Chinanews.com, Beijing, December 10th, title: The curse of "hotness must die" is effective again!
Where did Five Star Brazil lose?
Reporter Wang Yu
The Croatian fantasies continued, but the melody of the samba stopped abruptly.
In the early morning of the 10th, Beijing time, in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, the most popular Brazilian team lost to Croatia in a penalty shootout. It was the fourth time in the past five World Cups that they fell outside the top four. The Selecao pursued the footsteps of six-star glory , can only wait for the next four years again.
On December 9, local time, the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup were held. The Croatian team defeated Brazil in a penalty shootout and advanced to the top four of the World Cup.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
Ranked No. 1 in the world, with a well-organized and luxurious lineup, Neymar and other star players are at their peak... All these factors have made Brazil regarded as the number one favorite to win the World Cup before the start of the World Cup.
Even if they accidentally lost to Cameroon in the group stage, the absence of many important players could not shake their position in the slightest.
The samba dances in the World Cup in Qatar again and again, with smooth coordination, superb foot skills, and full confidence. The Brazilian players in yellow and blue jerseys are like artists on the green field. Dance, showcasing the beauty of football in a time of defensive pragmatism.
But why did Brazil, which is getting better and better, lose?
Some people think that the World Cup has always been "hot and dead", but this is the result, not the cause; or is it the heroic performance of Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic and the two missed shots in the penalty shootout?
This is the presentation of the game, but it doesn't fully explain what's going on behind the scenes' ups and downs.
On December 9, local time, the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup were held. In the end, the Croatian team defeated Brazil in a penalty shootout and advanced to the top four of the World Cup.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
Obviously, Brazil underestimated Croatia's determination to counterattack.
As the TV commentary said, in the knockout round of the World Cup, although fans want to see the confrontation between the two sides, it is a life-and-death duel for the players involved, and defense is the first issue that needs to be considered.
When Brazil's gorgeous football met Croatia's pragmatic defense, the players failed to be as agile as the Selecao team broke through the popular Italian chain defense sixty years ago.
Before the Brazilian team was fully prepared, they were forced into the quagmire of physical combat. The Croatian defense led by Livakovic made their "bombing" attacks repeatedly unsuccessful.
Brazil took 21 shots, 11 of which were inside the frame but only one over the goal line.
In contrast, the Croatian team only had 9 shots and 1 shot on target, but they seized this only opportunity to equalize the score and dragged the game into the most familiar penalty shootout.
On December 9, local time, the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup were held. The Croatian team defeated Brazil in a penalty shootout and advanced to the top four of the World Cup.
The picture shows the Croatian players celebrating the victory.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
Brazil also underestimated Croatia's resilience.
Croatia has conceded the first goal in 6 of the last 8 World Cup games. They have only lost one game during this period, that is, they lost to France in the 2018 World Cup final and finished second.
They have also entered overtime 7 times in the knockout stages of the past 8 international competitions, of which 4 games in the World Cup have been successfully advanced, and 3 of them have been through penalty shootouts.
"No one knows how to win in overtime and penalty shootouts better than them" may be a joke, but not fighting until the last minute and not giving up reflects the strong will of the Plaid Army.
Faced with a 0:1 deficit in overtime, it was this resilience that allowed them to seize the gap left by the Brazilian team's offense. Even though they had played for nearly 120 minutes, they still invested more offensive firepower than the opponent's defensive strength to reverse The situation has caused Brazil to swallow the bitter pill of support.
The picture shows the moment Neymar scored.
The Brazilian star Ronaldo in the stands witnessed the team's sudden exit.
During this tournament, Brazilian players took turns hugging his thighs, hoping that the former "king" of the football kingdom would pass on the victory and glory to the current team, just like the French defender Blanc kissed Butters' bald head in 1998, and finally The team wins.
But in the end, the "god" in the stands could not save the people in the middle of the arena.
The Brazilian team and Brazilian fans can only bid farewell to the World Cup and the Hercules Cup on this bitter night.
This night, the samba music failed to open a new chapter.
The Samba's graceful cooperation and glorious history have won them the support of more people, so that foreign media once praised: "Other teams always win the game, but the Brazilian team has won the hearts of the fans."
Even if the celebration after the goal made them controversial, the players insisted on themselves.
The players even prepared ten dances for each game. Brazilian striker Vinicius also said in an interview during the World Cup in Qatar: "We can dance until the final." But he also said in another interview, " The most important part of football is scoring goals."
And this is the biggest reason for the failure of the Brazilian team-the gorgeous technology failed to bring them a stronger finishing ability.
On December 9, local time, the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup were held. The Croatian team defeated Brazil in a penalty shootout and advanced to the top four of the World Cup.
The picture shows Modric celebrating.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
The core of the Brazilian team, Neymar and Modric hugged and blessed, and then it was difficult to suppress the sadness and tears.
Having become famous at a young age, he is also eager to become a well-deserved superstar in today's world football with a World Cup champion, and leave his own chapter in the star-studded history of Brazilian football.
The moment Neymar suffered an injury in the group stage, he once thought his World Cup was over.
But the cruelest thing about football is to rekindle hope and be extinguished by cold reality.
His tears became the last picture of the Brazil team staying in this World Cup, and perhaps it will be the last picture of him staying in the World Cup.
Since the Brazilian team was crowned the five-star champion in 2002, they have been away from the Hercules Cup for 20 years.
Since Brazil won the World Cup for the first time in 1958, the Selecao have only fallen into a championship drought between 1970 and 1994.
The embarrassing record will be broken if they do not re-crowned after four years.
On December 9, local time, the Qatar World Cup quarter-finals were held. The picture shows Neymar sitting on the court in frustration.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Cui Nan
With or without Neymar, where will Brazilian football go?
History, perhaps, has pointed out a way for them.
In the 1980s, world football was caught in the debate of beautiful football or pragmatic football.
The controversy ended with defensive midfielder Dunga leading Brazil to the 1994 World Cup.
At that time, they were rational and cunning, making samba football less beautiful, but they won the final championship.
In this World Cup, Spain stopped in the top 16 for two consecutive competitions. The resignation of coach Enrique was regarded as a signal for the Matador Legion to reflect on their pass-and-control tactics, even though this style of play had brought them supreme glory.
Four of the last five World Cups have stopped us in the quarter-finals. Will we still see the Brazilian dancing in four years?
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