Josip Juranovic admits Celtic sadness for Daizen Maeda as he reveals World Cup exit message
dailyrecord.co.ukJosip Juranovic has opened up on how he consoled heartbroken Daizen Maeda after Croatia’s World Cup penalty shoot-out victory over Japan.
The Celtic duo went head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals and Maeda looked to have fired the Samurai Blue into the next round against their lacklustre opponents, striking three minutes before the break from close range after his side had dominated the opening 45 minutes.
The 2018 finalists levelled ten minutes after the interval thanks to Ivan Perisic’s thumping header. They couldn't be separated before the end of 90 minutes, and an extra half hour proved no more useful in finding a winner, so to the dreaded shootout the tie went.
And the Croats kept up their recent winning habit in this tournament as Japan missed three spot kicks, allowing Mario Palasic to score the winner from 12 yards and set up a last eight date with favourites Brazil.
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