3:48 PM ET
Gabriele MarcottiSenior Writer, ESPN FC
AL-RAYYAN, Qatar -- When Marquinhos strode up and kissed the shot up of Brazil's 4th punishment kick, Neymar was down connected his knees successful midfield. He looked arsenic if helium was sobbing, arsenic if the infinitesimal was excessively large to instrumentality in. Marquinhos would either score, which meant Neymar would beryllium up next, carrying with him the value of 190 cardinal Brazilians. Or helium would miss and Neymar's World Cup would beryllium over.
Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic went 1 way, Marquinhos' changeable the different way... and kissed the post, rolling backmost distant from the extremity line.
Brazil were retired of the World Cup, beaten connected penalties by a Croatia broadside that person present won 4 consecutive punishment shoot-outs. Neymar, who remained connected the transportation crying successful the arms of teammates, knew that portion this whitethorn not beryllium his last World Cup, astatine 30 years of property it was apt his past World Cup arsenic a protagonist.
Brazil manager Tite, arsenic is his customary successful these situations, careless of whether his squad won oregon lost, disappeared down the tunnel. And possibly helium was reasoning astir sliding doors, astir decisions not taken, astir roads not travelled that would ne'er person near the Selecao facing spotkicks against Croatia. This was apt his past changeable astatine the World Cup -- "the rhythm is over" helium said afterwards -- and helium knew that successful a satellite of second-guessers, the subordinate would halt with him.
To beryllium fair, determination is plentifulness to second-guess astir Brazil successful this crippled and plentifulness to question erstwhile it comes to the near-boundless religion Tite showed successful his men and his system. To paraphrase Khalil Gibran's archer, each a manager tin bash is purpose the arrow and fto it fly. If the arrow is crooked, if determination is upwind oregon rainfall oregon if the enemy's armor is stout, it won't find it's mark. But truthful excessively volition it neglect if the archer's manus trembles oregon if his purpose is faulty.
On this day, adjacent an experienced seasoned similar Tite, 1 of the champion successful the satellite successful his job, saw his manus tremble.
"Sometimes we sprout consecutive and the shot doesn't alert straight," helium said aft the game. Except, information beryllium told, it didn't consciousness arsenic if helium changeable consecutive this clip either.
Croatia brag Zlatko Dalic correctly called it earlier the lucifer erstwhile helium said that Brazil mightiness "suffer" against teams who tin support the ball, which his elegant midfield of Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic surely tin bash (and did). Croatia edged the possession -- adding a midfielder similar Mario Pasalic, successful lieu of a winger, successful his 4-3-3 besides helped -- which is nary mean feat against Brazil, possibly the astir technically talented broadside successful the World Cup.
"I said it earlier the crippled and I accidental it again now," Dalic said aft the match. "We person the champion midfield successful the satellite and we demonstrated it again today. We controlled the game."
- O'Hanlon: The creation of winning a punishment shootout (E+)
But Tite stuck to his guns. His beforehand 4 -- Raphinha and Vinicius wide, Richarlison up apical and Neymar tucked successful conscionable down -- stayed precocious up the pitch, leaving Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta out-manned successful the mediate of the park. The upshot was that not lone did Croatia spot a batch of the shot -- and erstwhile the absorption has the ball, you can't people -- but they were capable to acceptable the benignant of bland tempo that suited them and allowed their thirty-something stars similar Modric, Brozovic, Ivan Perisic and Dejan Lovren to enactment successful the crippled physically and athletically, adjacent aft the 120 minutes (plus penalties) they played against Japan.
Brazil, connected the different hand, had exerted minimal effort successful their Round of 16 against South Korea -- they were 4-0 up astatine half-time -- and the evident happening would person been to propulsion the gait and marque Croatia pursuit them. Instead, truthful overmuch of the inaugural stayed with Dalic's men, with Brazil contented to trust connected idiosyncratic moments. It's a crippled program that served them good frankincense acold successful Qatar -- erstwhile you person this overmuch talent, it lone takes a infinitesimal to people -- but it felt arsenic if it was an unnecessary risk. Because portion Brazil did person their chances, they were interspersed with needlessly agelong periods of Croatian possession.
The beforehand four, positive Lucas Paqueta, attacking and the backmost four, positive Alisson, defending strategy wasn't yielding results. For overmuch of the match, Neymar was uninspired, Vinicius ethereal, Raphinha AWOL and Richarlison under-served.
In those situations, you either set your tactics, possibly by stiffening up the mediate of the parkland truthful you get much of the shot oregon you simply alteration your unit up front. Tite opted for the latter. First Raphinha, past Vinicius and past Richarlison made mode for Antony, Rodrygo and Pedro respectively. The soloist, Neymar, didn't change, nor did the hymn sheet; conscionable the choir. And conjecture what? The opus remained the same.
Even arsenic Croatia began to tyre and Brazil created chances, the crippled inactive felt successful the balance... and past came the infinitesimal erstwhile Tite indispensable person felt vindicated arsenic Brazil took the pb astatine the extremity of the archetypal play of extra-time with the astir Brazilian of goals, converted by their astir Brazilian of players.
0:57
Ale Moreno wasn't impressed by Neymar's show against Croatia, contempt his large goal.
Neymar received the shot and sliced his mode into the Croatia defence, playing one-twos with Rodrygo and past with Paqueta earlier rounding Livakovic to marque it 1-0. It was his 77th extremity for Brazil, equalling Pele's nationalist squad grounds and from his infirmary bed, you could ideate the King nodding successful approval. The Brazil seat emptied and mobbed a celebrating Neymar successful the corner. The full squad celebrated, barroom 2 players: Thiago Silva hung backmost successful his punishment area, fingers pointed astatine the sky, thanking God, portion Casemiro laic look down connected the pitch, feeling a substance of alleviation and exhaustion.
It was astir arsenic if those 2 large veterans suspected thing the others did not: namely, that it wasn't over. Truth beryllium told, it ne'er is against Croatia -- not until the whistle blows 3 times. And so, erstwhile Josko Gvardiol's tackle cued a Croatian counterattack that rapidly -- and inexplicably -- turned into a 3-on-3, and substitute Mislav Orsic recovered substitute Bruno Petkovic successful the box, and helium swung a large near footwear done the ball, and it ended (with a flimsy deflection disconnected Marquinhos) beyond Alisson and into the backmost of the net, abruptly we were level.
That's football, a maddening athletics that turns connected a dime. One wherever the burly Petkovic -- Croatia's Mister Bump who, to that point, had mostly seen the shot bounce disconnected his limbs -- tin abruptly crook into an improbable hero. One wherever the momentum tin plaything truthful sharply that arsenic the players lined up for the shootout, it was Brazil who looked stone-faced and fearful portion Croatia, chests puffed out, looked arsenic if they were relishing the occasion. One wherever Tite, with each his attacking riches, tin stumble successful the worst mode and beryllium near to ponder connected decisions that went awry.
From his attack -- which handed the keys to Croatia -- to his substitutions -- which kept that attack intact and simply changed the unit -- to the information that Brazil conceded connected a antagonistic erstwhile they were 3 minutes from reaching a World Cup semifinal, 1 of football's large cardinal sins. And if you privation to nitpick, for redeeming his champion penalty-taker, Neymar, for the 5th penalty, the 1 that ne'er came. (Dalic, who is four-for-four successful shootouts, couldn't defy saying: "I would person utilized him sooner.")
There is truthful overmuch a shot manager does not control, and there's nary question that Tite volition beryllium remembered arsenic 1 of Brazil's top coaches. But connected this day, helium fell into the trap that coaches, successful immoderate sport, truthful often autumn into. He showed excessively overmuch religion successful his players, excessively overmuch religion successful his choices, excessively overmuch religion successful what got them there. And present he'll person to unrecorded with the regret, arsenic volition Neymar and arsenic volition each of Brazil. And 1 day, maybe, they'll get implicit it.
"We are each liable to immoderate degree, but I recognize I americium the astir responsible," Tite said post-match. "But determination are nary specified things arsenic heroes and villains successful sport. You stock joyousness and you stock sadness."
As for Croatia, 2 consecutive World Cup semifinals talk for themselves. The stellar midfield whitethorn get the headlines portion their grit and toughness whitethorn beryllium the envy of different teams, but this was a lucifer that supra all, saw them out-think the absorption arsenic overmuch arsenic out-will and out-pass them.
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