In the first quarter final of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, the 2018 runners-up Croatia pulled off a shocking win over the five-time world champions Brazil to become the first team to reach the semi-finals of FIFA 2022. Both teams had entered the quarter finals following strong victories in the knockout matches where Croatia beat Japan 3-1 on penalties and Brazil scored a thumping 4-1 win over South Korea.

Perhaps the most anticipated match of this tournament so far, the face-off initially saw both teams end up goalless in the stipulated 90 minutes. As the match went into extra time, Neymar scored the opening goal at 106 minutes, almost seeing his team through to the semis, until Petkovic scored the unexpected equalizer in the 117th minute. The match then headed into the penalty shootouts for the decider after the playtime eventually ended with both teams tied at 1-1.

The penalty shootout as it unfolded!

Though Neymar thought he had booked a place in the semifinals for the five-time winners, with a stunning extra-time goal in the 105th minute. However, Croatian sub Bruno Petkovic scored a shocking equalizer in the 117th minute that beat Alisson Becker after a deflection. It was luck out of the blue for the Croatians as the referee finally called the end of playtime, sending both teams into a penalty shootout.

Croatia kicked off the penalty shootout with Vlasic taking the first shot.

• Croatia Penalty #1

Vlasic hops in and fires the ball down the middle as Becker dives in anticipation of a shot to the side. Some misjudgement by the goalie!

Croatia – Brazil (1-0)

• Brazil Penalty #1

Rodrygo steps up for Brazil’s opening penalty. He fired it to the right side and it is saved by the agile Livakovic, having already performed brilliantly throughout the entire match!

Croatia – Brazil (1-0)

• Croatia Penalty #2

Sosa came in to take the shot and fired it down the middle in similar fashion like Vlasic did. Another goal for Croatia!

Croatia – Brazil (2-0)

• Brazil Penalty #2

Casemiro comes in and scores the first penalty goal for Brazil. Livakovic dived in the right direction, but just couldn’t make it!

Croatia – Brazil (2-1)

• Croatia Penalty #3

Captain Luka Modric walks up to the ball and slams it past Becker who misses yet again!

Croatia – Brazil (3-1)

• Brazil Penalty #3

Pedro comes to take the third shot for Brazil. He hops in and fires the ball past Livakovic who goes the wrong way this time!

Croatia – Brazil (3-2)

• Croatia Penalty #4

Orsic comes in for the fourth shot. He sends a bullet into the bottom corner, hitting the side netting. Croatia is almost there!

Croatia – Brazil (4-2)

• Brazil Penalty #4

Marquinhos in for the crucial strike. He needs to put this in or else Brazil is out! He hops in and fires a powerful shot but it hits the post. There’s no need to go any further as Brazil have been knocked out of FIFA 2022 with that miss.

Neymar was left waiting for the fifth penalty that never happened; the men in yellow were ousted 4-2 by the formidable Croatian lineup.  It turned out to be an epic encounter where the four Croatian strikers – Nikola Vlasic, Mislav Orsic, Lovro Majer, and Captain Luka Modric, scored their respective penalties. However, Brazil fell two goals short of the target as Livakovic displayed a repeat of his heroism from the previous encounter against Japan as he made a couple of crucial saves that allowed Croatia to take the winning lead. 

Keep checking 90agency for updates as we cover every aspect of these exciting controversies, news, and events from the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022!