Croatia second team to win consecutive World Cup knockout penalty shootouts

Croatia beat Russia 4-3 on penalties after the match ended in a 2-2 draw, thus ending the hosts' unexpected run in the tournament.

Ivan Rakitic and Danijel Subasic celebrate winning the penalty shootout. (Source: Reuters)

Croatia beat Russia 4-3 on penalties after drawing 2-2. Denis Cheryshev gave Russia the lead in the first half by scoring a goal that easily ranks among the best in the tournament. But Croatia did not take long to equalise with Andrej Kramaric heading in Mario Mandzukic’s low cross. The second half went goalless and the match went into extra-time. Croatia took the lead in the first period through Domagoj Vida. Russia then equalised in the second period through Mario Fernandes, thus forcing the game to go into the penalties. Both goalkeepers, Danijel Subasic and Igor Akinfeev saved the first two kicks and Ferndandes missed his shot. That proved to be the difference between the two sides as Ivan Rakitic made no mistake with the final shot and Croatia went through.

– Croatia are just the second side to progress on a penalty shootout in consecutive knockout games in a World Cup tournament after Argentina in 1990.

– Teams to shoot first in penalty shootouts at the #WorldCup have lost 5 straight shootouts. Prior to this stretch, teams to shoot first had won 63% of all World Cup shootouts.

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– Croatia are in their second World Cup semifinal since making their debut as an in 1998. Only Germany (4), France (3), Brazil (3), and Netherlands (3) have had more semifinal appearances in that stretch.

– Croatian goalkeeper Danjiel Subasic has stopped 4 penalties in Croatia’s 2 penalty shootout wins at this World Cup. He joins Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea and West Germany’s Harald Schumacher as the only keepers to stop 4 shots in #WorldCup penalty shootouts.

– 14 of the 20 goals Russia have conceded at the World Cup as an independent nation have been from set pieces.

– This was the first time that a World Cup match went into penalty shootout after with both teams having advanced from the previous round through penalties.

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– Croatia and Russia are the fifth and sixth teams respectively to go to shootouts in consecutive World Cup matches