Croatia beat favorites Brazil in the quarter-finals of the World Cup! The vice-world champions first forced extra time when the score was zero at the scoreboard. Neymar believed to liberate an entire nation in the 106th minute with a superb goal that allowed him to equal Pelé’s goalscoring record with the Seleçao. But all this then became anecdotal since Bruno Petkovic equalized with Croatia’s only shot on target forcing the two nations to a penalty shootout. And in this complicated exercise, it was the Croats who came out on top, scoring their four shots as Livakovic blocked Rodrygo’s sending and Mariquinhos sent his shot on the post. A Dominik Livakovic heroic in this meeting literally disgusted the Brazilians.
The stars seemed aligned for Croatia in this encounter. If the score of 0-0 was in no way due to chance at the break, the Brazilians gradually increased in power and obtained a slew of chances. But the Brazilian technicians forgot to score while Livakovic absolutely stopped everything. The most spectacular and pleasant part of the meeting was undoubtedly played in extra time, where Neymar had a flash of genius in the 106th and where Petkovic equalized on the only Croatian attempt on target. Like an impression that football had chosen its camp in this meeting… Leaving a whole people in tears, and the other in jubilation. Croatia continues its journey and awaits the winner of Argentina – Netherlands in the semi-finals.