Dejection to jubilation Luka Modric might have had it all when he scored the penalty to send Croatia into the quarterfinals having defeated Denmark 3-2 in shootouts at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Sunday.
Four minutes before the final whistle the Real Madrid man had a similar opportunity but squandered, firing a tame shot straight at Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel which otherwise could have sealed Croatia’s fate
But just as Christian Eriksen, taking the first penalty in the shootouts, struck the post, Modric could have felt an opportunity of redemption – an opportunity that said he will stay more id the croats, until Ivan Rakitic stood up and send Croatia into their first quarter since 1998.
This was however not the end, because the most decisive moment still remained Modric’s missed penalty four minutes away from the final whistle. Mathias Jorgensen bringing down Ante Rebic inside the box, with the latter fee on goal and giving away a spot-kick right at the final minutes of play.
Schmeichel however guessed right and jumped to his left, but Modric will eventually have his redemption, a villain turned Hero within minutes.
But the game hardly looked to go this long when it began with Denmark scoring in the second minute and Croatia levelling terms three minutes later. The first came when Croatia made a hash of clearing a long-throw from Simon Kjaer, allowing Jorgensen to shoot. The ball scraped its way into the net after hitting a part of Danijel Subasic’s outstretched gloves.
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Croatia then took just two minutes to equalise and by the third minute the game had already seen two goals – both scrappy and both out of nowhere. Denamark’s Henrik Dalsgaard made a hash of clearance hitting Andre Christensen instead and the ball ballooned up so nicely for Mario Mandzukic who colleges home from a touching distance.