Exactly one year ago, the Croatian team eliminated Brazil on penalties in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, on a date that, analyzed over time, seems to have marked the beginning of the Seleção‘s current bad moment.
Neymar Jr. opened the scoring in the 105th minute of extra time. After a sensational wall with Lucas Paquetá, the then PSG forward deceived goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic and inflated the net. But Bruno Petkovic in the final stretch of the second overtime equalized the result.
In the penalties, the failures of Rodrygo, whose shot was stopped by Livakovic, and Marquinhos, who sent it to the post, sealed the farewell for Brazil at the Education City stadium and in front of 43,893 spectators. On the other hand, it was all celebration for Croatia, which did not last long as they then lost to Argentina in the semifinals.
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The parade of coaches
The elimination marked the departure of Tite as technical director and a path of interim positions that began with Ramon Menezes first and then with Fernando Diniz. The results did not accompany the team’s 2023, mainly in the Qualifiers, a tournament in which they are in sixth place. Meanwhile, the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti is being negotiated from July 2023, but this is not confirmed.
As for footballers, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves and Fred, among others, are no longer in that team that was left out of Qatar. But the player base is the same, with the incorporation of stars like Endrick, who show that the five-time champion is still valid despite this bad moment.
The teams
CROATIA: Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa (Budimir, min.110); Brozovic (Orsic, min.114), Modric, Kovacic (Majer, min.106); Pasalic (Vlasic, min.72), Kramaric (Petkovic, min.72) y Perisic.
BRAZIL: Alisson; Militao (Alex Sandro, min.106), Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Danilo; Casemiro, Paquetá (Fred, min.106); Raphinha (Antony, min.56), Neymar, Vinícius (Rodrygo, min.64); y Richarlison (Pedro, min.84).
