World Cup, round of 16, as it happened: Subasic saves three penalties to put Croatia through

Here’s the updated bracket.

One of RUSSIA and CROATIA will play in a World Cup semi-final. Yes, that’s right, folks. Should the hosts go through, it will be a dramatic Russian reversal.

Tomorrow: Brazil versus Mexico (7.30 pm IST), Belgium versus Japan (11.30 pm IST)

Croatia the more dominant of the two sides but were unable to finish off in 90 or in 120. They had 22 attempts, converting only 1 of their 7 on target. Denmark had 3 shots on goal but couldn’t make them count.

July 1 is a good day for keepers. Subasic saves 3, Schmeichel saved 2 but had denied Modric from the spot earlier on in the game. For custodians, this day’s a keeper.

Two penalty shoot-outs in one day, and while Russia knocked out Spain, Croatia edged Denmark 3-2.

Danijel Subasic equals the record for most number of saves in a shoot-out, tied on three with Portugal’s Ricardo who denied England in 2006.

CROATIA HAVE WON IT!! 3-2 on PENALTIES!!

Rakitic, cool as you like, slides it down the left. Schmeichel guesses wrong and he can’t do anything about it. It’s Croatia versus Russia in the quarters.

SAVED!! 2-2

Subasic dives, but his leg saves Jorgensen’s kick. Rakitic to win it.

SCHMEICHEL SAVES!! 2-2.

Josep Pivaric takes one with his left, but Denmark have a new lease of life.

SAVED!! 2-2.

Lasse Schone’s penalty is saved as Subasic guesses right. Croatia have an edge now.

Modric gets the better of Schmeichel this time!! 2-2.

Breathes a sigh of relief, right down the middle, and as the keeper dives, the Real Madrid man scores.

Krohn-Dehli converts!! 2-1 Denmark

The veteran scores and gives his team the lead.

Kramaric equalises!! 1-1

Stutters in his run-up, easy as you like.

Kjaer scores!! Denmark 1-0.

Unstoppable, as the ball hits the roof of the net. Opens the Danish account.

SAVE!!! Schmeichel is two for two tonight as Milan Badelj takes a weak penalty. Both teams yet to open their account. 0-0.

SAVE!! Subasic gets a touch to it, Eriksen can’t convert, the ball is turned onto the upright. 0-0

Denmark go first. Christian Eriksen to take the initial penalty. It’s him vs Subasic.

Full-time and it ends 1-1!

We have penalties. Kasper Schmeichel is Denmark’s hero, saving Modric’s penalty. Shoot-out incoming.

118’:

Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi - all have missed penalties at this year’s World Cup. The other two are out. Will Modric join them in regretting his miss? 1-1.

116’: SAAVVVVEEEE!!

Tired penalty by Luka Modric. It’s a terrible spot-kick, saved low by Schmeichel. What late drama here! 1-1.

114’: PENALTY!!! Croatia have a chance to win it.

Badelj runs clear of the defence and he is felled by Jorgensen. Clear spot-kick and confirmed by VAR. 1-1.

108’: Pione Sisto takes a shot..

But it goes wide. Milan Badelj comes on for Mandzukic. 1-1.

106’: Second half of extra time begins. 1-1.

Half-time in extra time and we’re level.

Croatia and Denmark haven’t been able to break the deadlock. 15 more minutes and we have penalties. 1-1.

103’: Modric with a superb through ball.

Mandzukic received it but he couldn’t direct his cut-back. 1-1.

99’: Denmark make a change. 1-1.

Krohn-Dehli is on for Delaney. Schone with a shot but it goes wide of the goal.

97’: Croatia with a change. 1-1.

Kramaric comes on as Denmark enjoy a little spell of possession.

94’: Knudsen high up the pitch..

Charges through the Croatian defence and gets a corner. 1-1.

91’: We have the start of extra time.

Both teams level at 1-1. No player has been booked yet.

FOR THE SECOND TIME TONIGHT, WE HAVE EXTRA TIME.

The 90 finishes 1-1 as Mandzukic and Jorgensen cancel each other out. One of these teams will face Russia in the quarters.

90+3’: Denmark have a corner. 1-1.

Vida clears the ball, giving Eriksen a set-piece. Subasic punches it out and Braithwaite takes a shot, but it goes wide of the goal. That might just be the end of normal time.

90’: Three minutes added on.

Denmark’s ‘Rory Delap’ launches the ball into the box but Subasic is untroubled. We’re almost at the end of normal time. 1-1.

87’: Rebic twists and turns..

He shows some lovely feet to send the ball into the box. Pivaric on the follow-up is unable to get a clean shot off. 1-1.

84’: Perisic has a shot at goal..

But his header flies above the bar. Barely five minutes of regulation time plus added-on time left. 1-1.

80’: Swap for Croatia as Strinic is replaced by Pivaric. 1-1.

These two teams have never featured in a match at the World Cup that has gone to extra time. This will be the first for both sides, if it does happen.

76’: Modric with a try from outside the box. 1-1.

These two teams look like they are headed for extra time. For the second time tonight, we’re quarter of an hour from the entire 120.

71’: Croatia make a midfielder change. 1-1.

Real Madrid man Mateo Kovacic replaces Marcelo Brozovic. All the early promise of this game has fizzed out.

66’: Denmark make a change.

Nicolai Jorgensen comes on for Cornelius. 1-1.

64’: Croatia have a corner. 1-1.

After the excitement of the first half, we have a meek successor. Both coaches happy to be more compact and tight at the back. Modric’s corner is cleared.

54’: Jorgensen’s goal was the 30th that Denmark have scored at World Cup finals.

And all 30 have come from inside the box. Inzaghi-esque, we must say. 1-1.

46’: We have kick-off and it’s a change for Denmark.

Lasse Schone replaced Andreas Christensen. 1-1.

Half-time and it’s level in Nizhny. 1-1.

Absorbing game as Denmark scored in the 1st minute, only for Croatia to hit back almost immediately. Exciting game as neither team has held back. After the cure for insomnia that was Spain-Russia, we have a good Round of 16 match to talk about.

45’: SAVE, Schmeichel! 1-1

Rakitic with a first-time shot after a ball is rolled on to his path from the left flank, the Dane goes down well to save. Mandzukic is injured and goes off the pitch.

41’: Eriksen hits the goal-frame. 1-1.

The Danish midfielder chips the ball into a dangerous area as Subasic lets it go. The ball takes a sudden dip and hits the corner of the post.

38’: Lovren goes close with his header! 1-1.

At the other end, Domadoj Vida gives away the ball needlessly but he is bailed out by his keeper. All happening here.

Croatia clearly don’t fancy the middle of the park.

34’: In case you were wondering about previous instances of both teams scoring within the first 4 minutes, we have the low-down for you. 1-1.

29’: Croatia lining up attempts here. 1-1.

First Rakitic has a go, then Perisic misses his kick, but he has a second go. Schmeichel under fire here.

26’: Braithwaite breaks through. 1-1.

Subasic stands tall denying the Danish striker. Good play by Denmark here, breaking through the Croatian ranks.

19’: No penalty. 1-1.

Croatia are still on the attack. Mandzukic using his size to good effect here. Game still being played at a good tempo though.

17’: Viewers can breathe for now. 1-1.

No more goals for now as Denmark look to counter Croatian pressure. At the other end, Mandzukic appeals for a penalty but the referee doesn’t give it. We have our first VAR review of the game.

11’: Croatia have a free-kick just outside the box, as the Ivans, Perisic and Rakitic are over it. 1-1.

It’s the left-foot of Perisic which strikes it, but the ball ploughs into the wall and out for a corner.

9’: It’s all quiet, for now. 1-1.

This is the 4th time in World Cup history that two goals have scored within the first 4 minutes.

58 seconds for Denmark’s goal, their fastest at World Cups.

Croatia were behind for 1 minute 58 seconds only.

Denmark’s goal was the 16th goal scored in the 1st minute of a WC match, the 1st in Round of 16 matches.

IT’S 1-1 IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES: Madness! The ball rebounds off Christensen’s face and Mandzukic scores. Both teams must have watched Spain’s match. No other explanation. Croatia were behind for less than 2 minutes. Madness.

4th minute: GOALLLLLLLLL, CROATIAAAAAA! WOW!!! WHAT IS THIS WORLD CUP! MANDZUKIC EQUALISES!

2nd minute: GOALLLLLLL, DENMARK! OH WHAT DRAMA! A long through from the left flank, and the ball drops to Jorgensen in the box who takes a stab at it. Subasic barely sees it through the crowd, gets down to get a hand to it, but it deflects and goes in to the net. BIZARRE GOAL!

11:30 pm: And we are off...

11:28 pm: This is how the bracket looks like after 3 games in the round of 16. Croatia and Denmark have a big chance to go deep after Spain’s defeat.

11:27 pm: Both teams are yet to concede a goal from open play, conceding just one penalty.

11:24 pm: Time for the national anthems... starting with Croatia.

11:22 pm: It’s time for live pictures from the stadium. What are your thoughts on the game? Share with us @thefield_in.

11:16 pm: The Russian coach is clear about what he wants from this game.

11:14 pm: Here’s how the teams are expected to lineup... be ready for an engaging midfield battle.

(Graphic: @FifaWorldCup)

11:09 pm: The two teams have only met in the finals of a major competition once before, when Croatia won 3-0 at Euro ‘96, and Davor Suker famously lobbed Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

His son, Kasper, is now the Danish ‘keeper and, despite saying earlier this tournament he was tired of answering questions about his father, the younger Schmeichel was asked if he knew who Suker was.

“He’s a Croat, that’s all I know,” he deadpanned.

11:05 pm: Croatia’s coach Zlatko Dalic said his team were under no extra pressure as they suddenly found themselves predicted by many to win the World Cup after their group performances.

“We have no pressure coming from the outside, our greatest pressure comes from ourselves,” he said. “We’ve come to perform well, to achieve something. In the group stage we played well but it will mean nothing if we do not verify that [against Denmark].”

10:59 pm: Denmark are unbeaten for 18 games, a national record, their last defeat coming against Montenegro in October 2016. They have also kept six clean sheets in their past seven games. If Denmark beat Croatia, it will be only the second time the Danes have qualified for the last eight of the World Cup, the other occasion being in 1998.

10:53 pm: Denmark coach Age Hareide said his side’s World Cup last-16 match against Croatia could boil down to who comes out on top in the midfield battle between Christian Eriksen and Luka Modric.

The Danes failed to set pulses racing in the opening round, featuring in the first goalless draw of the World Cup against France, a result that ensured both sides progressed from Group C.

By contrast, Croatia, stormed through Group D, winning all three games.

They also put in arguably the best performance of the first stage, a 3-0 thumping of Argentina, in Nizhny Novgorod, where they will also play Denmark.

But Hareide said his team would be more expansive and play differently on Sunday.

“I think you will see a different Denmark from what you have seen so far and the type of game we have played,” Hareide said at a press conference. “Yes, we need to defend but we need to attack more.”

10:46 pm: Alright then, we have confirmed lineups for our game. The battle of the No. 10s – Luka Modric and Christian Eriksen – should be fascinating.

10:40 pm: The first of the lineups is in front of us now... Croatia have all their big guns back, after resting a majority of them for the Iceland game.

10:37 pm: And you know what this win for Russia does? One of the following teams is guaranteed a spot in the final: Russia, Colombia, England, Sweden, Switzerland, Croatia and Denmark. Only one of those teams has won a World Cup before and that is England. Only two of those teams have been in a final, with Sweden being the other team! Madness.

And Croatia (and Denmark for that matter) will now be licking their lips.

10:33 pm: We understand this is the Croatia v Denmark live blog, but we are still coming to terms with what we just saw. Russia completed just 191 passes in 120 mins. Spain completed an incredible 1006, a new record. And still Russia won. For all the possession they had, Spain just didn’t show enough urgency and they paid the ultimate price.

10:30 pm: This was the moment that sealed with for Russia, Akinfeev was massive and that trailing leg did the trick. Outstanding drama, preceded by 120 minutes of boredom, to be perfectly honest.

10:27 pm: Well, wow. Spain, ladies and gentlemen, are out of the World Cup. They are going back home. They are done. Russia have done it. Russia stay at the World Cup. Spain won’t. There are only so many ways to say this and yet, anyway you put it, it sounds bonkers! Because it is.

So, on that note, welcome to the live blog of the match between Croatia and Denmark – the match that decides which team plays Russia in the quarter-final.