The first two quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar were marked by penalty shootouts; Mario Pašalić’s Croatia came out on top after the spot kicks, while luck was not on Marten de Roon and Teun Koopmeiners’ side as the Netherlands lost to Argentina on penalties (and the same fate befell Atalanta in the XXV Trofeo Bortolotti).

Mario started in Croatia’s game against Brazil playing 72 minutes of the match. He was therefore not on the pitch when it came to kicking penalties, while he had converted the decisive one in the round of 16 against Japan.

In the second game of the quarter-finals, Argentina got the better of the Netherlands with Marten de Roon, who played the first half, and Teun Koopmeiners, who replaced his Atalanta teammate in the second half. Koopmeiners provided the assist to Weghorst for the Netherlands’ equaliser in the 111th minute, a 2-2 draw that took the game first to extra time and then to the penalty shootout. Teun kicked and converted the third Dutch penalty. However, it was not enough for the Oranje to go through.

Croatia will therefore take on Argentina in the semifinals. The game is scheduled for Tuesday 13 December at 20:00 CET.