Croatia head to World Cup semifinals after beating Brazil

Croatia have knocked tournament favourites Brazil out of the World Cup in game that ended in penalties. For the South Americans, it is their fourth quarter-final elimination in the past five World Cups.

It was a scoreless match for the first 90 minutes before Brazil’s Neymar and Croatia’s Bruno Petkovic scored goals in extra time making it 1-1. The match was pushed into the penalty round and Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was once again brilliant. He will likely be a contender for the World Cup’s Golden Glove Award.

That’s four World Cup wins in penalty shootouts for the Croatians, who are peerless from 12 yards (11 metres). Gut-wrenching for Brazil and they will rue not seeing this game out after taking the lead in extra time.