BRAZIL WAS ELIMINATED FROM WORLD CUP AFTER BEING DEFEATED BY CROATIA.

By: Gumisiriza Alex.
Brazil looked to be labouring to an extra-time win over their stubborn opponents thanks to a moment of magic from forward Neymar, who wrote himself into Brazilian folklore by drawing level on 77 international goals with one of the nation’s all-time greats Pele.

However, there was a late twist in the enchanting tale when Bruno Petkovic latched onto Mislav Orsic’s cross, benefitting from a cruel Marquinhos deflection which wrong-footed Alisson, to net the latest equalising goal scored in a World Cup game, taking the quarter-final to penalties.

Croatia have now reached at least the semi-finals on all three occasions they have made it safely out of the World Cup group stage (1998, 2018 and 2022).

They will face Argentina, who defeated the Netherlands on penalties, for a place in the final.

The winner of the first quarter-final match at both the 2014 and 2018 editions of the World Cup went on to win the tournament – could that be a telling omen for the 2018 runners-up?