Brazil knocked out of the World Cup by Croatia
Brazil's 2022 World Cup journey ended in a painful way, before an opponent worthy of being dubbed the "King of Penalties". Croatia won the penalty shootout for the fourth time in a row at the World Cup, to reach the semi-finals to meet the winner of the match between the Netherlands and Argentina. In a World Cup full of surprises, this can be seen as the biggest shock, when the number one candidate was eliminated by a much lower-rated opponent.
Brazil has to blame itself when Croatia drags to a series of brainstorms. Tite's students had too many opportunities to settle the game in regular time as well as two extra periods. Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic played brilliantly with eight saves in the first two periods, but could not stop Neymar from opening the scoring in the first minute of extra time. Brazil led 1-0 with only one extra time left, but could not stand the bravery of the 2018 runner-up team. Croatia equalized from the first goal in the match to drag the match into a penalty. save - where they once made the Japanese cry in the 1/8 round.
After successfully saving all three penalties in the previous round, Livakovic was once again a hero for Croatia. The 27-year-old goalkeeper pushed Rodrygo's first kick in the brainstorming series, creating a good psychological momentum for Modric and his teammates to successfully shoot with a 100% rate. Croatia didn't even need a fifth shot, when Marquinhos sent the ball to the post, sending Brazil's championship hopes to ashes.
To go through, Croatia is not only good in the penalty shootout. With a midfield consisting of a technical trio of Modric - Brozovic - Kovacic, the European representative played tit-for-tat and held the ball on par with Brazil in the whole match. Of these, Modric played the full 120 minutes with an unbelievable physical foundation at the age of 37. The 2018 Ballon d'Or owner kept the rhythm for Croatia throughout the match, initiated the equalizer in the 117th minute, and then successfully kicked the penalty in the series. decision.
The mobility of Modric and his teammates made Brazil not play the flowery style shown at the beginning of the tournament. However, the excellence of the individuals on the attack still helped Tite's students create delicious opportunities, especially in the second half. Including the whole match, Brazil finished 19 times, of which hit the goal 11 times. Livakovic 10 times refused the close-range efforts of stars like Neymar, Paqueta, Vinicius Jr, and also reacted quickly to save, helping central defender Josko Gvardiol not to own an own goal.
Against such a good goalkeeper, Brazil needs a superstar moment. In the 105th minute, Neymar smashed a touch with Lucas Paqueta, then entered the penalty area to face Livakovic. This time, the PSG striker carefully tricked the opponent's goalkeeper and then shot into the empty goal to open the score. He equaled Pele's record of 77 goals for Brazil, according to FIFA statistics.
Neymar and his teammates smiled after the first extra time. In the second extra time, Brazil still tried to counterattack to find a second goal every chance. A moment of subjectivity and loopholes cost them in the 117th minute, when two Croatian substitutes, Orsic and Petkovic, coordinated to create an equalizer. When the extra time ended, Neymar shook his head. It was perhaps the first time that Brazil felt fear in the tournament where they played the most watchable football.
In four of the last five World Cups, Brazil left the tournament in the quarterfinals. Since winning the championship in 2002, Brazil has been eliminated by European opponents. Croatia has won the last five times in extra time at the World Cup. For the second consecutive tournament, they reached the semi-finals. With Livakovic's sublime performance and the excitement of the whole team under Dalic, the feat of reaching the World Cup final four years ago can completely be recreated.
