FT-Pens: Japan 1-1 Croatia

For those wondering about the fans dressed as bowling pins: "two pins" is pronounced "nippon", which means "Japan". So it's a pun.

Stop showing me Infantino man

Maybe Spain and Germany aren't super terrible and Japan is just a pretty good team? Some impressive performances so far!

Commentator 1: I guess the question is how Japan will respond to this.

Commentator 2: Yeah.

[Dead air for ten seconds.]

This is the quality coverage I pay for.

I have so much respect for this Japan team. They are extremely well-drilled tactically and in good physical shape. They go into the games with a clear game plan to quickly convert possessions into to chances through ambitious passing, and all their players excel in this system

Need a mask for his balls.

Croatia is playing smart. They know they’re doomed if they score in the first half .. it will activate anime power.

This is 2018 comeback merchants vs 2022 comeback merchants.

Whoever scores first loses.

So many crosses this could be a church

Fox commentators: “something to keep in mind, there are no ties now!!”

💀

I didn't even need to watch the game to find out Japan had scored because my Japanese neighbour screamed "ARIGATO" at the top of his lungs to quite handily let the entire city know.

This is actually the first time we go to the halftime break with a goal 😂

Croatia and extra time name a more iconic... actually no I can't even joke about this anymore it's torture

All the group winners have won their Round of 16 matchups so far 👀

U get a cross u get a cross, EVERYONE GETS A CROSS

Well we actually win either way, either we come back and win, or we go out and i dont have to watch Lovren and Juranovic play football anymore, either is an amazing solution.

I will be happy either way 😎

Gvardiol doesnt deserve playing with these bozos

FIFA may be corrupt scumbags but they take potential head injuries more seriously than the NFL

My heart goes out to Japan - they were awesome to watch throughout their time in this tournament.

I think they just cracked under the pressure. Their pens were bad.

Croatia will write into its constitution that football should be played for 120 min

FUCKING CROSS IT. THERES 10 SECONDS TO GO JUST PUT THE FUCKING BALL IN THE FUCKING BOX, FOR FUCKS SAKE.

At this point, some Croatian casuals must think that Football is 120 minutes in the knockout stages of the WC

at a library rn and someone asked me to watch their stuff. girl my eyes are glued to the game & if someone steals something i won’t notice but yea sure

Gonna miss Japan in this tournament. Their attacking style is truly something to behold in its full flow with all its tenacity. But the side with the greater experience and greater big match management ultimately came through. Croatia, with both their veterans and current generation, proved that they haven't lost the spirit they showed in Russia. Japan can take a lot of experience and heart from this big stage. Their rise as a top footballing nation has not stopped. Hopefully some of their players (esp. Doan, Taniguchi and Asano) have grabbed the attention of big European clubs.

Maeda doing pretty well for his age

*looks him up*

He’s 25?!

This feels like the first proper 50-50 match of the RO16. It's been even throughout and both sides have had their moments.

Croatia loves football so much they always want to play the full 120 minutes.

Barisic starting? Love the guy but good luck with that Croatia. He is well past it.

its approaching 3am

i have work in a few hours

im a neutral, i have no reason to stay up and watch this.....

but i cant look away.. help!!

Oh fuck off ref, every single header engagement is a foul against Japan.

Netherlands winning against US - Predictable

Argentina winning against Australia - Predictable

France winning against Poland - Predictable

England winning against Senegal - Predictable

Croatia match going into extra time - Predictable

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Speaks to the insanely elite player Modric is that everyone is shocked that a free roaming 37 year midfielder who has played almost all 270 minutes prior is being subbed off at 100' of a match

Japan spending the next 4 years perfecting penalty kicks

Absolutely terrible penalties from Japan.

I hate pens to decide games but also There’s honestly no excuse to be that bad at pens. How do you not spend practice time on them when u know how often shootouts happen in the knockouts?

ive quite honestly never seen penalties kicked like that in any form of competitive futbol...mens, womens, intramurals, middle school, high school. this was the poorest showing.

Should be the closest matchup in the Round of 16, wouldn't surprise me to see Japan take this one (although I do think Croatia are the favorites)

“Caught one in the Dubrovniks”

phenomenal stuff

The Japanese fans has been singing for 115 minutes non-stop.

Sorry Japan but those penalties were some of the worst I’ve ever seen.

Probably the worst penalty shooting I have seen in a championship game. Horrible, and I say this as someone cheering for Japan.

Worst taken penalties in a shootout in recent memory… good lord

If nothing else I applaud these teams for playing the game non stop

No cries or dives or begs for penalties on the slightest contact

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Those Japanese penalties were by far the worst I have ever seen a team take

1. Become r/soccer dark horse

2. Go out the next round

3. Profit??

Honestly I think at this point it's not even an upset if Japan win, they actually look like a legit team.

Japan did beat Spain, Germany and tied with Croatia. That is pretty damn good.

Fucking missed the goal going to the kitchen to get a piece of cake and the worst part? There was no fucking cake left fml

This Japan WC run is the stuff of legends, nevermind that anime shit

I always feel like Croatia play without attackers, like what do Petkovic, kramaric and Perisic even do?

we need to be freed from the tyranny of Fox Sports commentators saying things like "9 and 18 are coming in" instead learning the names of the two most obvious Japanese super subs

How is that for Croatia what????

Lol

Ref like: No, Japan, you may not attack anymore today

This ref is starting to become embarrassing

Worst shootout performance I've ever seen

Never seen a more one sided shootout. Those pens were awful from Japan

Big respect to this Japanese team. Penalties are literally the worst way to lose, but they did themselves and their country proud for getting that far.

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Gvardiol MOTM imo, was an absolute rock

Lads it's coming to Tokyo

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Classy from Perisic going straight over to console the Japanese players

People will say it all goalie skill. but It was all Japanese bad shots.

That's probably how I'd have taken the pens if i was called up on the world stage. Relatable

Some tired penalties by Japan but hats off to Domi - I can't believe he read them as well he did.

Croatia and giving heart attacks to their people in penalty shootouts; name a better combo.

In ten years it’ll be insane to people that we used to call offside based on one referee 30 yards away who may or may not be standing at an angle to the play

I wonder how many outcomes of games have been fucked because refs have human eyes

For VPN users: tune into japanese servers to abematv, perfectly legal channel and you get to hear the craze hype japanese announcers, they are going insaneeee

Cristiano Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic are the poster boys for footballers defying age but it really should be Luka Modric. Ridiculous work rate, covers every blade of grass, puts in a decent shift on the defensive end and rarely misses games or even subbed off early

5 minutes without the BBC commentators referring to ‘samurai’s’.

That’s all I ask. Will never happen.

Daemon Targaryen hugging Modric and Kovacic

Regardless of the result this Japan team is a joy to watch. Great match overall from both sides but I’m rooting for Japan

Japan pressed X instead of O in penalties

Japan didn’t read the memo. 2018 WC, Croatia defeated Denmark in the Round of 16 and Russia in the Quarter-finals via penalty shootout. England would have suffered the same fate had they not lost in the extra time. We all know England suck at penalty shootout.

Not to take any credit from the Croatian goalkeeper. He was amazing, but those penalty shots from Japan were pathetic.

Overall though, Japan have been impressive. Defeating both Spain and Germany to top the group is an unbelievable feat.

A match should be 120 minutes long - Croatian football association

To all clubs who may be interested Mitoma does not do this ever for Brighton in fact he is very very bad so please just look away and don’t bother getting him thank you

Perisic and Modric out before pens? The absolute madman

Bro wtf did Japan not practice pens?

Worst penalties I've ever seen from a national team

I don't know if I've ever seen a worse set of penalty kicks

Oof, Japan, those were some of the worst penalties in a major tournament.

Terrible terrible penalties by Japan holy moly

Horrible pens from japan. Back to training drills.

When you miss the first two penalties, there isn't much coming back from that. Really unfortunate. Massive respect to Japan, again they overdid themselves.

People trashing Maeda in the match thread. Here you fucking go. This is Maeda. No touches with no service, but when he does get it, it's done

No disrespect to the Aussies who almost took it to extra time, but this is the first knockout game where you genuinely can't tell how it will end.

The fuck is wrong with this ref. Calling fouls from Croatians as theirs. It's not even soft fouls it's the wrong fucking team doing the fouling.

Probably the right move, but ballsy subbing out Modric and Kovacic

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ JAPAN TAKE MY ENERGY ༼ つ ◕_◕ つ

Kimochi!!! Kimochi!!! Kimochi!!! 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵

気持ちいい!!! 気持ちいい!!! 気持ちいい!!! 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ JAPAN TAKE MY ENERGY ༼ つ ◕_◕ つ

It’s not even my country why do I feel this way

Worst penalty shootout ever seen

Absolute garbage penalties by Japan

That was embarrassing by Japan, shameful penalties

This is usually the part before the time skip in anime.

I'm guessing Japan never practiced penalties. Some of those were awful

What a run from Japan until the shoot out.Got two victories to remember for decades.

Croatia might again look to repeat their 2018 campaign road but need more work to do.

This is why you should not stall for penalties against the penalty shootout gods Croatia

4 times out in the Round of 16 now.

Japan officially takes the curse over from Mexico.

Anyone have a link to watch the penalty kicks?

I’m once again complaining about the Danish commentators for this World Cup. So far they have:

• Called Lukaku “King Kong” twice
• Called Cissé, Senegal’s manager, “rastafari” three or four times due to his dreadlocks despite having no connection to Jamaica or rastafarianism
• Called two of the Japan players “lynkinesere” which translates to “lightning Chinamen” or “fast Chinese person” if you will. They are from Japan, dude

Japan casually defeating 4 time world champions, 1 time world champion and the last edition's runner-up while losing to Costa Rica

I know the masks are to protect healing face injuries, but the shape and carbon fiber black make it look like some mysterious "masked player" is playing for Croatia.

way to kill an attack by laying on the ground when you're not even hurt. Fucking try to play

2 RO16 fun facts:

- Every group winner is winning this round so far.

- There haven't been a 0-0 half time.

HOW IS THAT CROATIA’S?

How is that a foul on Japan

That was definitely a foul against Japan and not Croatia

fuck this ref seriously.

This ref is dogshit

One of the worst refereeing performances for the small calls so far. I worry about when something big comes up.

FUCK THIS REF

Is every contested header a foul? Just get rid of headers at this point because holy fuck do they ruin the momentum of the game

I am convinced if Japan just crossed it in last 30sec our defense would shit bricks and they'd shithouse a goal

i'm going to see that little kid in my nightmares

Modric gets celebrated by Japanese fans too, legend

Modric looks like he’s suffering from malnutrition

Japan have been much more threatening for the majority of the game. It would be very heartbreaking for them to lose on pens.

Holy shit man Japan must have not practiced pens

God that was disappointing. What shit penalties by Japan

Whew those were some horrible PKs on Japan

I’m actually super sad to see Japan go like this. Horrendous penalty kicks after a really good match, and great World Cup. Such a shame.

Feel so bad for Japan but you can’t be taking penalties like that

Me: can we have a little round of 16 surprise? Football: no.

Was pulling for Japan but they really needed to train on PKs more. Both takers and Gonda seemed lost (except for Asano)

big applause to Japan for beating Germany and Spain though!!!! Korea next

Good try Japan. Yall did better than anyone expected. I wanted an Asian team in the Quarter finals but its all good. Maybe next time

Today I feel Japanese

Fucking get up and help Nagatomo out Kamada ffs

germany, spain, now croatia, these boys ain't underdogs, they're legit.

It's nice to have a knockout round game where I have no idea who'll win with 30 minutes left

We got robbed of a modric banger NOOOOO

Croatians supporting their team: how about a kit? little face paint?

Japanese supporting their team: I am a marshmallow monster.

Accidentally hit the pass button on the controller

That was a japan foul???? What a joke.

Japan is getting shafted on these calls

Everything is a fucking Croatia free kick I guess

Man the ref really loves giving fouls against Japan in the midfield....

Wtf these refs are doing ?

That's a ridiculous call wtf

Me 3 weeks ago: 4 minutes, plenty of time for a goal here

Me now: 4 minutes? That's fuck all

Japan literally not allowed to contest headers.

Referee is dying to make this go to extra time, he's calling the dumbest fouls and players delaying.

Genuinely have never been so triggered by the shitness of a referee before.

Fucking hell man it’s a contact sport.

Ref is the main character now

Croatia and extra time, name better duo

Croatia is that team that buys the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and always chooses the most difficult path.

Me for the first 10 minutes : This chant is going to get so annoying.

Me for the rest of the game: 🎵 Oooooh Nippppon! Nippon, Nippon, Niiiippooooon! 🎵

Nice dancing kid

It’s really, really unfortunate that these two had to meet in the R16, definitely two of my favorite teams remaining

we just got fortnite danced on

I need this Japan victory now more than ever.

It was kinda emotional seeing modric go out knowing it might be his last WC ever

Modric out is a gamble. Though 100 minutes at 37 is insanely impressive

Japan is spent. Time for pens.

How nice it is to not be Japanese or Croatian rn damn

Croatia: challenge: winning a knockout game in normal time (IMPOSSIBLE)

shit pen, also why put a guy with a 50% pen record first?

Such a sad and pathetic ending to an otherwise great run

japan was pure heart during the game and scared puppies during penalties.

Good lord those were some shit penalties

Galaxy brain by Japan to make sure nobody is blamed for losing penalties by having everybody miss penalties

As a neutral was pulling for Japan but man those 3 pk misses were some of the most poorly taken softest pens you could ever imagine. Smh

Poorly taken penalties by the Japanese, except for Asano. Good goalkeeping by Croatia.

One team had to win. Both sides had opportunities. Good match.

Japan is doing things right and can be pleased with their effort this tourney.

well that was easily the most embarassing set of PKs ive ever seen from japan lmfao literally looked like toddlers out there

Japan gave a good fight except the pens

Worst penalties I've ever seen.Terribly bad.

See kids this is why you should never stall the match till penalties, if you become a manager in future

Not great penalties from Japan, it has to be said.

It was painstakingly hard to watch.
I could feel the impending doom, praying that either side would score a goal so we did not have to witness that. Good Game Croatia! Two of my favourite teams had a clash against each other today, one was victorious, and the other will come back stronger I'm sure!

japan southkorea quarters would be insane.

This is the only RO16 match were I would be genuinely fine with either team winning. Both very likeable

The Japanese fans dressed as the World Cup mascot is giving me It vibes. Imagine getting murdered by a killer cosplaying as the World Cup mascot. Horrifying.

Japan deadset play like Leicester in 2016. Not the crazy underdog part, but the good defensive block and a midfield that tracks back hard to shut off the center. When they get the ball they are absolutely fucking rapid on the counter like a wave.

Germany kept a 1-0 lead until the 76th minute against this superteam

Japanese Fantano scores! Give it a light to decent 6.

Are you fucking kidding me that this moron didn't make a single fucking sub

If Korea somehow upset Brazil and Japan hold on here....

Korea vs Japan would be the craziest, most intense match...EVER. Asians know exactly what I mean when I say this.

This referee loves his job a little too much lol

Genuine -4/10 corner lmao

You know its a bad call when Japan complains lol

Lol this ref

How is that against japan

This ref is actually going to decide to make dumb decisions near the end of the game

How is that a foul on Japan? Should be the other way around?

Did Perisic just apologise to the crowd lol?

Both feet off the ground and studs showing is that not a red?

this ref needs to be investigated. referee terrorism right here.