{"id":183674,"date":"2022-12-10T02:19:09","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T23:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/?p=183674"},"modified":"2022-12-10T02:19:09","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T23:19:09","slug":"croatia-went-on-to-knock-out-five-time-champions-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/croatia-went-on-to-knock-out-five-time-champions-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"Croatia went on to knock out five-time champions Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tournament favourites Brazil were knocked out of the World Cup on penalties as Croatia kept their nerve to edge through to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

Croatia, beaten finalists four years ago, scored with all four of their spot-kicks as Rodrygo – taking his team’s first kick – was denied by the brilliant Dominik Livakovic and Marquinhos’ crucial fourth effort struck the post.<\/p>\n

As the ball hit the foot of the woodwork and bounced away, Croatia’s team sprinted to celebrate with their goalkeeper, while the Brazil players hit the turf, knowing their dream of a sixth crown had come to an end.<\/p>\n

After an engrossing 90 minutes, Tite’s men thought they had won it in extra time when Neymar scored a thumping effort to equal Brazil’s ‘official’ men’s goalscoring record.<\/p>\n

But substitute Bruno Petkovic had other ideas, stroking in a 117th-minute equaliser with Croatia’s first shot on target in the match to take the game to the nerve-shredding shootout.<\/p>\n

And it was the European side who emerged victorious once more, having done so by the same method against Japan in the last 16, to set up a semi-final meeting with the Argentina on Tuesday.<\/p>\n