'Extraordinary' against Japan, Croatian goalkeeper Levakovic had everything planned out in training

FOOTBALL – The Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper blocked three shots on goal during Croatia’s qualifier against Japan on Monday (1-1; 3-1)

To say that some breeders start with Didier Deschampsconsidered it pointless to work on shots on goal in training … according to the epilogue Japan and Croatia (1-1; 1-3 on penalties) Monday, and then the post-match reaction in the Croatian camp, it’s one hell of a miscalculation. Dominic Levakovic actually managed to block three Japanese attempts (Minamino, Mituma and Yoshida) during this very poorly managed session by the Japanese shooters. Only Portuguese Ricardo (against Portugal-England in 2006) … and Croatian Daniil Subasic (against Denmark in 2018) have achieved this feat so far in world Cup.

“Dominik was exceptional, he was able to taste the Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic. On Sunday, we finished the training with a penalty shootout. He really managed important saves. So I had a lot of confidence in him for this training, and he put himself on Subasic’s level to give confidence to others. Like what, the end of a training session, even without the adrenaline/pressure of competition, can give certainty to a goalkeeper.