Although Lin Quan and Pep Guardiola are both more optimistic about Croatia, it was Denmark who scored first.

And the goal of the Danish team came very quickly!

Just 50 seconds into the game, Denmark won a throw-in.

Denmark's left wing-back Knutsson threw the ball straight into the box with his trademark powerful throw, and a throw-in was a corner!

Denmark's centre-back Simon Kjaer jumped high but didn't touch the ball, instead deceiving the Croatian players around him.

The ball fell to the back of the net untouched.

Denmark's centre-back Delaney grabbed the ball before the opposition defender could break it down, took a few steps to the right and crossed it to a team-mate next to him.

Another Danish centre-back, Jorgensen, received the ball and fired straight at goal, the angle of the ball was not tricky, but it was unlucky.

"Uh, well, it looks like it's really decided."

When Jorgensen shot, there were two defenders in front of him, one of whom reached out with the goalkeeper to intercept it, but the ball slipped under their crotch and rolled into the net.

If you miss three penalties in a row, you'll have fun.

Rakitic, a friend of the national team and the club's sworn enemy, patted Modric on the shoulder and said comfortingly.

Thousands of miles away in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, countless excited fans poured into the streets and squares, waving national flags and celebrating excitedly.

Modric completed the redemption, after scoring this penalty, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, the previous tense nerves also slowly relaxed, and after returning to the queue, he apologized to his teammates one by one, apologizing for the previous penalty he missed.

The game entered the most brutal penalty shoot-out.

The goal was conceded too early, and if Denmark's tactical play was to defend and counter-attack, then Croatia would be in danger.

But he quickly recovered from the shock and didn't even have time to look at Schmeichel's position, and a half-turned volley 'scooped' the ball off the ground and flew into the back of the net against the post.

After reacting, the scene suddenly resounded with bursts of cheers.

Pep Guardiola didn't expect the first goal to come so early, and after seeing this goal, he couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

"It's so much fun!"

It has to be said that such a choice is very risky, and if the penalty is missed, the morale of the Danish team will really collapse.

In their three group stage matches, they have conceded just one goal.

The third Dane also scored the ball safely.

Seeing the state of the Croatian players, Lin Quan said to Guardiola.

Regardless of who the next round is against, tonight is a night of revelry for the Croats.

Today's game was fantastic, wonderful in every sense of the word.

The two turned their heads to look at the pitch, only to see Croatia's goalkeeper Subasic throwing away the football in his hand and roaring excitedly, while in front of him, the fourth Danish player to play was guilty of himself.

The Danish fans were so excited that they felt that the match was secure!

But just when everyone thought Croatia was going to win the game with the opponent's mistakes, the fourth Croatian player also missed a penalty.

Among the fans at the scene, there were many fans who had the same expectations as Guardiola and Lin Quan.

"Hey, Luca, my eyes have seen through you, you're dead!"

He secretly vowed in his heart that this time he must do his best and leave no regrets.

Mandzukic himself was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect the other party to give him such a big gift.

Could it be that this game is a matter of luck?

After 120 minutes, Guardiola couldn't laugh or cry:

"It's a penalty shootout, is my prediction so accurate?"

The second appearance of the Danish team was captain Kjaer, and under great pressure, he chose to aim for the corner of the top right corner of the goal to bombard the goal!

The two sides are back on the same page again.

"Let's go, this game is decided."

"It doesn't matter, it's the same when you win!"

The atmosphere on the pitch was very solemn, and the camera caught the Croatian manager's actions, at this time he was buried his head deep in his knees, afraid to watch the last goal.

They even feel confident that even if the defending champions Spain come, they may not be able to break through their impregnable defence.

According to the rules of throw-in, the player who throws the ball must raise his hands above his head to throw, in this case he can throw the ball out more than 30 meters.

For some teams that are adept at heading goals, if they have a player like this who is good at throwing throw-ins, they have a lot more attacking tools.

And Schmeichel, who had blocked the opponent's penalty only a few minutes ago, saw Modric, an old acquaintance, walk into the penalty area, and also provoked Modric:

Such a solid defensive foundation is the biggest confidence that Danish fans feel can win the game.

Pep Guardiola couldn't help but laugh, the game was a bit of a chaotic battle, the positional battles on both sides did not achieve results, but they both scored in various surprises.

But the referee did not accept his protest and ruled the goal valid.

The penalty kick itself is a great test of the player's mentality, once the mentality is affected, the probability of abnormal play is too great, which further reduces the difficulty of the goalkeeper to save.

At this point, Croatia sent their third penalty kick player - Luka Modric!

Seeing Modric walking towards the penalty area, there was an uproar in the stands, and many fans were worried about whether Modric, who had just missed a penalty, would not be able to withstand the pressure and collapse in this round.

How many are these?

The Danish players on the field and the fans in the stands saw that Eros had missed the first penalty, and their faces changed suddenly, and the soles of their feet were cold, as if they had been splashed with a basin of cold water.

Jorgensen only used one shot to penetrate the opponent's three gates, and the shooting skill was superb!

"Is this leaving? The penalty hasn't been taken yet, so don't you have to wait a few minutes? ”

After scoring both goals in the previous round, the mentality of the players on both sides seems to have stabilized.

The fourth penalty was missed, and it was a suspended death sentence for the Danish team.

Denmark's Christian Eriksen was the first to come on and then missed the penalty.

Schmeichel misjudged the direction and pounced on the right side of the goal, which would have been blocked again if he had stood still.

At this time, the eyes of all the fans were focused on him, and countless Croatian fans in front of the TV were silently praying for him.

Although the probability of a penalty is less than 3 percent, when the goalkeeper is in full shape, the probability or anything can be thrown aside.

In the face of a goalkeeper in this state, even the opponent will feel frightened and the psychological pressure is too great.

120 minutes ago, the score was 1:1, and it is still 1:1.

The two teams played very well, and the two sides together contributed a total of thirty or forty shots on goal, but they just couldn't score.

What's the situation?

Is the opposing goalkeeper open?

In just a few minutes, two penalties in a row?

I don't know what to say, but the Danish full-back has an amazing arm.

It was clear what had just happened, and the Danes had missed another penalty.

Guardiola was still more optimistic about the Croatian team in his heart, but at this time, seeing that the Croatian team was behind at the beginning, he suddenly felt a little drummed in his heart.

If you continue to play at this pace, you can't score six, seven, eight, or nine in a game?

'It was a really interesting game, both goals were a bit of a surprise to me.

It's over, it's really over, the first penalty is missed, can this still be won?

Seeing Eriksen's shot saved by Subasic gave the Croatian side cheers as if they had won the game.

Some fans who have just arrived at the stadium and have not had time to sit down are even more confused.

"The ...... this goal was conceded"

The pressure was on Croatia's side, with substitute Kramaric using a coquettish change of pace to deceive Kasper Schmeichel and score with ease.

As a result, Luka Modric's penalty was saved by Schmeichel and Croatia missed the chance to finish.

The cheers of the audience at the scene were even louder, the game was so interesting, and it only took 4 minutes to score two.

That's why, the more the penalty kick goes, the more pressure the kicker will have, and the higher the probability of missing the penalty.

In the end, it was Croatia's fifth player to come on, and it was Rakitic who came on to the finale.

Imagine that a throw-in is about equal to a corner, and they have more than a dozen more chances than their opponents to attack in that alone.

But it was clear that the Danes had no intention of playing counter-attack.

There was really no way to save the ball, the distance was too close, the speed was too fast, and the angle was too tricky, if he really saved, he would probably hit the post.

Must enter, must score!

As long as this goal is scored, Croatia will reach the quarter-finals.

Everyone knows that this penalty will make the difference between life and death for both teams.

What's going on?

I didn't even sit down and scored?

The stands were boiling instantly, and the Croatian players on the field roared and rushed towards Rakitic, who looked like Modric, clenched his hands into fists with excitement, and jumped high on the turf with his feet like springs.

If you count the penalty that was saved by Schmeichel in extra time, the goalkeepers of both sides have a success rate of more than 50% today.

There were also quite a few timid fans in the stands who covered their eyes with their hands, including Danish fans and Croatian fans.

The ball was not passed well, and the passing line was predicted in advance by the Danish defenders.

Then in the eyes of everyone's expectation, the shot of No. 19 Baddeli, Croatia's first appearance, was magically blocked by Schmeichel Jr.!

At this moment, the fans and players of Croatia were dumbfounded.

Their clearance was kicked to a team-mate, bounced back and landed at the feet of Croatian striker Mandzukic.

The old Schmeichel on the sidelines, seeing his son performing so well, blushed with excitement and had a thick neck, and while applauding loudly, he slapped his hands hard, and he didn't notice that his palms were red.

But just when everyone thought that Croatia's attack was going to be defused, the Danish defenders gave a big gift.

After the referee blew the whistle, he ran steadily and kicked the ball to the middle with a burst shot.

'Falling behind at the start, Croatia has to pick up the pace.

The fourth penalty saved, right?

In this World Cup, the Danish team has been very outstanding in defence.

It took just three minutes for Croatia to equalise quickly.

Rakitic took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

Lin Quan and Guardiola, two neutral fans, were already laughing at this time!

If that penalty hadn't been missed, the game would have been over.

Schmeichel Jr. has moved to the near corner, but he still has no reaction to it.

Kovacic chimed in: "That's right, we said that we would win and lose together, there is no need to blame ourselves like this, besides, we are going to win the championship, how can we fall here?" ”

Maybe even they didn't expect to score so quickly, right?

In the fourth minute, Croatia launched a counterattack after breaking the ball, and Rakitic burst into the box with the ball and crossed to the left.

He calmly made a run and sent the ball away steadily, Schmeichel misjudged the direction and the ball flew into the net.

Schmeichel Jr. protested to the referee, arguing that the opponent's apparent pause before shooting was a penalty violation and should have been disallowed.

What a blessing to be able to witness such a game in person!

"I feel like the goalkeepers on both sides are in good shape, and I don't know if I can save one or two more penalties in the future."

It doesn't matter if a penalty goes in, it's news if it doesn't go in.

But it worked wonders and his shot hit the target with pinpoint accuracy, and Croatia goalkeeper Subasic couldn't do anything about it.

At this moment, Lin Quan and Guardiola were dumbfounded.

To be led by such an opponent is a huge problem for Croatia.

"It looks like Croatia is your opponent in the next round!"

In extra time, Croatia also won a penalty.

Modric glanced at the other and ignored him.

Croatia's players and manager had a bit of a solemn look on their faces, and it was clear that they had a good understanding of their opponents before the game and knew that this was a very defensively capable team.

Guardiola applauded and said to Lin Quan.

The two sides were back on the same running line, and once again the pressure was on the Danish side.

However, even more shocking was yet to come, and before the Danish team could rejoice, Jorgensen, the fifth goal-scorer, once again sent the ball into the arms of the opposition goalkeeper.

So far, Denmark has taken all 5 penalties, but only 2 penalties have been hit, and 3 penalties have been missed!

The head coach of the Danish team on the sidelines was about to vomit blood in anger, it was really outrageous, 3 of the 5 penalties were missed, why don't you go to heaven?

Pep Guardiola seemed to want to finish the last few penalties before leaving, when there was an exclamation from the stands, followed by louder cheers.

The comfort of his teammates made Modric's heart warm and very touched.

Playing against Croatia proved to be not a smart move.

This lightning-like goal made the audience a little confused.

Pep Guardiola and Lin Quan had already stood up and prepared to leave, and before leaving, the two took one last look back at the Croatian players who were celebrating wildly on the pitch.

In today's game, the Croatian team made a big impression on them.

"Well, it's an opponent to look forward to and a good litmus test." (End of chapter)