Croatia Crushed Brazil’s Semi-final Dreams, Wins on Penalties by 4-2

The five-time world champions took a hit as Croatia beat Brazil in a dramatic game in the penalties. The match ended in a 1-1 draw at the Education City Stadium, followed by a penalty shootout. At this stage, Croatian footballers didn’t miss a shot and converted all 4 into goals while Brazilians missed two of them.

Brazilian forward, Neymar created a moment of magic for his team with his 77th international goal in the extra time. With this hit, he levelled with Pele, the nation’s all-time great in terms of international goals scored. And with the score, it appeared that Brazil had won over their stubborn opponents in the quarter-final match of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

However, Croatia was a tough nut to crack as the team restricted the usual Brazilian rhythm. But they succumbed to the brilliant performance by Neymar in the extra time’s first half.

But the match didn’t end there. The enchanting tale had a twist left when Mislav Orsic sent a cross. Bruno Petkovic latched to it, took the advantage of the Marquinhos deflection and netted the much-needed leveller. This sent the quarter-final game to the penalties stage.

In 2018, Croatia required an extra-time win and two shootouts to secure their position in the finals. In 2022, the team retained its composure against Brazil and perfectly completed the spot-kick set. From Brazil, Rodrygo and Marquinhos failed to convert spot-kicks into goals. And, from the Croatian side, Orsic, Luka Modric, Lovro Majer, and Nikola Vlasic shot a goal each.

On this victory, manager Zlatko Dalic gave a statement, “We eliminated the biggest favourites.” And Neymar reflected on the defeat with a statement, “It feels like a nightmare.”

Croatia advanced out of the group stages three times (1998, 2018, and 2022) and has successfully reached the semis on all occasions.

Now, Croatia will face Argentina in the semi-final match. The latter fixed their spot in the top four by defeating the Netherlands in the penalty shootout.

Recalling how things went in the last two world cups, Croatia might be the winner this year too. The team who won the first quarter-final in 2014 and 2018 went on to take the final trophy home.