Croatia beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties to enter semi-finals

DOHA: Croatia advanced to the FIFA World Cup semifinals by defeating Brazil 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout here on Friday.

Neymar put the South American team ahead with a 106th-minute strike after a superb run into the box in the quarterfinal at Education City stadium.

But Croatia substitute Bruno Petkovic equalized with a left-footed shot that deflected in off Marquinhos with four minutes of extra time remaining.

Mislav Orsic, Luka Modric, Lovro Majer and Nikola Vlasic converted each of Croatia’s spot kicks in the shootout while Rodrygo and Marquinhos missed their attempts for Brazil.

Croatia, runners-up at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, will meet either Argentina or the Netherlands at Lusail stadium on Tuesday (Dec. 13) with a berth in the final at stake.

Neymar’s strike saw him equal Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals.