Every Monday FIFA spotlights a World Cup record. This details the three men who have made more saves in a penalty shootout than any other.
On the northern fringes of the Croatian county of Zadar stands Knez Branimir. The four-metre-high monument is dedicated to the duke of the same name, who played a key role in bringing the region, that refers to itself as the ‘Cradle of Croatia’, to prominence in the ninth century.
Some 1,100 years down the line, in the shadows of Branimir and his raised bronze sword, two other guardians emerged from the county that would also go on to achieve international prominence.
Goalkeepers Danijel Subasic and Dominik Livakovic both hail from the region of barely 70,000 inhabitants and, along with Portugal’s Ricardo, they occupy a rare place in FIFA World Cup™ history. The Portuguese net-minder and Zadar’s pair of shot-stoppers are the only men in the tournament’s 10 decades to have saved three penalties in a single shoot-out.
Ricardo England v Portugal Quarter-final, Germany 2006
Two years after he earned a place in football folklore by discarding his gloves during a shoot-out with England at UEFA EURO 2004, Ricardo became the first man to make three saves in the same forum at a global finals, against the same opposition.
With both nations having eked out 1-0 wins in the round of 16, they headed to Gelsenkirchen, where Portugal were aiming to reach the last four for the first time since England hosted the finals in 1966.
After 120 scoreless minutes, they did just that as their 30-year-old keeper went left, left and then right to thwart Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher from 12 yards, with a young Cristiano Ronaldo converting the winner.
Danijel Subasic Croatia v Denmark Round of 16, Russia 2018
With a youthful Livakovic watching on from the substitutes’ bench in Nizhny Novgorod, Subasic matched Ricardo’s effort in a remarkable match that saw a combined six penalty saves. Dane Kasper Schmeichel produced one in regulation and then another two in the shootout, but Subasic pulled off three in the game’s concluding act.
Having saved Christian Eriksen’s opener with a touch on to the post, he then dove to his right to thwart Lasse Schone before denying Nicolai Jorgensen with his legs from Denmark’s fifth effort. Ivan Rakitic then converted Croatia’s final spot-kick to continue their passage towards what would eventually be a maiden World Cup final appearance.
Dominik Livakovic Japan v Croatia Round of 16, Qatar 2022
From squad option four years earlier to regular starter at Qatar 2022, Livakovic followed his fellow Zadar native into the record books as he broke Japanese hearts in the round of 16 in Al Wakrah.
After Ivan Perisic had cancelled out Daizen Maeda’s opener, the teams finished all square at 1-1 following both regulation and extra-time in what was to be the first of five matches that went to a shoot-out at the tournament.
There, 27-year-old Livakovic went left, right and then right again to parry efforts from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and captain Maya Yoshida as Croatia advanced to the last eight for a second straight edition.
