Brazil defender Marquinhos struggled for a penalty. Marquinhos missed the decisive penalty in the shootout that would have eliminated Brazil from the FIFA World Cup following Brazil’s quarterfinal loss to Croatia. Despite having never before in his career took a penalty shot, the center-back stepped up to take Brazil’s fourth penalty for the team.
After the first period of extra time, Neymar Jr. gave the Selecao the lead. The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) attacker made an outstanding attempt to get past a horde of Croatian opponents with the aid of Lucas Paqueta. Neymar avoided Dominik Livakovic and found the net’s roof while maintaining composure.
But Croatia resisted giving up. In the 117th minute of the match, Bruno Petkovic scored to tie the score for Zlatko Dalic’s group. Alisson Becker was left writhing in agony as the ball took a nasty deflection off Marquinhos and went into the goal.
In the subsequent penalty shootout, Croatia prevailed 4-2, making all of their attempts. Neymar, the team’s designated penalty taker, was likely kept in reserve by Tite for the fifth penalty kick. The other shooters on his side, though, lacked much prior expertise. Brazil’s Rodrygo took the opening penalty, but Livakovic saved it. During the shootout, the Real Madrid forward was just taking the fourth penalty of his career.
The next to take the field was Casemiro. The midfielder for Manchester United, who was also taking the first penalty kick of his career, smashed it into the bottom corner with ease. Pedro made a conversion of his own. Pedro’s performance from the spot was likewise by no means stellar; of the eight penalties he had attempted before the shootout, he had missed three and made five.
When it came time for the fourth penalty, Marquinhos stepped up but could only hit the post. With the victory, Croatia earned a spot in the tournament’s semifinals for the second year in a row. They competed in the 2018 finals but lost to France.
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