Moscow
You are huddled in the centre circle along with your teammates and Michael Krohn-Dehli has just scored for Denmark; you have to make that long walk to the penalty area next and unless you score, your team is probably going out in yet another Round of 16 encounter at the FIFA World Cup. The onus lies on you — the captain of the side and arguably your nation’s most gifted central midfielder of this generation. What must have been going on through Luka Modric’s head when he stepped up to take Croatia’s third penalty of the shootout?
Kasper Schmeichel stood tall as Modric made his way to the ball. But so much had happened even before that penalty shootout began. Dial time back by fifteen minutes and Modric was in a similar situation, facing off against Schmeichel after his perfectly floated pass had helped Andrej Kramaric win a penalty right at the death of the extra-time. The Croatian skipper had already converted one penalty in Russia previously and his composed nature made him the perfect candidate for such a crunch situation, but Modric faltered and sent a weak shot into Schmeichel’s midriff area resulting in an easy save for the Dane.
The Danish custodian had the game of his life, as did most of his teammates. The spectators had not yet settled in their seats at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium when Denmark took advantage of a scramble in the Croatian penalty area following a long throw from Jonas Knudsen and Zanka gave them the lead with just 58 seconds on the clock. Mario Mandzukic would equalise less than three minutes later with a thumping shot past Schmeichel, but the first five minutes were not a reflection of the next one hundred and fifteen minutes.
Age Hareide had promised a different Denmark than the one which had shown up during the group stage and boy, did they come out to play! Slowly but steadily growing into the game, Denmark looked like they belonged at that elite level as they made things tick while Croatia looked increasingly exhausted and frustrated at Denmark’s tactics.
Unlike their match against France when they simply parked the bus and hoped for the best, the Danes had actually come up with a novel strategy to outfox the immensely talented Croatian midfield and provide Christian Eriksen with the platform to unleash himself. Andreas Christensen had started at the base of the midfield but the young centre-half was constantly bypassed by the duo of Modric and Ivan Rakitic in the first half, prompting Hareide to replace him with Krohn-Dehli at half-time — a switch which paid dividends almost immediately.
Denmark’s counter for the Croats’ midfield brilliance was to push up their fullbacks to commit to overlapping runs so that Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic are pushed back into their own half and Mandzukic is isolated even though it left them exposed to the occasional long-ball and through-pass from the duo of Modric and Rakitic. Hareide’s ploys worked to perfection as it was the Scandinavian nation which looked the more likely source of a match-winning goal late into the proceedings. Unfortunately for the Danes, they did not have as much teeth as their opponents, who played way below their optimal level.
The Danish players matched the Croatians inch for inch and the fact that the last real chance from open play in extra time fell upon the Danes was testimony to the sheer resilience demonstrated by Hareide’s side. And they went into the penalty shootout with the momentum in their favour, but Lady Luck looked the other way.
Penalties require a concoction of fortune and ability, composure and self-belief – many have studied the science behind taking and saving penalties, but it is still the artistic nature of this aspect of knock-out football which amazes the audience. Ben Lyttleton termed it as “football’s all-or-nothing play” in his book on spot-kicks — Twelve Yards: The Art & Psychology of the Perfect Penalty.
The value of a penalty is infinite, but many consider it to be a stroke of luck. Even the best of penalty specialists can miscue their shot and it certainly levels things between the favourites and the underdogs. On Sunday, for the first time in 32 years, two knockout fixtures held on the same day progressed to penalty shootouts. While Igor Akinfeev’s role was undeniable in Russia’s win over Spain, Croatia’s win over Denmark was as much down to the brilliance of the goalkeepers as it was down to poor placement of shots from the penalty-takers.
That the Danes were prone to suffering a case of nerves was something their manager had previously alluded to; and this is where Modric and Croatia excelled. Just when Denmark stuttered temperamentally, Croatia grabbed the opportunity with both hands, adding another jewel in the crown of the ‘World Cup of Penalties’ that this summer is proving to be.
As Modric stepped up while Croatia were down 1-2 in the shootout, Schmeichel went the same way he had gone during the spot kick in extra-time, but this time the petite Croatian waited and sent a powerful shot straight through the middle – scoring a perfect penalty, one which paved Croatia’s path through to the quarter-finals.
With Spain’s elimination, Croatia’s half of the draw has completely opened up making Modric and Co one of the favourites for going the entire distance. With such a memorable, awe-inspiring win under their belt, Croatia are no longer the dark horses and instead, are legitimate contenders for the World Cup.
