Finally, Croatia were cowed. Borna Sosa lay face down on the turf, the industrious left-back’s desperate lunge across the Education City Stadium goalline just not enough.
Marcelo Brozovic, that tireless presence in the most persevering of engine rooms, was on his haunches, perhaps in the end his energy ultimately sapped.
Josko Gvardiol, one of the defenders of this tournament, was about a yard away, hunched over, hands on knees, staring through his protective face mask at the seemingly inevitable.
In this moment, after this World Cup and even the one before, Croatia were broken. Neymar had scored at the end of the first period of extra-time in the quarter-final and Brazil, the favourites and five-time World Cup winners, were going through. Croatia were gone.
Surely, now, after all the additional minutes in the legs and the penalty shoot-out in the mind, the apparently critical blows and the comebacks, this group of indefatigables had run out of road.
Zlatko Dalic, the manager through Russia and now Qatar, too, wiped his hands across his face and looked to the sky.
Then, almost to everyone’s astonishment when we really should have known better, Croatia dusted themselves down and did what perhaps only Croatia can do. They summoned that inner strength once more, reached down into the depths and battled back to the light. Bruno Petkovic scored, with an albeit-deflected strike three minutes from time, and Croatia carried on.
Into penalties and into the World Cup semi-final. A second successive World Cup semi-final. The country comprising less than four million is once again among the four remaining teams on the game’s grandest stage.
Afterwards, an understandably drained but delighted Dalic said: “We showed again what it means to never give up, what this Croatia team is all about.
“Only Croatia could have done this. That has become sort of normal for us.”
Croatia v Brazil ratings
-
CROATIA RATINGS: Dominik Livakovic 9: Saved well from Vinicius Junior, Neymar and Lucas Paqueta. Rounded by Neymar for the goal but made a vital save to deny Casemiro in final moments. Outfoxed Rodrygo to make a key save in the shootout. AP -
Josip Juranovic 9: Did a superb job keeping Vinicius Junior quiet. Also had some great moments when roaming forward. Made a key tackle to stop Rodrygo running through in the latter stages and blocked his cross moments later. Getty -
Dejan Lovren 8: Had plenty of good moments defensively but got away with a careless pass that was cut out by Lucas Paqueta. Made a big tackle in extra time and helped to lift his team after they went behind. AP -
Josko Gvardiol 8: Made potentially awkward situations look easy at times. The defender was saved by Livakovic when his touch went goalward then made a brilliant block moments later. Couldn’t cut out Brazil’s intricate passes as they scored the game’s only goal. EPA -
Borna Sosa 7: Didn’t get forward as much as Juranovic but did a brilliant job of matching Raphinha, who was hooked early in second half. Struggled a bit after the game entered extra time and couldn’t keep up with Neymar as the Brazil attacker scored. EPA -
Mateo Kovacic 8: Showed his intent from the off with a good driving run and maintained that intensity. Even after a poor touch, he reached the ball ahead of Richarlison as he went on to show plenty of quality on the ball. PA -
Marcelo Brozovic 7: While he got away with an aimless pass that was picked up by Raphinha and was needlessly booked for pulling back Neymar, Brozovic did a brilliant job of breaking up Brazil’s play. EPA -
Luka Modric 8: Had a quiet start with a poor pass that was intercepted by Raphinha, but he sparked into life after pickpocketing Casemiro and began dictating the play for Croatia. Sent Alisson the wrong way with his penalty in the shoot-out. EPA -
Mario Pasalic 7: Competed well in attack and defence. Delivered a great cross for Perisic’s opportunity and showed intelligent movement at times. AP -
Andrej Kramaric 6: Showed a willingness to work for the team but was disappointing in an attacking sense in the first half. Got involved in some nice passages of play and held the ball up well after the break. AFP -
Ivan Perisic 6: Helped out defensively and had some good moments in the build-up but was wasteful when opportunities came, lashing at Pasalic’s cross and firing horribly off target after cutting inside Eder Militao. Enjoyed a tasty battle with Antony after the Manchester United winger came. Reuters -
SUBS: Nikola Vlasic (On for Palasic 72') 7: Provided plenty of energy and a willingness to work for the team, driving forward brilliantly in the build-up to the equaliser. Confidently scored his penalty with a strike down the middle. AP -
Bruno Petkovic (On for Kramaric 72') 7: Held up the ball well and played some nice passes. Got back brilliantly to stop Casemiro taking a late shot. Scored the last-gasp leveller as his strike deflected off Marquinhos and past Alisson. Getty -
Lovro Majer (On for Kovacic 105') 6: Showed an immediate willingness to get on the ball and found Petkovic with a cross into the box. Hit an ambitious effort wide. Another who scored by hitting his penalty down the middle. Getty -
Ante Budimir (On for Sosa 110') N/A. AP -
Mislav Orsic (On for Brozovic 114’) – N/A. Stuck his shoot-out penalty right in the corner. Getty -
BRAZIL RATINGS: Alisson Becker 6: Didn’t make the heroic saves of the South Korea game, but secure as Croatia started so well. Then quiet until he couldn’t stretch far enough to save Croatia’s equaliser. First two penalties went down the middle past him, the next two to his right. AP -
Eder Militao 6: Croatia were right onto him pressing for the first 20 minutes. More attacking at the start of the second. Had an 85th minute shot deflected wide. Getty -
Marquinhos 6: Booked. Croatia’s goal deflected off him. Hit his penalty against the post. He looked devastated at the end. Getty -
Thiago Silva 7: Passed to Neymar, who then set on his run to score and equal Pele’s 77 goal record for Brazil. Was well positioned to face the shot which led to Croatia’s equaliser, but how could he deal with the deflection?. AFP -
Danilo 6: Really pressed by Croatia in the first 20 minutes. A challenging night for him. Getty -
Lucas Paqueta 7: Croatia had early success passing Brazil’s 4-2-4 formation. Shot well saved by the excellent Livakovic. Another shot ten minutes from end of normal time was also saved. Assisted Neymar for the goal. AP -
Casemiro 7: Hard for him as he was closed down as soon as he got the ball, then tried to push the game further up the field. Tackled, passed and got booked for his efforts on 66. Buried his penalty. Reuters -
Raphinha 5: Limited influence in the first half where he saw little of the ball. An off day. They happen. EPA -
Neymar 6: Shackled wherever he went, his 41st minute free-kick was deflected towards goal, but was little threat. Had chance saved on 55 as Brazil got on top. Poor … and then he did what the very best players can do and should have won the game for Brazil with an incredible goal. AP -
Vinicius Junior 5: Strong start but then quiet in the first half. Overtaken by Joranovic at one point – not something you often see. Mediocre. AFP -
Richarlison 6: His best move was to set up Neymar after in second half with a turn. Made runs and got into the game in the second half when he put a couple of balls in for Neymar, but tightly marked by Gvardiol. EPA -
SUBS: Antony (On for Raphinha 64') 8: Brought immediate energy and skill down the right, best shown on 80 minutes to set up Paqueta. Weak shot on target after 93 but caused a lot of problems. Getty -
Rodrygo (On for Vicnicius Junior 64') 6: Involved in Neymar’s goal, but had his penalty – Brazil’s first, saved. It was a poor one. AP -
Pedro (On for Richarlison 84') 7: Straight into the attacked but blocked by Lovren. Calm for his penalty after staggering his run up. AP -
Fred (On for Paqueta 105') 6: Brought on to preserve Brazil’s lead. Failed. PA -
Alex Sandro (On for Militao 105') 6: Fresh legs deep into a draining game. AP
And that’s it: they have made the abnormal normal. Eight of Croatia’s past nine knockout matches have gone to extra time, the only exception their defeat in the final four years ago. In 2018, they triumphed on penalties against Denmark and Russia; in Qatar, against Japan and Brazil.
But, of course, they are much more than that. On Saturday, as Dalic referenced his side’s remarkable resolve, especially in the shoot-out, he reminded: “First, we have to get to that point.”
Yes, this Croatia grind you down, with their grit, their gumption, their inability to accept they are ever done. For sure, they are unrelenting. But they possess a rare in-game intelligence, too.
Together, they snuff out frailties, force themselves on the opponent, adapt their approach to the subtle nuances of football at its apex, and work out a way.
Little wonder right-back Josip Juranovic believes that, in Brozovic, Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic, Croatia boast the best midfield in world football. Juranovic is, granted, more than a little partisan, but the evidence is there. It is compelling. All the way from Russia to Qatar.
Modric may be 37, but he remains the heartbeat of this side, surely inching towards consideration as not only one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, but of any. Much like his team, he is still going, pushing back the boundaries of time and common wisdom.
Dalic labelled the Brazil victory a “true masterpiece from a tactical standpoint”; Modric is his team's chief conductor.
They mix imagination with the irrepressible, an obvious bond running through them and bringing them to the brink of another World Cup final. Defeat Argentina on Tuesday, offer a similarly defiant display at Lusail Stadium, and Croatia will have defied the odds as they always appear to do.
With four remaining, Qatar 2022 has been distilled almost to Lionel Messi’s final coronation, or Morocco’s magnetic history-makers. But who would back against Croatia snatching the spotlight with another extraordinary effort?
