Dominik Livakovic said that he was continuing a Croatian tradition after his penalty shootout heroics against Japan on Monday put his country into the World Cup quarterfinals.

Goalkeeper Livakovic saved three of Japan's four penalties after a 1-1 draw to end the Blue Samurai's adventure in Qatar and set up a last-eight clash with either Brazil or South Korea.

Croatia won twice on penalties during their run to the 2018 final and prevailed again at Al Janoub Stadium.

"I continued the tradition of my predecessor. I think it is more instinct than any analysis of the takers you have in front of you," he told reporters. "I don't think they were difficult penalties to save, they weren't perfect penalties, and thank God for that."

He added: "It's a great feeling... Thank God all ended well... This is the most cherished moment in my career."

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu praised Livakovic for his display, choosing to focus on the saves rather than the poor penalties taken by Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and Maya Yoshida.

"I don't think we succumbed to the pressure, I think the goalkeeper was great," he said. "Japan's players played 120 minutes bravely and the players who took penalty kicks were also courageous.

"Of course we wanted to win and the result is very unfortunate but... it does not negate the effort of the players. They should be confident they can play on world stage. They showed how good they can play in the World Cup."

He also welcomed the dawn of a new era.

"The players showed us the future, a new era of Japanese football," Moriyasu said. "We beat Germany, we beat Spain... If we take confidence in that, and if we think about overtaking these teams rather than just catching up, the future is bright."

Meanwhile, Croatia captain Luka Modric added his team "can't do it without a drama".

"It seems that we can't do it without a drama," said Modric, whose team were beaten finalists in 2018. "We are more than happy to reach the quarterfinals. It was a very difficult game against a very tough team."

The match in Qatar continues a pattern for Croatia. Six of their past seven knockout games at major tournaments have gone to extra time, the only exception being their final defeat by France in Russia four years ago.

Modric said Croatia had not played at their top level but had found a way to win.

"We showed character when we came back from the deficit... Livi performed a miracle today. A very tough, exhausting match."

Coach Zlatko Dalic said reaching the last eight was a "major result". "Don't ever underestimate a Croatian," he added. "Whenever this happens, one regrets it. We are going all the way."

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic made the brave move of taking off Perisic and Luka Modric in extra time and it turned out they were not needed as his Livakovic's saves sent them through.

"We had a fantastic goalkeeper today, he was great, he was insurmountable," Dalic said. "We have 18 new players that weren't at the Russian World Cup and I told them today -- this is your chance to make history," Dalic said.

"We will rest, and I think we have the right to believe and to hope, to nurture hope for great results. We have great quality and a great team, but this World Cup is full of great teams and great peers" he said.