At the end of the regular and extra time, the match was tied 1-1. The tiebreaker will begin, which is actually a test of nerves. In that tiebreaker, Brazil’s first shot was taken by young substitute forward Rodrigo. But succumbing to extreme nerves, he took a weak shot, which was blocked by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who played brilliantly in the match.
Then Casemiro, Pedro, and Markinos took shots one by one. On the other hand, all four of Croatia scored. But after Rodrigo, Marquinhos’ miss destroyed Brazil. Croatia advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup after winning the tiebreaker 4-2.
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Then the question naturally arises, why did Brazil coach Tite give 21-year-old Rodrigo the responsibility of taking the first kick in a stressful match like the quarter-finals of the World Cup? Why did Neymar take a shot in the first four?
This question was also raised in the press conference after the match. Explaining, coach Tite said, ‘The fifth shot is more important and there is a lot of pressure. Neymar can take that pressure. For this, he was kept for the fifth shot.