Reuters/ANTONIO BRONIC
The opening minutes hinted that this wild and hysteric World Cup might just continue in the same manner.
Huddersfield's Mathias Jorgensen opened the scoring in the first minute, finishing off a scrappy corner before Mario Mandzukic responded with his own ugly goal, taking advantage after a loose ball ping-balled around the Danish defence.
But the game soon settled into a tight and terse affair, neither side blinking until Jorgensen denied a certain goal by taking down Rebic in the dying moments of extra time.
The subsequent penalty was missed, ensuring the match would be settled by a shootout and after a series of saves from both goalkeepers, Croatia eventually came out on top.
Here are five things we learned: