Croatia are on fire in penalty shootout as they slam doors on Brazil to enter the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar
Follow Us
Brazil vs Croatia
The underdog is dangerous, it can bark and bite. For all those who took it for granted Brazil would win the FIFA World Cup this time in Qatar, the dreams of a nation with a population of 217 million plus were bitten to pieces by Croatia. Winning on penalties for the second time in this competition, Croatia’s entry into the semi-finals was clinical, minus the histrionics.
One of the most dangerous things about predictability in sports is its unpredictability. Fans can dream, fantasize, pray and think divine forces will help. Well, if miracles were to happen too often, they would cease to be miracles. Seems poetic? No, that’s the reality for Croatia, a country with a population of 4.5 million which busted the Brazilian dreams on Friday. On a night when the moon shone yet looked pale in comparison to the arc lights at the stadium in Al Rayan, it was Croatia’s guts and glory which conquered Brazil.
It broke billions of hearts, globally, who support Brazil, including coach Tite, who resigned, almost immediately. To have been the coach of Brazil for six years and not delivering a World Cup will not look so good in his bio. Neymar Junior could follow suit, though the 30-year-old injury-prone superstar who was devastated still needs to make up his mind.
It’s easier for a coach with consciousness to quit as media and social media will start baying his blood. Maybe, Neymar, a hero of sorts, did not even get time to celebrate a record, when he scores his 77th goal to come on par with legend Pele.
The Brazilian icon is battling for life and on palliative care as he is at the end stage of colon cancer. Prayers for Pele are working, but no prayer worked for Brazil. Their wait to win a World Cup is getting very long. Such frustration will see football fans in Brazil, from high society to the ghettos called favelas, show their anger, or disgust. for them, this World Cup is over. Football is a religion in Brazil and failing to win the World Cup hurts them crazily.
Croatia’s goalkeeper Livakovic is the hero as he snaps Brazilian dreams in a penalty shootout of the quarterfinals in the World Cup
Back to Croatia, they deserve to be in this state of euphoria. The problem with football experts is they look more at history than reality and records. How did people forget Croatia was runner-up at the last FIFA World Cup in 2018, where they lost to France? How did fans not realise in goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, Croatia has a custodian who stands like a sentinel on duty? This sentinel does not just stand on duty under the bar, he raises the bar each time the country has needed him to show reflexes and superb anticipation.
Mind you, this was the second knockout match in a row for Croatia and Livakovic soaked in the pressure. Against, Japan, too, the Croatian goalie had done his job to perfection. Sentinel or sensational, if you need to watch his saves again, please do so. In football, goal scorers get maximum hype. What is forgotten or taken for granted is how the goalkeeper has to be alert and can’t catch a wink. It takes reaction time in microseconds to make saves when the dead ball is being fired at in penalties.
That Brazil floundered, where Casemiro and Pedro scored and two guys failed — Rodrygo and Marquinhos — will be etched in history. Actually, there should be a highlight each time a match is decided on penalties and how the goalkeeper acts like a life-saving doctor. It’s his job, a thankless one, which comes into focus.
For Croatia, which is just playing its sixth FIFA World Cup since 1998, kicking from the spot was so easy as Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, Luka Modric and Mislav Orcic showed fluency and unflappable temperament. Just to jog the readers’ memory, even at the 2018 World Cup in Germany, Croatia used two shoot-outs to get to the final. That these guys execute perfect spot-kicks is something which needs to be learnt by the bigger teams with a king-size reputation.
Just imagine, to be running on football turf for 90 minutes, then a combined 30 minutes extra time, where, Brazil and Croatia pumped in a goal each, was so thrilling. “We eliminated the biggest favourites,” Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic said later.
If you thought only Croatian football was hot, one could not miss their hottest fan, Ivana Knoll, who comes to watch matches in the skimpiest of clothes. She is an insta hit on Instagram and security forces in conservative Qatar have had a tough time ensuring she does not hog the limelight by posing with fans. Ivana turns up in the Croatian red and white dress, pretty revealing though, by Qatari standards. Hell, who cares, on the turf, Brazil were stripped.
In the stands, skimpily-clad Ivana was the cynosure! Beautiful game and a beautiful fan, what more can Crazy Croats back home ask for? Be sure, they are going to get drunk all weekend, as that’s the way Croatians live life. They did it in 1998 first when playing in the FIFA World Cup for the first time, they finished third.
Also read – 2022 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinals France v England: Live Stream, Match Timings, and Preview
Stay Updated!
S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)