Croatia stuns Brazil 4-2 on penalties to reach World Cup semis

Five-time Brazil was knocked out of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Friday night (December 9) after losing to Croatia in the quarterfinals.

Also read: Neymar in tears after World Cup exit

Croatia, the 2018 finalist, stunned the South American side 4-2 on penalties at the Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

After it was 0-0 in the stipulated 90 minutes, the match went into extra time where Neymar put Brazil ahead in the stoppage time (105+1) of the first half. With that goal, Neymar tied with Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer with 77 goals.

Also read: Full coverage of FIFA World Cup 2022

Neymar’s incredible strike looked to have sealed the contest but Croatia equalised in the 117th minute with Bruno Petkovic.

Also read: FIFA World Cup 2022 quarterfinals schedule

In the penalty shootout, Croatia scored all its four spot kicks while Brazil failed in two as goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was once again the hero stopping the first kick from Rodrygo. Later, Marquinhos hit the post giving Croatia the victory.

This was Croatia’s second successive penalty shootout win in the tournament in Qatar after having beaten Japan 3-1 in the Round of 16 where Livakovic made three saves.

Croatia will meet either Argentina or the Netherlands in the semi-finals on December 14.