FIFA World Cup Brazil vs Croatia: The first match of the quarter-finals was played on Friday (December 9) in the FIFA World Cup 2022 being hosted by Qatar. In the match, five-time champion Brazil faced Croatia. The match was very exciting, in which Croatia won 4-2 in the penalty shootout and made it to the semi-finals.
Now Croatia will face Argentina in the semi-finals. Argentina has also defeated the Netherlands team 4-3 in the penalty shootout in their exciting quarter-final match. This semi-final will be held on December 13 at 12.30 pm. Croatia is now just two wins away from winning the title.
The last time the Croatian team played the World Cup final, it was defeated by France. At the same time, Brazil has not reached the semi-finals since 2014. Neymar’s team was out after losing in the quarter-finals last time as well.
Croatia advance to the Semi-final! 👏@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
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— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
Neymar creates history, equals legend Pele
This match between Brazil and Croatia was very exciting, which remained on par without a goal till the scheduled time. After this extra time was given in the match. Neymar did a blast in extra time.
Neymar scored a goal in the 105th + 1st minute to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. This goal was assisted by Lucas Piqueta. With this, Neymar has also created history. This was his 77th international goal. With this, he has also equaled the great footballer Pele.
Bruno leveled the match again by scoring a goal
Croatian star striker Bruno Petkovic overcame Brazil’s lead. Bruno scored a goal in the second extra time i.e. in the 117th minute to once again make the match 1-1. This fatal goal of Bruno was assisted by Mislav Osek. In this way, the match remained equal to 1-1 in extra time, after which the decision was taken in the penalty shootout, where Croatia won 4-2.
There’s more action to come after a goalless 90 minutes… #FIFAWorldCup | #HRV #BRA
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
The first half of the match ended in a goalless draw
This match was very exciting, in which both the teams could not score any goal in the first half. The Croatian team adorned with experienced players did not allow Brazil with star players to score a single goal in the first half. However, he too could not score any goal. In the first half, the contest between the two teams was almost equal. Brazil had 51 percent, while Croatia had 49 percent ball possession.
If we talk about trying for the goal, then Brazil was far ahead in this. He tried for the goal five times in the first half, out of which three shots were on target only. While the Croatian team tried three times, but all three were not on target. In the first half, one player each from both the teams got a yellow card. These players were Marcelo Brozovich of Croatia and Danilo of Brazil.
Starting-11 of Brazil and Croatia
Brazil Team: Alisson (goalkeeper), Neymar, Richarlison, Eder Militão, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Danilo, Casemiro, Lucas Piqueta, Vinicius Júnior and Rafinha.
Croatia Team: Dominik Livkovic (goalkeeper), Luka Modric, Borna Sosa, Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Marcelo Brozovic, Mario Pasalic, Josco Guardiol and Josip Juranovic.