Croatia on Friday upset five-time champions Brazil in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals by defeating them 4-2 on penalties. Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livkovic saved goals from Rodrigo and Marquinhos. Neymar had given Brazil the lead in extra time of the first half, but Croatia equalized through a 117th-minute goal from Bruno Petkovic.
Croatia will now face the winner of the quarterfinal between Argentina and the Netherlands. This defeat extended Brazil’s wait of 20 years by four more years. Talking about the match, neither of the two teams could score a goal in the first 90 minutes. After that, 30 minutes extra time was given according to the rules of the match. In the first half of this extra time, Neymar scored a goal to give Brazil the lead.
Croatia won 4–2 on penalties against Brazil after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time. Marquinhos missed a crucial spot-kick in the shoot-out when Rodrigo’s first effort was saved by goalkeeper Dominik Livkovic and Croatia converted all four penalties. Marquinhos’ shot hits the post and comes back.
By scoring a goal in this match, Neymar equaled the record of 77 international goals of the great Pele. At no point today did Brazil play with as much attacking flair as in their last-16 victory over South Korea.
