Croatia beats Brazil on penalties and is the first World Cup semifinalist

The Brazilian soccer team, one of the great candidates for the title, fell 4-2 on penalties against Croatia on Friday, after drawing 1-1 in the 120 minutes played at the Education City stadium.

Brazil opened the scoring at 105 minutes through Neymar, while Croatia reacted and equalized at 116 through Bruno Petkovic.

Brazil took center stage from the start, taking control of the ball against an opponent who waited in their field and left few spaces for the quartet made up of Neymar, Raphinha, Vinicius and Richarlison.

With their talented attackers under control, the team led by Tite had a hard time during the first stage to clearly bring danger to the goal protected by Dominik Livakovic.

A Neymar free kick that deflected off the wall and fell into the hands of the Croatian goalkeeper in the 41st minute was one of the few approaches that roused the Brazilian fans in the stands.

Brazil came out in the second stage to play with greater determination and intensity to definitively impose their game, while looking for alternatives in attack with the entry of Antony and Rodrygo to replace Raphinha and Vinicius.

The first clear chance came after 46 minutes through Eder Militao’s low cross from the right that deflected past defender Joxko Gvardioly and demanded the goalkeeper.

Croatia, which never gave up despite having little possession of the ball, held on with a collective effort and thanks to the saves by Livakovic, the hero of the round of 16 with three penalties saved against Japan.

Neymar on two occasions, Paquetá and Richarlison could not with the goalkeeper.

In extra time, the selected runner-up in the 2018 World Cup in Russia had his great chance at 102 minutes with a shot from Marcelo Brozovic that went wide over the arc.

Neymar appeared at minute 105 to break the resistance of a tough rival with a quick associated play that he closed with a dribble to the outside to leave Livakovic on the road and define with a high shot.

With his goal, the 30-year-old striker equaled Pelé as the top scorer in the history of the Brazilian team with 77 goals.

Croatia drew level after 116 minutes through Bruno Petkovic’s shot that deflected off Marquinhos past Alisson to take the game to penalties.

On Tuesday at the Lusail stadium, Croatia will face the winner of the match between Argentina and the Netherlands in one of the semifinals.