December 09, (THEWILL) – Croatia advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar on Friday, defeating Brazil 4-2 on penalties after their quarter-final fixture finished 1-1 to send the heavy Cup favourites packing.
When Neymar scored a record-tying goal in the first half of extra time, that equalled the legendary Pele, with his 77th international goal at the Education City Stadium, Brazil appeared destined to go to the semi-finals.
Only for defender Marquinhos to deflect Bruno Petkovic’s shot into his own net with four minutes left of extra time to play. The final whistle went with scores tied at 1-1 forcing a penalty shootout. To worsen Marquinhos’s day, he registered Brazil’s second penalty miss, sending Croatia into the round of eight.
Croatian goalkeeper, Dominik Livakovic, their hero from the last penalty shootouts against Japan and star performer on Friday, stopped Rodrygo’s first attempt in the shootout. Neymar did not take a penalty as the favourites were eliminated.
The statistics show that, before the quarter-final between these two, five of the last seven World Cup matches to go extra-time had involved Croatia and they progressed from each of the previous four. The penalty specialists made it five on Friday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
