Japan vs Croatia FIFA World Cup 2022 Highlights: CRO beat JAP on penalties, through to quarter-final

77 mins: Perisic makes his way forward with the ball, Budimir ahead of him but he decides to to go for a shot on his own. It takes a deflection and goes out for a corner, just fizzing past the post. The ball comes down in the box from the corner and Barisic arrives to take a volley on the bounce. Doan with a timely tackle that might just be the difference between victory and defeat for Japan. 

Croatia take off Andre Kramaric for Mario Pasalic. The one thing they are lacking is a clinical finisher, which shows just how important Mario Mandzukic was in their run to the final in 2018. 

66 mins: The ball is worked around on the left at the edge of the box by Kramaric and Brozovic before the latter sends the ball to the far post. He finds Ante Budimir, who has just come on for Bruno Petkovic, but his header misses the target. Well he should have kept it on target at least, the goalkeeper was quite unsure over there. A chance wasted.

63 mins: …and a sensational save to match by Gonda. Modric is just outside the box on the right, the ball bounces up nicely for him, and he puts his foot through it. It dips viciously and Gonda dives to his right to make the save. 

58 mins: How do Japan respond? Well by charging forward and lasering in a shot from outside the box of course. Wataru Endo's shot it was and it was certainly going for the top bin at the upper right. Livakovic dives accross to make the save.  

56 mins: A goal completely against the run of play. Lovren gets forward and swings one in from the right, Perisic jumps and hammers in a header to the bottom right. 

50 mins: They are still the team that looks more likely to score. Every time they take the ball wide, Croatia don't know what to do. 

And a chance straightaway for Japan! Kamada with a shot from about 30 yards out and it fizzes over the bar. Japan halfway through getting to a place they have never been, the last eight of a World Cup. 

Another giant-killing coming up? Croatia did respond well after going down, pinning Japan in their box. Modric sent a ball in from the right for Petkovic and Yoshida headed it out for a corner. It came to nothing though, and the half-time was blown. The Croatians felt that they were on the attack and so did not seem to agree with the whistle and that is how it ends. 

43 mins: This has been coming. Fantastic finish from Maeda after a ball from the right goes down to the ground. There is a short check from VAR for offside but the goal is given. Japan have been terrific and have put Croatia under all kinds of pressure towards the end of this half, this goal is the least they deserve. It was a short corner that goes first to Doan and then further back to Morita. He sent the ball to the far post, Yoshida heads it square and Maeda pokes it home.  

40 mins: Just extraordinary football from Japan. It all starts with a break led by Ito after a Croatian free kick. The ball goes out wide after it is sent into the box, Maeda collects it and keep his feet when he could have gone down and taken a free kick due to a tackle by Modric but he passes inside to Kamada, who shifts it to his right foot and takes the shot. Everything was brilliant about that move except that final product, which soared over the bar. 

34 mins: A break comes on that period when Japan pass forward. An attempted one-two between Endo and Maeda does not quite come together. What a first half this has been, two very evenly matched teams. 

Ball from Gvardiol is missed by Yoshida and relases Petkovic. Gets into the box on the left and has Perisic inside for a cut back. He also has Kramaric to pass it to. He decides to hold on to the ball until a defender comes and takes it away.

24 mins: Not that Croatia did not have control earlier but the Japanese attacks seem to have dried up in the last seven minutes. 

17 mins: Japan have had much less of the ball but when on it, they create a chance. Nagatomo with a cross from the left, Maeda rises and just about misses the header.

12 mins: Ito with a ripper of a ball from the right along the ground that somehow misses two Japanese players. It would have been going in had it hit any foot. 

8 mins: Ball over the top to the right, Tomiyasu gives chase with Perisic breathing down his neck. He tries to roll it back to the goalkeeper but misses the ball entirely and Perisic has acres of space to go at goal from the left. He pauses, seemingly trying to thread it through to Kramaric in the middle but decides he has no choice but to go for it himself. Keeper saves and Kramaric collects the rebound with his back to the goal with a number of blue shirts around him. The ball is looked in a forest of legs momentarily before Shuichi Gonda finally smothers it.

Croatia dominating possession as expected but Japan have been feisty. Modric dispossesed by a sharp sliding tackle from Kamara just as the Real Madrid midfielder gets the ball on his feet and Japan burst forward. Ball goes out of play near the technical area on the left and Takehiro Tomiyasu throws right outside the byline.

3 mins: A dangerous free kick from the right by Doan and the ball is headed just wide at the far post. 

Japan attacking from left to right in their traditional blue, Croatia in their traditional red and white checks. Japan get an early corner from an early free kick. 

Right, here they are. Luka Modric leads out the Croatians, Maya Yoshida has the armband for the Japanese.

Japan are playing three at the back and with the likes of Perisic and Gvardiol out wide and Modric and Kovacic in the middle to feed them, Croatia are looking to take them from the wide areas. Japan will know that they have to play on the counter, no chance of them controlling possession. They might have no issues with that, considering they had only just over 20 percent of the ball in their 2-1 win against Spain.  

Croatia: Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Barisic; Brozovic, Kovacic, Modric; Petkovic, Kramaric, Perisic. 

Subs: Grbic, Ivusic, Erlic, Majer, Vlasic, Livaja, Pasalic, Budimir, Orsic, Vida, Sutalo, Sucic, Jakic.

Japan: Gonda; Tomiyasu, Yoshida, Taniguchi; Ito, Morita, Junya, Nagatomo; Doan, Maeda, Kamada. 

Subs: Kawashima, Mitoma, Saai, Hato, Schmidt, Minamino, Machino, Yamane, Tanaka, Ueda, Shibasaki, Asano, Soma.

Japan have reached the round of 16 three times but have never gone further than that. They have broken one pattern already - they had reached the tournament's round of 16 on alternate occassions 2002, 2010 and 2018 and this is the first time that they are qualifying to the knockouts for the second consecutive time.