Croatia 1-1 Denmark: 5 Talking Points as Croatia win 3-2 on penalties, World Cup 2018

#5 Luka Modric will be a relieved man

Modric will be grateful to Subasic for keeping his nerve

Luka Modric has been the driving force behind Croatia's fortunes in the World Cup this year and he was influential yet again as he continued to dominate things in midfield against Denmark on the night. The Real Madrid star just about edged Christian Eriksen in the battle for supremacy in midfield and it was his intricate pass that allowed Ante Rebic to go through on goal and win the penalty, that could have decided the outcome of the game, just before 4 minutes from the end of second-half extra time.

Modric rightfully stepped up to shoulder the responsibility but his effort was weak and Schmeichel conjured a huge save, holding on to the ball to prevent a rebound.

It almost felt like Modric would join the list of high-profile casualties who were already knocked out of the competition but he managed to convert his penalty in the shoot-out and redeemed himself with a little help from his teammates, Daniel Subasic and Ivan Rakitic, in particular, to keep his World Cup hopes alive.