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Croatia reigns in the afterlife and defeats Brazil

2022-12-09T19:15:34.590Z


Modric's team achieves the latest tie in the history of the World Cups in extra time and eliminates Brazil, the great favorite, on penalties


If there is a team with which nobody would want to be trapped on a narrow ledge, on a precipice, that is Croatia, the Croatia of the endless Luka Modric and the goalkeepers, here in Qatar and also four years ago in Russia.

On the edge, when you think you've got them down, that they're crushed under a terminal blow, even there no one can be trusted.

Not even Brazil.

Not even Neymar at the point in his career in which he was convinced that he had caught his big flash in a World Cup, but that he was left without the semifinal, which Croatia will play.

With the game in extra time, about to reach the break, Neymar went down to look for the ball, threw a wall with Rodrygo, another with Paquetá, endured a charge from Sosa, surrounded the goalkeeper who had stopped everything and scored.

His play of all time, the goal with which he equaled Pelé, with 77, as the top scorer in the history of the team.

At the break in extra time, he received hugs that summed up the historic relief that the star of his generation had achieved such ecstasy after a good collection of World Cup disappointments.

But not.

Beyond overtime and penalties belongs to Croatia.

Bruno Petkovic, a 28-year-old striker for Dinamo Zagreb, scored the latest equalizer in World Cup history in the 117th minute.

01:37

Petkovic's goal

Tite's team, the one with smiles and dances, ran into Modric's band of wise men from the beginning.

The method can turn off the exuberance.

Croatia lives on its resistance and a machine in the center of the field that is the most precise that football has produced.

That's where he began to bridle the risks of fantasy.

Modric, Brozovic and Kovacic played, tac, tac, tac, and there Brazil was fading away, running more behind the ball than with it.

A contradiction.

He suffered it until Neymar, who launched on his own to put pressure on the goalkeeper.

His desperate enthusiasm messed up the entire team behind him, and the Croats, the orthodoxy that plays by heart, were planted with three walls in the Alisson area.

Perisic was less than half a second late.

Neymar, crying in the center of the field after the defeat against Croatia in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT (AFP)

Neymar, along with two other teammates, remains heartbroken on the pitch after losing to Croatia in the quarterfinals.

Ronald Wittek (EFE)

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RAYAN (QATAR), 12/09/2022.- Luka Modric of Croatia celebrates winning today, in a quarterfinal match of the Qatar 2022 Soccer World Cup at the Education City stadium in Rayan (Qatar).

EFE/Juanjo MartinJUANJO MARTIN (EFE)

The Croatian players celebrate their advance to the semifinals, while Marquinhos, from Brazil, regrets having missed the penalty.

MATTHEW CHILDS (REUTERS)

Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic celebrates his team's pass to the semifinals.

MATTHEW CHILDS (REUTERS)

Modric scores a penalty in the shootout.

MATTHEW CHILDS (REUTERS)

Luka Modric takes his penalty in the shootout.

DPA via Europa Press (DPA via Europa Press)

The Brazilian players follow the penalty shootout.

MATTHEW CHILDS (REUTERS)

The Croatian Dominik Livakovic for the penalty launched by Rodrygo. DYLAN MARTINEZ (REUTERS)

Neymar follows the penalty shootout against Croatia.

ANNEGRET HILSE (REUTERS)

Dominik Livakovic saves the penalty taken by Rodrygo.

MATTHEW CHILDS (REUTERS)

The Brazilian team, at the beginning of the penalty shootout. HANNAH MCKAY (REUTERS)

The Croatian team, at the start of the penalty shootout.

Martin Meissner (AP)

Bruno Petkovic celebrates the goal scored against Brazil in the last moments of the prologue.INA FASSBENDER (AFP)

Croatian Bruno Petkovic scores the equalizer against Brazil.Manu Fernandez (AP)

Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson looks at the ball after Croatia's equalizing goal.

Manu Fernandez (AP)

Neymar celebrates the goal against Croatia that opened the scoring.Manu Fernandez (AP)

Neymar marks Croatia.

Manu Fernandez (AP)

The Croatian Borna Sosa and the Brazilian Antony, in a set of the game.

Frank Augstein (AP)

Neymar, surrounded by Croatian players, advances on the field.

Pavel Golovkin (AP)

Neymar and Josko Gvardiol battle for the ball.

Petr David Josek (AP)

Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic for a shot from Neymar.

Petr David Josek (AP)

Luka Modric (left) from Croatia, disputing for the ball with Lucas Paqueta from Brazil, in the quarterfinal match between Brazil and Croatia.

Ronald Wittek (EFE)

Richarlison (right) in action with the Croatian of Josko Gvardiol (left). Georgi Licovski (EFE)

Luka Modric (left) and Rodrygo Goes (right) protesting an action to the referee in the quarterfinal match of the World Cup in Qatar between Croatia and Brazil.

Georgi Licovski (EFE)

Neymar, singing the Brazilian anthem before the start of the quarterfinal between Croatia and Brazil.

Neil Hall (EFE)

Croatia always had everything thought out beforehand.

The first time Casemiro received in the center and went to turn around, he found Modric there, who swiped the ball from him.

The Real Madrid player has never been the fastest, especially now, but he knows everything before the rest.

He had written down his ex-partner, now at United, for days as a point to deactivate the departure from Brazil.

He chased him all afternoon.

Those of Tite have much less precisely in the area where Croatia has the most crumb.

Brazil's party was to defuse harmony by sprinkling a bit of chaos.

Because when the rival was waiting for him in order and they were passing the ball from one side to the other, irrelevance caused even Modric to yawn.

Only when Neymar fell back were they able to vary the pace, especially if he managed to connect with Vinicius.

Thus they agitated Croatia from time to time, which immediately returned to its position of governing the center.

His restlessness was limited.

Those bursts by Neymar started too far, and the Brazilian where it is indecipherable is closer to the area.

When he turned there for the first time, he left Richarlison alone almost in the box in front of Livakovic, an impossible wall with 11 saves, several from point blank range, plus the first penalty to Rodrygo.

Croatia dominated the center and Brazil did not threaten on the wings, where two full-backs did not appear, both out of position (Militão and Danilo), and they did not disarm the wingers.

Tite chose those hallways as the first place to intervene.

Antony and Rodrygo entered for Raphinha and Vinicius.

02:09

Neymar's goal in extra time

Brazil was desperate, unable to jump the bolts of Dalic's framework, a little more anguished with each step than with the one they moved away from what Tite had described as the plan that best suited them: to score as soon as possible.

Circumstances collided with their impetuosity and with the weight they carry from the beginning when they recognized themselves as favorites and were almost forced to win the World Cup.

With Croatia in front, the panorama could not be more devilish.

Luka Modric's band watches time pass as its captain, unperturbed.

The timer ticks by and they don't worry, but play convinced that no one can last more than them if they manage to hold on.

Since Russia, going into the knockout matches, they had only played one game without extra time, the final against France.

In others, they were always imposed.

Like against Brazil.

There were the Croats, heading the last section in resistance mode, a position in which they do not tremble.

And so they led the game to their domains of extra time, with Modric aborting Rodrygo's last counterattack, another teammate with whom he used his false slow wisdom.

And so they also endured the flash with which Neymar thought he had knocked them down.

Nobody seems to learn that Modric's Croatia reigns in the afterlife.

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Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2022-12-09

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