Things get more intriguing as Croatia Knocks Brazil Out Of The World Cup With A 4-2 Win In a Penalty Shoot Out. Brazil faced Croatia in the first Quarter Final game of the 2017 FIFA World Cup, and things did not go as planned.
Football fans expected Brazil to win easily, but Croatia made it difficult for both sides.
It’s not surprising that Brazil dominates the game by creating numerous scoring chances, but it wasn’t enough to secure the first-half win, and the same thing happened in the second half as they were forced to play extra time after the first 90 minutes finished in a goalless stalemate.
Neymar breaks the stalemate in the 106th minute of the game to push Brazil to a 1-0 victory, but Croatia fights back. Croatia was held to a 1-1 tie when Petkovic scored a late equalizer in the 117th minute. They must settle the contest with a penalty shoot-out.
Croatia wins the penalty shootout, causing yet another upset in the ongoing FIFA World Cup, as Croatia will meet the winner of Argentina’s and the Netherlands’ second Quarter Final encounter.
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Dominik Livaković – fresh off the back of saving three spot kicks just four days ago – was the hero once again as Croatia stunned tournament favourites Brazil on penalties. Four times Croatia have been in a World Cup shootout and four times they have prevailed, going level with Germany for the most shootouts won while maintaining a 100% record.
It was Croatia themselves who started the game brighter. Their experienced midfield trio of Marcelo Brozović (35 successful passes), Luka Modrić (35) and Mateo Kovačić (28) saw plenty of the ball and were three of Croatia’s top four for total passes completed in the opening 45 minutes. For Brazil, their top four for successful passes were their four defenders. Granted, that’s a fairly rudimentary measure, but it showed where on the pitch each team were enjoying possession.
Croatia won 4-2 on penalties to progress to the Semi-Finals and by this feat, they have added to the upsets of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Dominik Livaković came to the rescue of the most hungry team Croatia on the day, and they eliminated the Samba Boys of Brazil.
Ahead of the encounter, no one gave the winners any chance of progressing past Brazil with all their stars. Croatia with this famous victor have achieved a major feat and have what it takes to be in the finals if they can win their Semi-final clash.