fun after successful the match’s first penalty shoot out through the 2022 World Cup spherical of 16 match between Japan and Croatia at Al Janoub Stadium on December 05, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar.

Dan Mullan/Getty Images

AL WAKRAH, Qatar — Croatia, runners-up at the last World Cup, are alive on this one.

In a marathon round of 16 match Monday in Qatar, Croatia beat Japan on penalty kicks, 1-1 (3-1). Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković was the star of the game-ending shootout, the match’s first, amazingly blocking three Japanese photographs. Livaković tied a World Cup document with most saves in a shootout.

The win strikes Croatia into the tournament’s quarterfinals.

The ultimate shootout was arrange by a scoreless 30 plus minutes of additional time, the place neither staff might convert quite a few scoring possibilities.

The match bought to further time at Al Janoub Stadium after riveting forwards and backwards motion for the 90-plus minutes of regulation and stoppage time.

Flipping its World Cup script, Japan scored first for as soon as, within the waning minutes of the primary half. In the forty third minute, Japanese ahead Daizen Maeda left-footed some extent clean shot previous Livaković for the rating. It was solely Maeda’s second aim in worldwide competitors.

Japan ahead Daizen Maeda (#25) runs with the ball through the 2022 World Cup spherical of 16 soccer match between Japan and Croatia. Maeda scored the sport’s first aim to present Japan a 1-0 lead at halftime at Al Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, Qatar on December 5, 2022.

Adrian Dennis/AFP through Getty Images

cover caption

toggle caption

Adrian Dennis/AFP through Getty Images

Japan ahead Daizen Maeda (#25) runs with the ball through the 2022 World Cup spherical of 16 soccer match between Japan and Croatia. Maeda scored the sport’s first aim to present Japan a 1-0 lead at halftime at Al Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, Qatar on December 5, 2022.

Adrian Dennis/AFP through Getty Images

Then 10 minutes into the second half, Croatia evened the rating. Forward Ivan Perišić took a protracted cross excessive from the proper aspect and fantastically headed within the ball previous Japanese goalkeeper Shūichi Gonda.

That was all of the scoring, though each groups had quite a few high quality possibilities that did not pierce their opponent’s stellar protection.

Croatia is unbeaten in its final ten matches (seven wins and three attracts relationship to June). For Japan, it is a disappointing finish, as soon as once more, within the spherical of 16. Japan made it this far at World Cups in 2002, 2010 and 2018, however misplaced every time. The solely Asian international locations to advance to the quarterfinals within the historical past of the match stay North Korea in 1966 and South Korea in 2002.

Japan has been one of many main surprises at this World Cup, coming from behind, every time, to shock European powers Germany — a four-time World Cup winner — and Spain within the group stage. The victories resulted within the Blue Samurai ending first of their power-packed group.

Japanese followers additionally performed a component within the nation’s story right here. They have been lauded for cleansing up their sections after matches – bagging up water bottles, meals wrappers and no matter else followers scatter throughout tense and emotional soccer matches.

Croatia ahead Ivan Perišić celebrates scoring his staff’s first aim through the 2022 World Cup match in opposition to Japan at Al Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, Qatar on December 5, 2022.

Ozan Kose/AFP through Getty Images

cover caption

toggle caption

Ozan Kose/AFP through Getty Images

Croatia ahead Ivan Perišić celebrates scoring his staff’s first aim through the 2022 World Cup match in opposition to Japan at Al Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, Qatar on December 5, 2022.

Ozan Kose/AFP through Getty Images

“Basically our culture, our virtue, even for children, it’s really a necessary behavior to clean up,” stated 45-year-old Tokyo resident Masashi Sato, “when you go outside and do something with others. Kind of like part of courtesy that we need to do.”

Sato, who took half within the World Cup cleanups, says there are litterbugs in Japan, particularly in city areas. They’d be sensible to emulate the soccer followers gathered in Doha he says. But he provides the conduct right here in Qatar had as a lot to do with being good visitors.

“Everybody [is] aware of how we should behave outside the country,” Sato stated. “We have to represent our country. Everybody is looking at us. So we have to be always polite to everybody, to show them Japanese have some common sense.”

Croatia will tackle the winner of Monday’s late sport between Brazil/South Korea within the quarterfinals on Friday.

NPR’s Russell Lewis contributed reporting from Birmingham, Ala.