FIFA World Cup: Dominik Livakovic the hero, Japan face heartbreak as their penalties fall short against Croatia

Japan, which had never reached the last eight, fell 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, as it did in 2002, 2012 and 2018.

Celtic striker Daizen Maeda had put Japan ahead just before halftime but Ivan Perisic equalised with a fine header.

Four years ago, they lost to Belgium in the last second after leading by two goals. At Al-Janoub Stadium, Japan saw their quarterfinal ambitions go up in smoke after a series of terrible penalties.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu bowed in appreciation to the fans who traveled all the way to Qatar to support their team 🇯🇵<br><br>Respect! ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/zokP53cCoC">pic.twitter.com/zokP53cCoC</a></p>&mdash; ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1599840417742262272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dominik Livakovic parried shots from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma, and Maya Yoshida as Croatia held on.

Takehiro Tomiyasu, making his first appearance at the finals, tangled with Perisic in the opening stages, and the Tottenham player intercepted his back pass. The Japan goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda saved the shot.

Perisic's header from a cross was almost pushed over the line by Andrej Kramaric, but the Japanese defence kept the ball out while the sporadic Japanese advances kept fizzling out.

Daichi Kamada could only fire the ball wide after a pass from Wataru Endo, but they took the lead shortly after.

A short corner led to a Ritsu Doan cross to the far post, where after a couple of bounces, the ball landed at the feet of Maeda, who made no mistake from close range.

The goal was awarded after a review for offside by VAR, so Japan went into the break with a slim lead that would not last long.

Perisic equalised for Croatia with a powerful header from the edge of the box as he directed a precise cross from Dejan Lovren past Gonda and into the net.

Japan almost regained the lead, but Livakovic deflected a shot from Endo over the bar.

At the other end, Gonda had to stretch mightily to steer a Luka Modric shot for a corner as both teams flirted with victory after an hour.

Substitute Ante Budimir missed the target when he was played at the back post before Perisic could get a second goal. Yoshida gifted the winger the ball, but Tomiyasu deflected his shot.

That was the last clear chance in the 90 minutes as Croatia had to go to extra time again. It was the seventh time in the previous eight knockout games at major tournaments that an additional 30 minutes were played.

Modric and Mateo Kovacic were substituted in the Croatian midfield in the first 15 minutes, but there were no real chances until Lovro Majer scored with a low shot in the closing stages.

That meant the decision would come down to a penalty shootout, as Croatia had won its last two World Cup shootout duels and Japan had lost its only one.

Minamino took the first penalty, which was easily held by Dominik Livakovic, while Nikola Vlasic put Croatia ahead.

Livakovic continued his heroics, saving another low penalty from Mitoma before Marcelo Brozovic put Croatia ahead.

Takuma Asano finally put Japan on the board on the third attempt, and hopes of a miracle were temporarily dashed when Marko Livaja hit the post with a casual shot.

Captain Yoshida also missed, but Livakovic saved for the third time in the penalty shootout, allowing Mario Pasalic to put the ball in the net and put Croatia into the final.