The Checker Ones defeated Brazil in the penalties to reach the semi-finals.
Croatia defeated Brazil in the penalties after holding them down to a 1-1 draw. The Selecao came close to winning the game in the extra time, but their opponents refused to give up.
Croatia in full knockout mode!
As expected, Croatia spent most of the first period in their own half while Brazil patiently tried to snatch the opener.
Despite dominating the possession, however, the Selecao rarely found serious chances.
Brazil remained in control of the game at the beginning of the second period, increasing the pressure on Croatia’s backline. However, several impressive saves from Dominik Livakovic prevented them from finding the opener.
Neymar came close to scoring twice, but both shots were stopped by the Croatian keeper. Brazil hoped to break Croatia’s resistance using their great squad depth in the extra time.
They managed to do so when a fantastic piece of buildup play enabled Neymar to break the deadlock in the 106th minute. A perfect one-two with Lucas Paqueta saw the PSG star finally get past Livakovic to put Brazil ahead.
Croatia’s experienced stars looked tired in the second half of the extra time. But they refused to give up and continued to create problems for Brazil down the left-hand side.
Following a quick run-and-assist from Mislav Orsic, Bruno Petkovic scored the equalizer to ruin Brazil’s hopes of winning the game.
Petkovic’s shot was deflected off Marquinhos’ leg to find the left corner of the net in the 116th minute.
Similar to their 2018 World Cup performances, Croatia then turned the game around in the penalties.
Livakovic saved Rodrygo’s penalty before Croatia converted all of their four spot-kicks. A missed shot by Marquinhos then ended Brazil’s World Cup dreams.
Croatia will face the winners of Argentina’s clash against Netherlands in the semi-finals.
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