Croatia's late push eliminates Brazilians
Croatia is proving to be a tough out at the World Cup.
On Friday, the finalist from four years ago knocked Brazil out the tournament in a penalty shootout after tying the game 1-1 late into extra time at Education Stadium.
Substitute Bruno Petkovic scored in the 117th minute when his shot hit the thigh of Brazil defender Marquinhos and deflected in past goalkeeper Alisson.
Marquinhos also missed the decisive penalty, hitting the post with his effort, which gave Croatia the win. Croatia will now play Argentina, who beat Netherlands on penalty kicks in their quarterfinal at the Lusail Stadium later in the evening.
“We always share our joy, but we also have to share our sadness,” Brazil head coach Tite said after the game. “I think there is a new generation of players who will find strength in adversity. I understand I'm the most responsible for this, but we all have to share responsibility for the loss. That's football, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Even though we had a great performance, we had a lot of shots on net and the ball wouldn't go in for us. That happens in football, it's normal.”
Neymar scored a minute into the first half of extra time, combining with Paqueta for a give-and-go at the top of the penalty area, then walking around keeper Dominik Livakovic and firing the ball into the roof of the net. The goal was Neymar's 77th for Brazil and eighth World Cup marker, equalling Pele for the Brazilian record.
The goal looked as if it would be enough to get Brazil through to the next round, but Croatia, who ground out a shootout win against Japan in the previous round, would not go away. Croatia has won four consecutive World Cup shootouts.
Croatia tied the game when Petkovic got the ball at the top of the penalty area and fired a left-footed shot, which Alisson would have handled had it not hit Marquinhos on the way through. It was Croatia's only shot on net.
Nikola Vlasic scored on the first shot of the penalty shootout to give Croatia the lead. Rodrygo was then stopped by Livakovic, diving to his left.
Lovro Majer, Luka Modric and Mislav Orsic went on to score on their penalties, while Casemiro and Danilo countered for Brazil, putting all the pressure on Marquinhos, who hit the right goalpost.
Neymar did not get an opportunity to shoot as Brazil's fifth taker.
“This is one of the greatest wins in our history,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said. “This was a great match . ... Once again, we demonstrated what it means not to give up. We demonstrated the strength of the Croatian team and that's what brought us great success four years ago. This is the second World Cup in a row we are in the semifinals and I congratulate every one of my players.”
Croatia has won one game in regulation at this tournament, which came in a 4-1 victory against Canada in the group stage. Four years ago, they lost to France in the final.