Nick Ames was at Education City Stadium. His report has landed, and here it is. Congratulations to Croatia, who will face either Argentina or the Netherlands in the semi-finals: let Rob Smyth be your MBM guide for that one. Commiserations to Brazil, who will always have Stockholm, Santiago, Mexico City, Pasadena and Yokohama. Thanks for reading this MBM.
A quick reminder to subscribe to our daily football email: Football Daily. Here’s a snippet of the flippant nonsense you missed earlier.
The Netherlands stand between Lionel Messi and a semi-final showdown with Croatia. (We’re pretty sure Brazil will at some point implode under the pressure of being Brazil, so why not on Friday afternoon.)
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Post-match mailbag. “C’mon Croatia our boys have been great and deserve to go through. Our keeper is a champion. I’m especially proud of him and the rest of the boys. Croatia were outclassed by Neymar, but the equaliser was inevitable. We did it!” – Kat Stolica
“As a Croatian, obviously I can’t be happier! But, the bigger point is: almost inevitably, people perennially underestimate us. Well, by now they should know better! Kind regards from jubilant Croatia!” – Tino Andic
“Poor match management from Brazil. How do you get caught so badly on a counter attack when you are leading with a couple of minutes to go?” – Michael Hayen
“Neymar scores the best goal of the tournament and 40 minutes later he is out! A big loss for the tournament” – Philip Murphy
“Brazil deserve to go home. Give them a medal for dancing” – Jeff Sachs
“Roy Keane is going to be insufferable isn’t he?” – Zafar Sobhan
“Frederick Freaking Forsyth. Wow. Whew” – Eric Peterson (second-half kick-off)
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There seems to be a general sense of disbelief in the stadium. Many of the Brazil fans remain in situ, perhaps to sportingly congratulate Croatia as the delighted victors pose with their flag for a squad photo. Or maybe they’re just in shock. Brazil surely thought they’d made it to the semis, with Neymar and Antony doing the professional thing in running the clock down. But then, with Fred preparing to break through the Croatian back line, Joško Gvardiol made a crunching tackle, Luka Modric sent his team off on one last counter … and here we all are. What a World Cup story this is! One for the ages … but one that could take Brazil some getting over. Neymar is in floods. Absolutely stricken with grief. He crumples to the floor and it takes Thiago Silva some effort to haul him up and into his arms. It’s lovely to watch Croatia celebrate; it’s not so easy watching Brazil come to terms with what’s happened.
Croatia cavort in delight! They’ve done a number on the pre-tournament favourites. Luka Modric smiles beatifically. Neymar stares at a point approximately one thousand yards into the distance. What a goal he scored! One that so nearly took his country one step closer to that elusive sixth title! But Brazil will have to wait at least another four years to slake a thirst that stretches back to 2002. The Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan falls quiet, the Croatian fans apart. The majority within had wanted Brazil to win … but they haven’t got their way. On the BBC, Mark Chapman observes that the “air has gone out of this stadium big time.” A lot of footage of Brazilian fans in tears. You’ll be seeing that replayed over and over again for the next four years at least.
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RESULT: Croatia 1-1 Brazil (Croatia win 4-2 on pens)
… and Neymar didn’t even get to take a penalty. The 2018 runners-up make the last four again! Brazil fall to European opposition again!
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PENALTIES: Croatia 4-2 Brazil. Marquinhos slams his penalty off the base of the left-hand post, and Croatia are through to the semi-finals again! Brazil are out!
Marquinhos must score to keep Brazil in the competition. He steps up, and …
PENALTIES: Croatia 4-2 Brazil. Orsic fires a forensic penalty into the bottom left. Alisson went the correct way, but again couldn’t reach a perfectly placed effort!
PENALTIES: Croatia 3-2 Brazil. Pedro walks up, and he doesn’t look confident. But he is! He stutters, sends Livakovic to the right, and clips into the left. This is just his fourth cap!
PENALTIES: Croatia 3-1 Brazil. Modric strokes a lovely penalty into the bottom left, sending Alisson the wrong way.
PENALTIES: Croatia 2-1 Brazil. Huge pressure on Casemiro … who belts an unstoppable penalty into the bottom left. Livakovic goes the right way, but can’t get anywhere near it, as the ball ripples the inside side netting.
PENALTIES: Croatia 2-0 Brazil. Majer slams down the middle, sending Alisson to his right.
PENALTIES: Croatia 1-0 Brazil. Rodrygo takes an elongated run-up, and hits a poor effort towards the bottom right. Livakovic saves!
PENALTIES: Croatia 1-0 Brazil. Vlasic up first. He sends it down the middle, into the roof of the net.
The captains Thiago Silva and Luka Modric embrace at the coin toss. Then Modric wins it. He opts for Croatia to take first. The penalties will be taken in front of the Brazil fans.
Brazil looked like they were heading into the semi-finals thanks to Neymar’s quite sensational goal. But Croatia never know when they’re beaten, and Bruno Petkovic’s late equaliser keeps the 2018 runners-up in the 2022 tournament. It’s no more than they deserve for their contribution to an always-enthralling match, and a particularly entertaining period of extra time. Penalties ahoy! More drama for certain!
EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: Croatia 1-1 Brazil
To paraphrase Sir Alex Ferguson: Croatia, eh? Bloody hell!
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ET 30 min +2: Neymar loops the free kick into the mixer. Some head tennis. The ball drops to Casemiro on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. What a chance! Casemiro shoots … but the ever-heroic Livakovic parries!
ET 30 min +1: Antony dribbles down the right. He checks back and is cleaned out by Perisic. One last free kick. One last chance for Brazil to nick it. Everyone into the Croatia box!
ET 30 min: Majer sends a long-distance rake well wide left of Alisson’s goal. There will be two more minutes.
ET 29 min: Neymar fouls Lovren in the centre circle. Modric looks to take the free kick quickly but is whistled back by the referee. Penalties loom now … unless somebody can find something really dramatic?
ET 28 min: Petkovic is booked for removing his shirt in the throes of ecstasy. He’ll care not one jot, I’ll be bound!
GOAL! Croatia 1-1 Brazil (Petkovic 117)
Orsic tears down the left, sent into space by Modric. He reaches the edge of the Brazil box and rolls infield for Petkovic, who shoots first time. A slight deflection sends the ball whistling into the bottom left! Alisson can’t get there in time!
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ET 26 min: Gvardiol’s loose ball looks like letting Fred scamper clear down the inside-right channel, but the young defender recovers with a sensational tackle. And what an important tackle it is, because …
ET 25 min: Neymar and Antony play it short, then the former draws a clumsy foul from Petkovic. Brazil are more than happy with this bitty state of affairs. The clock ticks on.
ET 24 min: Brozovic makes way for Orsic. When play restarts, the always-on Antony wins a corner off Majer down the right.
ET 23 min: Perisic drops a shoulder and knocks the ball past Antony down the left, but can’t win the resulting footrace. Antony holds his line and ushers the ball out for a goal kick.
ET 21 min: Lovren crosses from a deep position on the right. He swings in a good one, and Budimir attacks it, but Thiago Silva rises highest to head clear.
ET 20 min: Before the corner can be taken, Budimir replaces Sosa, who have to go for broke now. Nothing comes of the set piece.
ET 19 min: Perisic whips in a cross from the left. Nobody in chequerboard can connect. Neymar tries to launch a counter but brings down Gvardiol. Croatia come back at Brazil, Modric sending Fred off for the paper and a pack of fags with an outrageous change-of-direction dummy down the left that wins a corner.
ET 17 min: Probably worth pointing out that Brazil were too busy pogoing in sheer delight at Neymar’s goal to break out the choreographed dance moves. “Interesting to see Neymar’s celebration after scoring there!” writes Billy Ditchburn. “Actually looked like a spontaneous expression of joy and relief, and not a prerecorded snippet of self congratulatory smugness.”
Croatia get the second period of extra time underway. They’ve replaced Kovacic with Majer, while Brazil switch out Eder Militao and Paqueta with Alex Sandro and Fred.
That was one hell of a goal by Neymar! Never mind dropping deep to start the move. Never mind executing two one-twos en route to breaking into the box. What about that finish, straining every sinew to brush off Sosa, rounding the keeper Livakovic, and having the presence of mind to lift his shot, with Sosa sliding along the line in a desperate attempt to block. Wow!
EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: Croatia 0-1 Brazil
Not a bad time to equal Pele’s all-time record for the Seleção, huh? That’s number 77 for Neymar, and one of the most important.
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GOAL! Croatia 0-1 Brazil (Neymar 105+1)
Brazil suddenly spark into life just as half time in extra time looms! Neymar drops deep, exchanges passes with Rodrygo and Pedro, then powers into the box, rounding Livakovic on the right and absolutely roofing home from a tight angle!
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ET 15 min: Rodrygo jigs in from the left and lays off to Danilo, who flays a dismal long-range effort many miles over the bar, and wide to boot. A slight hint of desperation from the tournament favourites there.
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ET 13 min: Kovacic dribbles hard down the inside-left channel but runs into a cul-de-sac. Brazil attempt to counter, but Neymar is tackled by Lovren. Crunch! Modric sends Croatia off on the counter-counter, and Petkovic dribbles into the box from the left. He rolls across to Brozovic, teeing him up on the edge of the D. A huge chance … but Brozovic blazes wildly over the bar!
ET 11 min: Casemiro crosses from the right. Pedro, on the penalty spot, attempts the spectacular overhead kick, but slips midway through execution. Livakovic gathers.
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ET 9 min: Rodrygo curls in from the left. Paqueta looks to meet it, sliding in at the far post, but he can’t get ahead of Sosa, who ushers the ball out for a goal kick.
ET 8 min: Modric nutmegs Pedro out on the right. Or maybe he dinked the ball around him cutely. Either way, lovely skill from Croatia’s star turn. He’s 37!
ET 6 min: Danilo crosses from the left. Sosa heads clear. Brazil are pressing forward but there’s no way through.
ET 5 min: He’s happy to let Neymar get away with a couple of frustrated swipes at Brozovic, too. Michael Oliver in a very laissez-faire mood.
ET 4 min: Antony’s really not happy now, as he knocks the ball past Sosa only to be crudely bodychecked. The referee is happy to let things slide.
ET 3 min: Thankfully things don’t look too bad for Paqueta, and he’s up and running again. Then Antony cops one in the face from Sosa – a finger hooks the side of his mouth in the angling style – but he doesn’t even get a free kick. He’s not happy.
ET 2 min: Danilo launches a long ball down the right, forcing Sosa, pressured by Antony, to head behind for a corner. Neymar takes, and Pedro connects, but his header is weak and wafts out on the left. Paqueta tries to keep the ball in play, and rolls his ankle, or twists his knee, as he fails to complete his task. He’s down getting a spot of treatment.
Brazil get the first period of extra time underway. No changes.
As the teams regroup and wait for extra time, Neymar sits down. Marquinhos hauls him back to his feet unceremoniously. Shades of Alf Ramsey, who didn’t allow his England players to sit down after 90 minutes of the 1966 final, in order to show the prone West Germany they weren’t as tired. Even if they were. And people say Alex Ferguson invented mind games.
FULL TIME: Croatia 0-0 Brazil
… and that’s that. Extra time it is!
Updated
90 min +4: Antony dribbles in from the right and sends a weak effort towards the bottom right. Easy for Livakovic.
90 min +3: Rodrygo attempts to launch an attack and is cynically clipped by Modric, who is extremely fortunate to escape a booking. Had he been yellow carded, he’d miss the semi-final should Croatia make it.
90 min +2: Antony tries to burst into space down the inside-right channel. He accidentally handles and Croatia take their sweet time over the resulting free kick. They’ll be more than happy to take this to extra time.
90 min +1: Rodrygo’s presence forces Livakovic into the concession of another corner. Croatia clear it with ease.
90 min: There will be four added minutes.
89 min: Rodrygo drives down the left but can’t get past Juranovic. Same old story. “Celtic’s Champions League campaign might not have been the most glorious but apparently it enabled Juranovic to study Vicinius Jnr and determine his weaknesses in a manner reminiscent of the Terminator,” writes Gerry Scott. “I did not predict that.”
88 min: Kovacic drops deep and nearly releases Modric down the inside-left channel. Then a low cross finds Petkovic on the edge of the Brazil D, but the substitute striker can’t sort his feet out. Brazilian hearts were in mouths for a nanosecond there!
86 min: Antony works down the right and cuts back for Militao, who whips a low shot wide right from the edge of the box. In fact it’s deflected out for a corner, but nothing comes of that.
85 min: Silva gives Alisson a hospital pass, and the Brazil keeper hacks out for a throw. Nothing comes of the mild panic, but it illustrates the palpable nerves in the stadium as we reach the business end of this quarter final.
84 min: That’s Richarlison’s last contribution. He makes way for Pedro. “Croatia are playing this brilliantly, turning Brazil’s samba stars into a bunch of wallflowers waiting impatiently to be invited onto the dancefloor,” riffs Justin Kavanagh. “It’s not exactly Friday Night Fever: You Should be Dancing, Brazil; but Croatia are Staying Alive.”
82 min: Rodrygo flashes in a cross from the left. Richarlison eyebrows over the bar from 12 yards. Gvardiol wasn’t letting him get any closer.
80 min: Antony turns on the jets to burn past Sosa on the right. Casemiro arrives to help and crosses deep. Rodrygo cuts back for Paqueta, who batters a low shot from the edge of the box towards the bottom left. Livakovic smothers brilliantly. Any fumble and it’d have been a tap-in for Neymar. “Students of the Roy Keane School of Samba must be delighted with the absence of rhythm in this match so far,” quips Peter Oh.
78 min: Brazil are attempting to pick up the pace. Richarlison drives at the Croatian back line only to have the ball stolen off his toe by Sosa. He hops around in impotent frustration.
77 min: Marquinhos is booked for wrestling Modric as the Croatian maestro attempts to launch a counter attack. No complaints.
76 min: Rodrygo and Richarlison combine briskly down the inside-left channel before releasing Neymar. Brazil’s biggest star enters the box … but yet again can’t beat Livakovic, albeit from a tight angle. Great save. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
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74 min: Antony cuts in from the right and dives in the environs of Perisic. The referee’s not buying it. Neymar then dribbles down the left wing but can’t diddle his way past the immense Juranovic. Brazil aren’t doing very much at the moment. Croatia will be the far happier side.
72 min: Croatia continue to be patient. Then suddenly Modric creams a pass down the right for Juranovic, who pings infield for Kramaric. His shot is blocked then cleared, and that’s his last act of the evening: he makes way for Petkovic, while Vlasic comes on for Pasalic.
70 min: Croatia slow it down again. They’re flatly refusing to play into Brazil’s hands, South Korea style.
68 min: Casemiro clips the heel of Kramaric and goes into the book. That looked a little bit harsh.
66 min: Lovren and Gvardiol confuse each other on the edge of the Croatia box, allowing Paqueta to nip in between them. Paqueta is suddenly one on one with Livakovic, but yet again the Croatia keeper proves unbeatable. A block for a corner that leads to nothing.
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65 min: Brozovic tugs Neymar’s shoulder to concede a free kick 30 yards out, just left of centre. That’s his second free kick conceded since picking up a yellow card. He really needs to be careful. One more transgression and he might be for the off. The free kick is wasted.
64 min: Juranovic has been the boss of Vinicius Junior down the Brazil left. On comes Rodrygo to have a go at the Croatia right-back instead.
63 min: Kovacic slips Perisic into a little space down the left. Perisic zings a low cross towards the near post, but there’s nobody in chequerboard taking a gamble. Easy for Alisson.
61 min: Croatia have slowed the game down and it’s causing Brazil and their supporters palpable frustration. “I used to love that game,” writes Fourth Protocol fan Seán Connolly. “I played it to death after reading the book. I was super thrilled when they made a film of it. I was a strange 12 year old.”
59 min: Antony powers in from the right and feeds Richarlison, who doesn’t spin quite so elegantly this time. Goal kick.
58 min: Croatia play keep-ball, making Brazil chase.
56 min: Brazil blink and make the game’s first change. Antony comes on for Raphinha.
55 min: Richarlison spins elegantly on a sixpence down the inside-left channel, and out of nothing, Brazil are suddenly dangerously on the attack! He slides Neymar into the box. Neymar strides to the left-hand corner of the six-yard box but can’t force past Livakovic. A good save, though it wasn’t a crisp connection from Neymar.
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53 min: Juranovic romps down the right again, before switching play to Perisic on the other flank. Perisic curls in from the left, looking for Kramaric in the middle. The cross is too high, and floats out for a goal kick. A few inches lower, though, and Kramaric was surely heading home from six yards.
52 min: Neymar drives down the left and speed. He’s eventually legally skittled to the floor, and stays down for a bit. No need to worry, though, he’s back up soon enough. The crowd enjoyed that run, even if it led to nothing.
50 min: The ever-busy Juranovic wins a corner down the right. Modric floats it in. It drops to Perisic on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Alisson blocks, then the flag goes up for offside. It’s been a fast start to the second half by both sides!
49 min: … but there’s a VAR check for a possible penalty. The ball hit Juranovic on the arm as it dropped over his shoulder, earlier in the move that led to Neymar’s chance. But he knew nothing about it, and the officials aren’t interested in pursuing the matter any further.
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48 min: Brazil come again through Vinicius Jr down the left. His pass finds Neymar, who scuffs a shot from the penalty spot. Gvardiol blocks brilliantly. Lovren hacks a dismal clearance that nearly drops to Richarlison, but the flag goes up for offside.
47 min: Raphinha scampers with purpose down the right. He reaches the byline and crosses low. With yellow shirts around, Gvardiol deflects the ball towards his own net. Livakovic sticks out a leg to block. That’s one hell of a reaction save!
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46 min: Neymar embarks on a power run down the right; Vinicius Jr scampers after a long pass down the left. Goal kick, but it’s clear Brazil have been ordered to up the tempo a little.
Brazil get the second half underway. No changes. “I‘m dating myself with my taste in Cold War literature here,” begins Eric Peterson, “but that first half was like slogging my way through the first half of a Frederick Forsyth novel. Tons of backstory and technical hoo-hah that’s a real chore, but boy does it pay off with the roller coaster that’s in store for you through the duration of it. Dearly hoping this game plays out like that.” Can’t say I’m au fait with Forsyth’s oeuvre, but I did once play the Fourth Protocol game. Probably not worth sitting through the whole walkthrough, it wasn’t very good. When push came to shove, I preferred Amidar. Anyway, we’ve veered some way off piste here. Back to Qatar!
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HALF TIME: Croatia 0-0 Brazil
The 2018 finalists will be much happier than the five-time champions. This is in the balance all right!
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45 min: There will be just one added minute.
44 min: Sosa finds a little space down the left wing and tries to release Perisic into the Brazil box. Nearly, but Thiago Silva reads the play well and gets to the pass first, ushering both ball and Perisic away from the danger zone.
42 min: Neymar aims the free kick towards the top left. It takes a deflection off the wall but doesn’t wrong-foot Livakovic, who stoops to gather by the bottom left. There wasn’t much conviction in that free kick at all.
41 min: Vinicius Jr skitters down the left wing and is clipped by Brozovic, who is already on a yellow and needs to watch himself here. Just a free kick, beside the left-hand corner of the Croatia box. A very dangerous position.
40 min: Neymar drops deep to quarterback in the Modric style. He flicks a lovely pass down the right channel for Raphinha, who controls carelessly, allowing Kovacic to mop up.
38 min: Brozovic drives dangerously down the inside-left channel, but then finds he doesn’t have any options in the middle, and eventually runs the ball out for a goal kick. If only Mario Mandžukić was ten years younger.
36 min: It’s 45 percent possession apiece right now, with the ludicrous In Contest on ten percent. What can it mean? Let’s not overthink. It doesn’t matter.
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35 min: Croatia hog the ball in midfield, Modric dictating terms. The majority in the crowd don’t like it, jeering as they keep possession. The Croatian fans however are loving it, their songs louder than the efforts of their Brazilian counterparts right now.
33 min: Juranovic crosses yet again from the right. Perisic prepares to meet it at the far post, but Alisson comes a long way off his line to flick the ball away from him. Croatia look the more likely at the minute.
Updated
31 min: Brozovic clips Neymar and goes into the book. Brazil try to take the free kick quickly, but it only leads to Lovren and Richarlison bickering. Perhaps Joe Pearson (2 min) was onto something. Brazil then waste the free kick. They’re a bit ragged.
30 min: Perisic, scorer of one of Croatia’s goals in the 2018 final, zips in from the left wing and looks for the top-right corner of the goal. He finds the top-right corner of the stand behind.
29 min: Neymar floats the free kick towards Paqueta, to the right of the Croatian goal, but his team-mate can do nothing with it. Croatia clear.
28 min: Brozovic clips Vinicius Jr and it’s a free kick for Brazil the best part of 30 yards out. Neymar stands over it, eyes lighting up.
26 min: Modric sticks the free kick into the mixer but Brazil clear and the whistle goes. It could be a long evening for Danilo now, on a booking and up against the sprightly Juranovic, who has caused him plenty of bother already.
25 min: Juranovic strides down the right only to be high-kicked in the face by Danilo! That could easily be a red card, but it’s just a yellow, presumably because Danilo got a slice of the ball. Still, it’s a free kick just to the side of the Brazil box, and Modric prepares to wave his wand.
24 min: The corner is no good. This game hasn’t quite tipped over from Intriguing to Fun yet, but it might not be long.
23 min: Lovren’s poor clearing header finds Raphinha, who tees up Paqueta for a long-distance shot. It’s deflected out for a corner on the right. Raphinha to take.
21 min: Vinicius Junior wriggles in from the left wing. He exchanges a wall pass with Richarlison and opens his body, aiming a curler towards the bottom left. Lovren blocks. Neymar then sends a pea-roller straight at Livakovic. Brazil quickly come again, Neymar unable to release Vinicius Jr down the inside-left channel. Easy for Livakovic. Better from Brazil.
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19 min: Kovacic cuts in from the left and has a dig from distance. Blocked. Croatia are the better side right now, while Brazil are struggling to make passes in the opposition half stick.
17 min: Brazil pass it around the back, though they’re getting severely hassled by the Croatian press. And there’s Croatia supposedly old and knackered. Meanwhile here’s Kári Tulinius, who has a long MBM memory stretching back to the very last entry of this one: “Though your astute prediction at the end of the 2010 World Cup that Brazil would implode in 2014 proved spectacularly true, I think that this year’s team is far less consumed by its own sense of destiny. If they lose today, which they might, it won’t be because they’re so high on their own supply that they stagger around their own box like people thrown out of a nightclub for passing out in the toilet.”
15 min: … but Brazil don’t clear their heads. Alisson tries to send his team on the counter, but his roll-out to Casemiro puts his mate in bother. Modric nips in, then crosses from the right. Militao heads clear. Brazil aren’t exactly rattled, but they haven’t started well.
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14 min: Croatia are on top, and now win a corner down the left. Richarlison heads it clear powerfully to allow Brazil to gather themselves.
12 min: Juranovic steams down the inside-right channel before slipping Pasalic into space on the overlap. Pasalic whistles a low cross through the six-yard box. Juranovic, who had continues his run, flashes at fresh air, then so does Perisic. A big chance for both Croatians there.
10 min: Raphinha drops a shoulder to skip past Sosa on the right. He reaches the byline and cuts the ball back … but he’s run it out of play. Goal kick. Both teams are in a lively mood, and why not, it is the quarter-finals of the World Cup after all.
9 min: Perisic crosses from the left. There’s nobody in the centre to take advantage. But Croatia are having some joy down the wings during these early exchanges.
7 min: Juranovic crosses from a deep position on the right. Perisic competes for a header at the far post, but Militao wins a hard-fought contest, and it’s a free kick for Brazil. Speaking of putting it about, here’s Justin Kavanagh: “Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon, and South Korea are all solid enough teams in the second tier of world football. But Brazil start to step out against the elite today and we should discover if they belong up there with the greats of 58, 70, and 82. As Roy Keane might say, time to steel-tip those dancing shoes, boys.”
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5 min: The first shot in anger, and it’s a decent one. Vinicius Junior cuts in from the left and attempts to find a team-mate. His pass rebounds back to him. He opts to shoot instead, curling for the top right. It’s on target, but not hit firmly and an easy claim for Livakovic. Lovren then passes out carelessly from the back, allowing Raphinha to intercept and nearly find Vinicius Junior on the edge of the box. Goal kick.
3 min: Kovacic dribbles down the left and draws a free kick from Casemiro. A chance for Croatia to put one into the box, but Brozovic can’t manage it. Still, there’s an early sign that the 2018 finalists haven’t come here to simply defend.
2 min: Brazil have lost five successive knockout matches at the World Cup against European opposition. Some sort of dramatic early statement wouldn’t go amiss. They don’t make one, though. Speaking of which, here’s Joe Pearson: “So it’s an ex-Merseyside derby, is it? I guess that means Brazil should prepare to play with ten, after Richarlison gets sent off for leaving a two-footer in on Lovren.”
Croatia get the ball rolling. A reminder that if these guys can’t sort themselves out in 90 minutes, we’ll be going to extra time and possibly penalty kicks. A semi-final against either the Netherlands or Argentina awaits!
The teams are out! Brazil are in their iconic yellow shirts, while Croatia wear their equally distinctive red-and-white checkerboard tops. We’ll be off once anthems have been performed, coins tossed and hands clasped.
A reminder of how these two teams got here … via the mediums of match report, music and movement.
The result of the match is already in. Ritinha, a shark incarcerated in some aquarium or other in Rio, has reportedly plumped for the contents of a food bottle with a Brazilian flag on it, cocking a snook at the one emblazoned with signifiers of Croatia. Congratulations to Brazil for making the semi-final!
Admittedly this directly contradicts the prediction made by Kent, a gibbon at Zagreb Zoo, who got tucked into the open Croatian food box wafted under his hungry face. What could it all mean? Not sure if any other species were consulted: for the record, Paul the Octopus died in 2010, while Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was unavailable.
Updated
Croatia make two changes to the starting XI named for the win over Japan. Borna Sosa returns from illness, replacing Borna Barisic, while forward Bruno Petkovic is sacrificed for additional midfield strength in Mario Pasalic.
Brazil name an unchanged line-up. First-choice left back Alex Sandro still hasn’t fully recovered from a hip injury and remains on the bench. Danilo will once again move across from right back to stand in, with Eder Militao covering in turn.
The teams
Croatia: Livakovic, Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic.
Subs: Stanisic, Barisic, Erlic, Majer, Grbic, Vlasic, Livaja, Petkovic, Budimir, Orsic, Vida, Ivusic, Sutalo, Sucic, Jakic.
Brazil: Alisson, Eder Militao, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Danilo, Lucas Paqueta, Casemiro, Raphinha, Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Richarlison.
Subs: Alex Sandro, Fred, Weverton, Dani Alves, Fabinho, Bruno Guimaraes, Antony, Rodrygo, Everton Ribeiro, Ederson, Bremer, Pedro, Martinelli.
Referee: Michael Oliver (England).
Preamble
Brazil have only met Croatia twice at the World Cup, and it’s not entirely clear what history teaches us. The bottom line is that the Seleção have won both matches, 1-0 in 2006, 3-1 in the opening match of 2014. But on both occasions the Croatians made the five-time champions work. Kaka’s curler decided the former match, but Dado Prso, Ivan Klasnic, Marko Babic and Igor Tudor all went close; eight years later, hosts Brazil required a controversial second-half penalty for some non-contact Dejan Lovren-near-Fred action to turn a game that looked set for a draw. No definitive answers there … though Brazil lost their first-ever World Cup game 2-1 to Yugoslavia in 1930, drew 1-1 with them in 1954 and 0-0 in 1974, and beat them 2-0 in a crunch match in 1950, Yugoslav captain Rajko Mitic missing the start after cracking his head open on an exposed girder in the still-half-finished Maracana. Do any of those distant memories of a former way of life help any? Almost certainly not.
Perhaps more up-to-date analysis will help us? In the round of 16, Croatia were more resilient than impressive in keeping up with a superior Japan, then holding their nerve better in a penalty shoot-out. Brazil by contrast were juggling the ball around against South Korea like it was the Pelé-Garrincha era all over again. However look at it another way: Croatia might be a superannuated bunch out for one last hurrah, but they were finalists last time round and know how to grind their way through a tournament. And while Brazil play like Brazil, they also have to be Brazil, with all the concomitant expectation, pressure, weight of history, etc. Hmm. Still nothing definitive.
So both teams will, in very different ways, and for very different reasons, fancy their chances this afternoon. Brazil are strong favourites to progress to a semi-final against the Netherlands or Argentina … but while their attack is flying, Alisson had to make three big saves on Monday night and Croatia may not let them get away with that sort of defensive profligacy again. It’s going to be a whole load of fun watching this unfold, and it could go to extra-time and penalty kicks. Kick off is at 3pm GMT, 6pm at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan. انه يحدث! It’s on!
