Soccer-Japan lead Croatia 1-0 at halftime in last 16

Daizen Maeda scored from a well-worked short corner just before the break to give Japan a 1-0 halftime lead over Croatia in their World Cup last-16 clash on Monday.

Maeda connected with Ritsu Doan's cross to break the deadlock in the 43rd minute as the sides battled it out for the right to meet Brazil or South Korea, who play later on Monday, in the quarter-finals.