Croatia took 117 minutes to have a shot heading in the right direction in opposition to Brazil however they delivered simply in time to degree their quarterfinal at 1-1 and ship it to penalties.
The Croatians lead the shootout after an early miss by Rodrygo.
It got here after Neymar scored probably the greatest objectives of his profession within the first interval of additional time to place Brazil on the cusp of the Cup semi-finals.
Two give-and-gos noticed Neymar burst via the Croatian defence and after rounding Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic he blasted the ball into the again of the online.
“What a objective, what a particular second that was! Actually, actually was,” the SBS commentator stated.
“He simply discovered some acceleration. You simply sense there is perhaps a spot, the merest hole, that’s all it was. Most gamers wouldn’t have seen it, and even tried it. However to do it when he did it, after so many minutes of the door being shut in his face and being denied by the goalkeeper, that’s sensational. It truly is.”
It drew him degree with Pele’s all-time file tally of 77 for Brazil and appeared to settle the competition.
However with simply three minutes on the clock Bruno Petkovic stepped as much as save Croatia, sending a deflected shot previous the Brazilian keeper. “That’s unbelievable,” the commentator stated.
Earlier, Brazil coach Tite started ringing the modifications within the second half however in a transfer that was questioned by some, he took off Vinicius Junior as an alternative of Neymar whereas introducing Rodrygo.
Antony was additionally introduced in however was slammed for a “soiled dive” when he went down regardless of not making any contact with Croatia defender Ivan Perisic.
It confirmed the desperation within the Brazil line-up because the Croatians continued to run and defend like their lives had been on the road.
Luka Modric has been chic in midfield.
Tite named an unchanged beginning line-up as Neymar retained his place following his return from an ankle harm within the earlier spherical.
Neymar scored from the spot in a 4-1 win over South Korea within the final 16, with Vinicius Junior, Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta additionally heading in the right direction within the recreation.
Croatia, runners-up in 2018, made two modifications from their last-16 victory on penalties over Japan.
Coach Zlatko Dalic introduced Borna Sosa again into the facet at left-back after sickness, changing Borna Barisic, whereas Mario Pasalic began instead of Bruno Petkovic.
Actual Madrid’s Modric, 37, captains the facet as they appear to trigger a serious upset in opposition to the World Cup favourites.
The winners will play Argentina or the Netherlands within the semi-finals.
