Croatia and Brazil clashed in the first quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup 2022. With two heavyweights against each other, the match was billed to bring out exciting football and that is what it did. Let’s see how the match panned out.
Croatia vs Brazil (1-1)
Both teams came into the match with their own set of gameplans and they stuck to it. Croatia sat deep and played on the counter, whereas Brazil were in front shooting from anywhere they could. The same mindset got the game at 0-0.
The second half saw the same fate as none of the teams could break the deadlock. With the game left in equilibrium, it moved to the extra time. This was when a big-match player was needed to take the game by the scruff of the neck and that is when Neymar stepped up.
The PSG player played two one-twos on the box of the match and cleared every Croatian defender. With just one player ahead, he shot the ball into the roof of the net. The stadium erupted with this goal, the sound of which were reverberated all across the world.
The game seemed to be in Brazil’s favour but the second half of the extra time was yet to come. With just four minutes left on the clock substitute, Bruno Petkovic’s left-footed shot from the edge of the box takes a deflection and goes into the goal.
Penalty (4-2)
Croatia had already won a penalty shoot-out in the FIFA World Cup 2022 when they won against Japan in the Round of 16. They looked like the more assured team as they converted all of their penalties while Brazil failed to convert two. In the end, Brazil’s hopes of a World Cup win came crashing down while Croatia’s magical run still goes on.
