Croatia beat Denmark on penalties (3 – 2) after the match ended 1-1 to qualify for the quarter-final of the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Earlier, hosts – Russia – sent Spain packing after the match ended with a similar goal margin followed by penalty shootout.
Mathias Jørgensen opened for Denmark barely 60 seconds into the match but Croatia fought back.
Their resilience paid off when Mandžukić equalized just three minutes later and the tip-tap continued until the end of the first half.
An observer, who spoke with ElombahNews after the match, wondered if this is the same Croatian team that beat Nigeria 2-0 and Argentina 3-0.
“Their performance was way out of the standard that saw them qualife from the group with maximum nine points,” he observed.
Either way, Croatia will face Russia in their next encounter for the quarter-final bout.
The Slavic team won 3-2 on penalties with goalkeeper Danijel Subasic saving three spot-kicks.
and then