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Croatia stun Brazil in penalty shootout to advance to semifinal in 2022 World Cup

Croatia get the job done against the favorites.

Croatia v Brazil: Quarter Final - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Croatia players react in the penalty shoot out during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quarter final match between Croatia and Brazil at Education City Stadium on December 09, 2022 in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Croatia and Brazil will kick off the quarterfinal round at the 2022 World Cup Friday morning. Croatia are here after winning a penalty shootout over Japan in the round of 16, while Brazil topped South Korea 4-1 in a dominant offensive display. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Brazil are -245 to win this match in regular time. A draw is priced at +370 and Croatia come in at +750. Brazil are -600 to advance to the semifinal, while Croatia are +450.

Here we’ll be tracking the latest updates from the match.

Croatia vs. Brazil live updates

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

It’s 4-2 Croatia in the shootout and Marquinhos has to score here to keep Brazil alive. HE IS DENIED BY THE POST AND CROATIA HAVE STUNNED THE FAVORITES! The 2018 runners-up are going to semifinal!


Modric makes it 3-1 in favor of Croatia and Brazil will need a save from Alisson to stay in this shootout. Pedro steps up for Brazil and he makes it 3-2. Brazil will still need a save.


Substitute Lovro Majer puts one in the net for Croatia. 2-0 to the European side and Brazil badly need a goal here. Casemiro steps up and puts the Selecao on the board.


Rodrygo will take the first kick for Brazil. The Real Madrid youngster is DENIED by Livakovic, who continues to come up big in the shootout.


Vlasic takes the first kick for Croatia and sinks it. 1-0 to the 2018 runners-up.


Penalty shootout - It looks like Croatia have won the coin flip and should kick first. Historically, the team that kicks first tends to perform better in the shootout. Vlasic will take the first kick for Croatia.


End of extra time - We are going to penalty kicks with things tied 1-1 at the end of extra time. It looked like Brazil would win but Croatia get a late equalizer. We’re in for a high-stakes shootout once again.


117th minute - GOAL FOR CROATIA! It comes against the run of play as the veteran European team finds a way to pull one back and tie this match up.


111th minute - Croatia are sending balls into the box and have been able to find space, but Brazil are closing things down quickly. Casemiro has now pushed back into almost a third center back role and Brazil are attempting to lock this thing down. Neymar is still a threat on the counter attack but the game now is to prevent a Croatia goal.


105th minute - GOAL FOR BRAZIL! It was Neymar who breaks the deadlock for the Selecao at the end of the first extra time.


103rd minute - Croatia nearly converted on a counter attack in what can only be called a 2v6. Croatia’s shot sails over the goal and we’re still locked in at 0-0.


97th minute - Brazil have pushed forward more but some tired legs are starting to come into play. It seems like Croatia are not doing much outside of hunkering down defensively, so this seems like it’ll be either Brazil or penalty kicks.


End of regular time - Croatia have held their own in this match defensively. Brazil have put up 15 shots and eight on target, but the only thing that matters is 0-0 on the scoreboard. Things have gotten a bit chippy with 28 combined fouls but right now it’ll be about fitness and fatigue. Brazil have had more chances but Croatia only need one to find the mark in this knockout game.


End of regular time - It’s still 0-0, although Brazil had some opportunities late to get a winner. The first match of the quarterfinal will go to extra time. Buckle in folks, we’ve got at least 30 more minutes of action.


85th minute - Croatia finally got back into the attacking zone and Nikola Vlasic got a shot off. However, it was blocked and Brazil is back attacking.


80th minute - And another Likakovic save. It was the most routine of the day, although he had to scramble a bit to prevent the rebound from creating another Brazilian opportunity. Lucas Paquetá had the shot on goal with the assist from Rodrygo.


76th minute - Likakovic made another huge save against Neymar. The Brazilian star got a shot off from the short left side of the box but Likakovic aggressively went after Neymar and got the save with his left foot.


66th minute - Brazil has increased their attacking and put a pair of shots on goal. Casemiro got a shot off and it was blocked, and then Lucas Paquetá had his shot saved by Likakovic. This is getting more difficult for Croatia.


64th minute - Brazil has subtituted Rodrygo for Vinícius Júnior.


56th minute - Brazil has substituted in Antony for Raphinha.


55th minute - Neymar got a shot on goal from the left side of the box, but Livakovic was easily able to secure the save. It was Brazil’s fourth shot on goal while Croatia still has not shots on goal on their four total shots.


48th minute - Brazil have come out firing after halftime with several great chances inside the box, with Vinicius Jr. having the best shot at scoring. Livakovic cut off the angle well but there might be more trouble for Croatia with a penalty check. VAR ultimately found nothing but Brazil are attacking well to start this half.


Halftime - Croatia 0, Brazil 0. Both teams have had some good movements into the attacking third but Croatia are controlling the midfield better in this match. Brazil have actually forced some saves and have more shots on target. The possession battle is slightly in favor of Brazil but it feels like Croatia have established themselves in the middle of the park. Brazil’s front line has not been able to get Croatia’s defenders to shift much, so there simply haven’t been places to make runs. We could see Casemiro and Neymar take on bigger roles in the midfield to try and establish their presence and limit Croatia’s influence there.


42nd minute - Neymar takes a free kick and forces a save from Livakovic, although a deflection off a Croatia defender took most of the velocity off the kick. Brazil have not found a way to get Croatia’s back line to shift out of position much, so they haven’t gotten many good openings in this first half.


36th minute - Croatia are controlling the play in the middle of the pitch, largely due to Modric moving across the entire formation as he pleases. However, Casemiro has played some nice long balls over the top and eventually it seems like one will find the mark.


31st minute - After some tension in the Croatian defensive third over the last five minutes, Croatia finally get their first card of the match. It’s Marcelo Brozovic who picks up the booking for a hard foul on Neymar.


20th minute - There’s some ‘jogo bonito’ going on for Brazil on the left flank with Vinicius Jr. He made some great passing moves in combination with Richarlison to have a shot on goal but his effort was blocked. Neymar followed up with a much weaker shot which Livakovic had no trouble handling. Both teams are finding some space to attack and both have come close to getting on the scoreboard.


13th minute - Croatia just had their best attacking move of the match, with Josip Juranovic making a run down the side and Ivan Perisic nearly having a touch to trouble Alisson. The cross went across the goal with no harm but Croatia are making some moves on the counter attack which could be trouble for Brazil.


5th minute - We’ve got the first shot of the match courtesy of Vinicius Jr. It didn’t trouble Dominik Livakovic much, but Brazil have found Vinicius Jr. on some long balls a few times and he could eventually break through on that side of Croatia’s back line. Brazil have made it clear they’re hoping to attack the sides of this defense, while Croatia have found a way to control the midfield for most of the early going here.


Pregame - Here’s a look at the starting lineups for both teams. There are on changes for Brazil from their big win over South Korea. Croatia are bringing in Mario Pasalic, the man who hit the game-winning penalty against Japan. We’ll see if Brazil’s trio of Neymar, Vinicius Jr. and Richarlison can have some early success against Croatia’s ironclad defensive setup.