Croatian midfielder's son comforts Neymar
When Neymar couldn't hold back his tears after the penalty shootout loss, many Brazilian and Croatian players came to comfort and encourage the 30-year-old star. Moments later, it was the turn of a boy wearing Ivan Perisic's Croatian number 4 shirt to approach Neymar. After being shaken and hugged by the PSG star, the boy patted Neymar with a comforting gesture.
The boy is Leonardo, 10 years old, the eldest son of Ivan and his wife Josipa. Accompanying Leonardo was also 8-year-old sister Manuela, but she just stood from a distance watching Neymar. After that, the two brothers ran away together, and Neymar walked in the opposite direction.
Brazil has stopped in the quarter-finals for the second time in a row, while Croatia is just one game away from the second final in a row. Perisic once headed the equalizer for Croatia against Japan in the 1/8 round, before the Asian representative was eliminated on the penalty shootout. Croatia's penalty kick ability continued to be shown against the world's number one team in the quarterfinals.
Neymar could have been a Brazilian hero when he opened the scoring in the last minute of extra time, from a combination masterpiece. But Croatia equalized in the 117th minute thanks to striker Bruno Petkovic. In the penalty shootout, Neymar was ranked fifth but before his turn, Brazil was eliminated from the 2022 World Cup.
Neymar still has the record from the Education City goal, as he equals Pele's record of 77 goals for Brazil. However, he still does not know if he will continue to play for the team or not. In the post-match interview, Neymar said: "I shouldn't say anything right now, because I'm not in a good mood, but I really don't know if I should continue or not. If I say this is my last game for Brazil, yes. It seems a bit rushed. But I can't guarantee that I will play any more matches."
Brazil's next big tournament is the Copa America in June 2024, when Neymar will be 32 years old. The team also has a cramped attack. Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli was not allowed to play a minute in the defeat to Croatia.
