Croatia are through to the World Cup semi-finals for the second tournament in a row courtesy of a 4-2 victory over Brazil on penalties after their quarter-final clash finished 1-1.
Neymar looked to have put the Selecao on the path to the last four with a brilliant goal to break the deadlock in stoppage time in the first half of extra time.
However, Bruno Petkovic equalised with a deflected effort to keep Croatia alive in the second half of extra time.
Dominik Livakovic then performed his magic again to deny Rodrygo Silva from the penalty spot, while Zlatko Dalic’s men were perfect piling the pressure on Marquinhos to score.
The defender struck the post with a vital kick, sending Croatia through and Brazil home yet again at the quarter-final stage.
Neymar’s opening goal means that he has equaled Pelé’s record as Brazil’s all-time top scorer (77). Furthermore, Neymar has scored three goals in six World Cup appearances against European nations, with all three coming against Croatia (2 in 2014 and today).
Brazil have been eliminated from four of their last five World Cup quarter-finals. In addition, Brazil have been eliminated from each of their last six World Cup knockout stage games against European nations since a 2-0 victory over Germany in the 2002 final.
Croatia have reached at least the last four of the World Cup on all three occasions that they have made it out of the group stages (1998, 2018 and 2022).
