Croatia maintained their composure to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals, and Zlatko Dalic complimented his team’s tenacity.

Dominik Livakovic, the goalkeeper, came through in a shootout between Croatia and Japan that ended 1-1 after 120 minutes of play by making saves to stop Daizen Maeda, a Japanese player, from scoring.

In the World Cup in Russia, Croatia triumphed in two shootouts, and seven of their previous eight games in the knockout stages of significant tournaments have required extra time, according to Xinhua.

In 2018 World Cup, Croatia went all the way through finals, but eventually France spoiled their party, and lifted the trophy.

“This generation of players is resilient; they don’t give up: they reflect the spirit of the Croatian people. We have been through so much this is a source of pride and our way to give our people faith in a better tomorrow.”

“Never underestimate Croatia: we are small, but we never give up. We are diligent, hardworking and we fight for what we want: History keeps repeating itself,” commented Dalic in his post-game press conference in which he was full of praise for his goalkeeper.

“We practiced penalties in yesterday’s training and he saved a lot, so I had a lot of confidence that he would show that capacity today. All of our fears were resolved by Livakovic,” he added

Dalic admitted his side had struggled to adapt to Japan’s pace and aggression in the first half.

“It was difficult and I want to congratulate Japan for their approach, they were a very aggressive and difficult opponent. We struggled against their counterattack in the second half but were able to balance it out,” he said.

Dalic looked at Croatia’s recent World Cup history and advised Croatia have more to give:

“We have had a second and third-place finish (2018 and 2002) and this World Cup isn’t over. We have the right to hope for great results. Tomorrow, we will see who we play and we will keep on fighting,” concluded Dalic.

Livakovic was named man of the match for his penalty saves but was modest about his heroics.

“That’s what we do in Croatia, you could see that four years ago and I am continuing the tradition of my predecessors. I think it’s an analysis of the penalty takers you have in front of you,” he said, adding that he would rather win in 90 minutes because “penalties are risky.”

(inputs from IANS)