Croatians hail goalkeeper’s heroics

ZAGREB: Thousands of Croatians celebrated their team’s dramatic win against Denmark on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

Goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the hero, saving three spot-kicks after the match finished 1-1 following extra time.

“Croatia in a crazy drama broke Denmark with penalties and progressed to the quarter-finals, Subasic hero of the match!” said the Tportal website.

“Subasic, who saved three penalties, was a hero, while Ivan Rakitic scored the decisive penalty,” said the Vecernji List daily paper.

Fans watched the match live on giant screens throughout the country and celebrated the 3-2 win on penalties.

“Subasic saved us! He was an absolute hero of this tough match!” Fran Peric, 20, who watched the match in Zagreb, told AFP.

Fans, many of whom were dressed in Croatia’s red-and-white shirts, were singing patriotic songs, lighting flares and waving Croatian flags.

“Subasic defends three penalties and leads ‘Fiery Ones’,” said the Sportske Novosti paper.

Croatia can match the achievements of the 1998 team, who reached the semi-finals, if they beat Russia in Sochi on Saturday.

Meanwhile in Nizhniy Novgorod, Zlatko Dalic said he wanted Croatia’s World Cup adventure to continue past the quarter-finals.

Dalic said his team, who have been tipped for World Cup glory, want to go much further. “We have come so far but we don’t intend to stop here,” Dalic told reporters after the victory.

Dalic said his team “played for the result”, and he was unconcerned about the performance.

“You have to earn your luck and the lads earned theirs,” he added. “Without luck you cannot do anything in life.”

Dalic said Subasic won them the game but he was also full of praise for Luka Modric after the Croatian skipper missed a 116th minute extra time penalty but volunteered to take another penalty in the shootout.

“He said it himself, ‘I am going to take a penalty in the shootout’. Can you imagine what would have happened if he had not scored, but he’s a great player.”

Denmark coach Age Hareide said he thought his team were unlucky not to win. “I think we had a good chance against Croatia, I think we played a good match,” he said.

Hareide added that he had set up his team to deny Modric and his midfield partner Ivan Rakitic — who struck the winning penalty in the shootout — space as he described the Croats as the best counter-attacking team in Europe.

Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel won the man of the match award for his penalty saves, two more followed in the shootout, but said the result was a “huge disappointment”.