Rakitić reveals his powerful words to the team in an exclusive interview for the British daily newspaper The Telegraph on July 4, 2018.
The round of 16 penalty shootout between Croatia and Denmark was one of the most nail-biting finishes of the World Cup so far. With misses from Badelj and Pivarić, three incredible saves from Danijel Subašić made him the hero of the game. But, there is another player to thank for putting Croatia fans out of their our nerve-racking misery - Ivan Rakitić.
Rakitić was the one to take the final penalty of the game - the penalty that would decide Croatia’s fate in the World Cup. The Barcelona midfielder hit it flawlessly into the left corner, confusing Schmeichel so much he dove the complete opposite way. Rakitić’s penalty was the one to secure Croatia's place in the quarterfinals on Saturday against Russia, and even though Croatia made it through, the game against Denmark will remain one of the most emotionally exhausting for many of them.
“I had a good feeling before the game. I was speaking with my wife and she told me, ‘The game will go to penalties and you will score the last one’. The whole of that morning, I was watching [footage] of Schmeichel to see what he does on free kicks, penalties, studying his movements. I spoke to Andrej Kramarić, who played with him at Leicester, to learn a bit more about him. So, I had a lot of confidence,” said Rakitić for The Telegraph.
Rakitić had remained confident even though Croatia captain Luka Modrić shocked the world after Schmeichel saved his penalty in extra time. Luka had the chance to end the game for Croatia then and there, but minutes later the game remained scoreless, and the teams had to fight in a penalty shootout.
With Modrić obviously distraught as the final whistle blew before the shootout, Ivan Rakitić jumped to the plate to lead the team. The Barcelona midfielder motivated his teammates with a speech, short and sweet.
“‘Before the shoot-out, I had the guys together for a moment and said to them, ‘Luka has saved us so many times, now we have to give something back to him’. And I told Subasic, ‘Enjoy this because it will be your moment’,” said Rakitić.
Modrić ultimately pulled himself together and begged for another chance - and Dalić selected him as one of the five penalty takers for Croatia.
First up was Badelj, whose weak shot was easily saved. Kramarić and Modrić followed, who both scored. Pivarić was unable to find the back of the net, and Subašić’s three brilliant saves kept Croatia in the running. Rakitić was Croatia's final hope.
“You have to forget that he had already saved three penalties and say, ‘This is my moment’. One of our defenders, [Domagoi] Vida had said to me before I took the penalty, ‘Please score it, please, please, please’. But I felt really strong and was sure that he was going to have to make the best save of his life to stop it,” added Rakitić.
Rakitić said the players wanted to win it for Modrić, and they did.
You can read the full interview in The Telegraph here.
