It was a remarkable turnaround after Brazil had looked set for victory when Neymar opened the scoring with a wonderful strike midway through extra time that allowed him to equal Pele’s Brazilian record of 77 international goals.
Croatia stunned favourites Brazil to reach the World Cup semi-finals on Friday, winning 4- 2 on penalties after a nailbiting last- eight tie finished 1- 1 at the end of redundant time. Marquinhos missed the pivotal spot- kick in the shoot- eschewal, hitting the post when he’d to score to keep Brazil in it after Rodrygo’s before attempt had been saved by thing keeper Dominik Livakovic and Croatia converted all four penalties. It was a remarkable reversal after Brazil had looked set for palm when Neymar opened the scoring with a awful strike interior through redundant time that allowed him to equal Pele’s Brazilian record of 77 transnational pretensions.
But Bruno Petkovic hit back at the other end in the 117th nanosecond for Croatia to force a shoot- eschewal, and Zlatko Dalic’s platoon followed up their palm over Japan on penalties in the last round with this palm, which must go down as their topmost ever triumph.
They advance to thesemi-finals, while Brazil will have to stay at least another four times before winning a record- extending sixth title.
Neymar– who left the pitch in gashes– had fired Brazil into the lead at the end of the first half ofextra-time, working one- twos with Rodrygo and Lucas Paqueta before rounding goalkeeper Livakovic to score.
But it didn’t break Croatia’s resistance as the 2018 World Cup finalists hit back to position.
Brazil had noway played with the same attacking faculty as in their last- 16 palm over South Korea.
Croatia were as obdurate and delicate to break down as ever, and they’ve now gone to redundant time in eight of their last nine major event knockout matches, with the exception being their defeat to France in the World Cup final four times agone.
It was noway going to be easy for Brazil to play with the same freedom and joy as in their obliteration of South Korea, when they celebrated their pretensions with choreographed cotillion moves that sounded to upset some bystanders.
But the challenge for Brazil trainer Tite’s side– given the huge pressure that’s always on the Brazilian public platoon at a World Cup– was to not let the fear of losing spread all that joy.
The stakes get advanced as the event progresses and Brazil came into Friday’s game at Doha’s Education City Stadium looking to avoid falling into another trap set by an accomplished European side.
Brazil had been knocked out of the last four World Mugs at either this stage or in thesemi-finals, every time by European opposition.
Croatia may be a nation of just four million people but they got to the final four times agone and Luka Modric, their alleviation also, remains one of the finest players on the earth at 37.
It turns out that a midfield three of Modric, Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic and Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic can hold its own against Brazil too.
The Selecao had scored four times in the first 36 twinkles against South Korea. Then they managed just three attempts on target in the first half, and nothing seriously troubled the Dinamo Zagreb shot- breach Livakovic.
Brazil nearly scored within two twinkles of the alternate half as an Eder Militao cutback was nearly turned into his own by Josko Gvardiol, before Livakovic produced saves from Richarlison, Neymar and Paqueta.
Farther Livakovic stops from Neymar and from Paqueta followed, draining some of the belief from a tense Brazilian support.
It sounded as if they were heading for defeat when Neymar broke the impasse, but Croatia showed all their adaptability to equalise when Petkovic applied a first- time finish to a low centre by fellow cover Mislav Orsic.
Also came penalties, and Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, Modric and Orsic all converted for Croatia, while Rodrygo and Marquinhos came up suddenly.
Neymar, supposed to take Brazil’s final kick, didn’t get the chance, and his event ends in gashes. Know More News….
