Zlatko Dalic vowed that “this is not the end” after his side shocked favourites Brazil on Friday to book a place in second successive World Cup semi-final.
The 2018 runners-up appeared to be heading out of the tournament when Neymar scored at the end of the first period of extra-time at Education City Stadium.
However, Bruno Petkovic struck in the final few moments to set up a penalty shoot-out, with Rodrygo and Marquinhos both failing to convert as Croatia progressed 4-2.
They will take on Argentina on Tuesday for a place in another World Cup final. Inspired by Lionel Messi, the South American champions defeated the Netherlands on Friday, also on penalties.
Speaking after the Brazil victory, a jubilant Dalic said: “This is a victory for Croatian people. A great match. We eliminated the main favourites.
“This is Croatia: pride, courage, faith and patriotism. Croatia is the best when it's needed. When it matters, Croatia always succeeds. No one should underestimate us.
“This is not the end; we are moving on. We can achieve a lot.”
Dalic, a former Al Ain manager, guided Croatia to the final four years ago, where his team were beaten 4-2 by France.
The past two global finals have been marked by Croatia’s indefatigability; they won two penalty shoot-outs in Russia and now have done the same in Qatar (Japan the other, in the last 16).
“[The players] are great fighters and only Croats can do that,” Dalic said. “We have very strong character and we do not give up. We were prepared for anything today.
Croatia beat Brazil in shoot-out: Player ratings
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CROATIA RATINGS: Dominik Livakovic 9: Saved well from Vinicius Junior, Neymar and Lucas Paqueta. Rounded by Neymar for the goal but made a vital save to deny Casemiro in final moments. Outfoxed Rodrygo to make a key save in the shootout. AP -
Josip Juranovic 9: Did a superb job keeping Vinicius Junior quiet. Also had some great moments when roaming forward. Made a key tackle to stop Rodrygo running through in the latter stages and blocked his cross moments later. Getty -
Dejan Lovren 8: Had plenty of good moments defensively but got away with a careless pass that was cut out by Lucas Paqueta. Made a big tackle in extra time and helped to lift his team after they went behind. AP -
Josko Gvardiol 8: Made potentially awkward situations look easy at times. The defender was saved by Livakovic when his touch went goalward then made a brilliant block moments later. Couldn’t cut out Brazil’s intricate passes as they scored the game’s only goal. EPA -
Borna Sosa 7: Didn’t get forward as much as Juranovic but did a brilliant job of matching Raphinha, who was hooked early in second half. Struggled a bit after the game entered extra time and couldn’t keep up with Neymar as the Brazil attacker scored. EPA -
Mateo Kovacic 8: Showed his intent from the off with a good driving run and maintained that intensity. Even after a poor touch, he reached the ball ahead of Richarlison as he went on to show plenty of quality on the ball. PA -
Marcelo Brozovic 7: While he got away with an aimless pass that was picked up by Raphinha and was needlessly booked for pulling back Neymar, Brozovic did a brilliant job of breaking up Brazil’s play. EPA -
Luka Modric 8: Had a quiet start with a poor pass that was intercepted by Raphinha, but he sparked into life after pickpocketing Casemiro and began dictating the play for Croatia. Sent Alisson the wrong way with his penalty in the shoot-out. EPA -
Mario Pasalic 7: Competed well in attack and defence. Delivered a great cross for Perisic’s opportunity and showed intelligent movement at times. AP -
Andrej Kramaric 6: Showed a willingness to work for the team but was disappointing in an attacking sense in the first half. Got involved in some nice passages of play and held the ball up well after the break. AFP -
Ivan Perisic 6: Helped out defensively and had some good moments in the build-up but was wasteful when opportunities came, lashing at Pasalic’s cross and firing horribly off target after cutting inside Eder Militao. Enjoyed a tasty battle with Antony after the Manchester United winger came. Reuters -
SUBS: Nikola Vlasic (On for Palasic 72') 7: Provided plenty of energy and a willingness to work for the team, driving forward brilliantly in the build-up to the equaliser. Confidently scored his penalty with a strike down the middle. AP -
Bruno Petkovic (On for Kramaric 72') 7: Held up the ball well and played some nice passes. Got back brilliantly to stop Casemiro taking a late shot. Scored the last-gasp leveller as his strike deflected off Marquinhos and past Alisson. Getty -
Lovro Majer (On for Kovacic 105') 6: Showed an immediate willingness to get on the ball and found Petkovic with a cross into the box. Hit an ambitious effort wide. Another who scored by hitting his penalty down the middle. Getty -
Ante Budimir (On for Sosa 110') N/A. AP -
Mislav Orsic (On for Brozovic 114’) – N/A. Stuck his shoot-out penalty right in the corner. Getty -
BRAZIL RATINGS: Alisson Becker 6: Didn’t make the heroic saves of the South Korea game, but secure as Croatia started so well. Then quiet until he couldn’t stretch far enough to save Croatia’s equaliser. First two penalties went down the middle past him, the next two to his right. AP -
Eder Militao 6: Croatia were right onto him pressing for the first 20 minutes. More attacking at the start of the second. Had an 85th minute shot deflected wide. Getty -
Marquinhos 6: Booked. Croatia’s goal deflected off him. Hit his penalty against the post. He looked devastated at the end. Getty -
Thiago Silva 7: Passed to Neymar, who then set on his run to score and equal Pele’s 77 goal record for Brazil. Was well positioned to face the shot which led to Croatia’s equaliser, but how could he deal with the deflection?. AFP -
Danilo 6: Really pressed by Croatia in the first 20 minutes. A challenging night for him. Getty -
Lucas Paqueta 7: Croatia had early success passing Brazil’s 4-2-4 formation. Shot well saved by the excellent Livakovic. Another shot ten minutes from end of normal time was also saved. Assisted Neymar for the goal. AP -
Casemiro 7: Hard for him as he was closed down as soon as he got the ball, then tried to push the game further up the field. Tackled, passed and got booked for his efforts on 66. Buried his penalty. Reuters -
Raphinha 5: Limited influence in the first half where he saw little of the ball. An off day. They happen. EPA -
Neymar 6: Shackled wherever he went, his 41st minute free-kick was deflected towards goal, but was little threat. Had chance saved on 55 as Brazil got on top. Poor … and then he did what the very best players can do and should have won the game for Brazil with an incredible goal. AP -
Vinicius Junior 5: Strong start but then quiet in the first half. Overtaken by Joranovic at one point – not something you often see. Mediocre. AFP -
Richarlison 6: His best move was to set up Neymar after in second half with a turn. Made runs and got into the game in the second half when he put a couple of balls in for Neymar, but tightly marked by Gvardiol. EPA -
SUBS: Antony (On for Raphinha 64') 8: Brought immediate energy and skill down the right, best shown on 80 minutes to set up Paqueta. Weak shot on target after 93 but caused a lot of problems. Getty -
Rodrygo (On for Vicnicius Junior 64') 6: Involved in Neymar’s goal, but had his penalty – Brazil’s first, saved. It was a poor one. AP -
Pedro (On for Richarlison 84') 7: Straight into the attacked but blocked by Lovren. Calm for his penalty after staggering his run up. AP -
Fred (On for Paqueta 105') 6: Brought on to preserve Brazil’s lead. Failed. PA -
Alex Sandro (On for Militao 105') 6: Fresh legs deep into a draining game. AP
“It has become quite normal for us in shoot-outs to become favourite; it's as though we have already won at that point. But you need to get to the penalties first. It's a feature of our team.”
On Saturday, Dalic was greeted at a press conference at the team's training base with applause from Croatian media representatives.
“When you kick out of the World Cup a team like Brazil, which surely were the biggest favourites, then you must be both happy and proud,” he said.
“I am tired but happily tired and … one should enjoy this moment, but not too much as today we already have to start to prepare for Argentina.”
On summoning another huge effort against Argentina on Tuesday, Dalic said: “Fatigue will not be an issue at all, and we will not mention it at all. They are also very motivated, they are awaiting the title and they are happy because Brazil fell out and they celebrate it.
“I think that a very, very tough job is awaiting us now. They will have huge support now in the semi-finals as Messi is still their main player and someone they can rely on. He plays splendidly.
“I really cannot yet review Argentina just yet. All will depend on us. If we do not play right, if we are not serious and motivated, it will be in vain even if they perform poorly. At this time they are excellent as they reached semi-finals.”
