However, a moment of Neymar’s magic saw him power through an unbreakable Croatian wall after a brilliant one-two exchange with his teammate, which culminated in him scoring one of the goals of the tournament – an effort that tying him with Pelé’s Brazilian record. Out of 77 goals.
It was a goal that would probably have made the great Pele proud, battling cancer in a São Paulo hospital.
It seemed like the end of a 20-year curse, with Brazil winning the last of their record five World Cup titles in 2002.
After losses to France in 2006, the Netherlands in 2010, a 7–1 defeat to Germany on home soil in 2014 and a loss to Belgium four years later, Brazil were on the verge of proving they were once again the best of the best. Made up his mind to beat his European rivals on the big stage.
They were winning 1–0. Three minutes from time. And instead of holding possession and counting down the clock, they went on the attack aggressively and kept their defense unmasked.
Luka Modric took advantage of the opening and joined his team-mates as the Croatians capitalized on his one and only goal to take the game into penalties.
Shirtless Bruno Petkovic celebrated his improbable goal as the crowd looked stunned, while the stadium’s giant screens replayed the action, with four Brazilian players still in Croatia’s half when the substitute striker scored.
An unforgivable tactical and mental breakdown cost them the victory they had fought for throughout the match.
