Croatia are into the quarter-finals of the World Cup after seeing off Denmark.
Croatia sneaked into the last eight of the World Cup as they beat Denmark on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Sunday night.
Zlatko Dalic’s men had blitzed through the group stage with three wins from three, including a 3-0 hammering of Argentina, and they did all without conceding a goal.
Yet just two minutes into their knockout clash with Denmark, Croatia failed to clear Jonas Knudsen’s long throw-in, and Huddersfield Town defender Mathias Jorgensen turned the ball for home.
A barnstorming opening to the game saw Mario Mandzukic equalise after Denmark failed to clear Sime Vrsaljko’s cross, but both sides tightened up after that, with 116 goalless minutes following, as Kasper Schmeichel dramatically saved Luka Modric’s last-gasp extra time penalty.
The game went all the way to a shoot-out, but after Lasse Schone’s effort was saved by Danijel Subasic, Ivan Rakitic scored the winning penalty to set up a quarter-final clash with Russia.
After the nervy opening, Croatia were solid at the back, and Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida continued to partner Dejan Lovren in the heart of defence ahead of ex-Tottenham defender Vedran Corluka.
Vida, 29, only joined Besiktas from Dynamo Kiev in January of this year, but his impressive displays for club and country have sparked interest, with Sabah in Turkey reporting just last week that Everton have offered €13million (£11.5million) to sign the Croatian defender.
After watching him in action for Croatia, Everton fans took to Twitter to react to his display, with a split opinion; some feel that Vida simply isn’t good enough to take Everton to the next level, and others believed that his performance showed he has what it takes to perform on the big stage in the Premier League – and it will be up to Marcel Brands and Marco Silva to decide whether to make a move.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
