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MIKE KEEGAN: Distraught, Neymar didn’t even get a chance to mess up his lines… nailing Brazil’s talisman on their final penalty was always going to be a risk, especially against Croatia and their array of inert stars.
The star didn’t even get a chance to alter his lines.
‘The fifth penalty is the decisive one,’ explained coach Tite when asked why Neymar was chosen to take the last penalty that was never taken.
‘There is more pressure. Players who are more mentally prepared should take this penalty.’
Brazil is out of the World Cup after losing on penalties to Croatia in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Neymar looked distraught after the game and did not take a penalty in the shootout
Sounds wise. But saving the best for last only works if you know what the latest is and, in a crushing night at the Education City Stadium, a devastated Brazil only found out when it was too late.
Hindsight is 20/20 and they will not have seen it coming. Maybe they should. Croatia have won their last four World Cup penalty shootouts. An amazing record and one that deserved respect.
Taking them to five would have been an achievement in itself. Neymar has taken 88 penalties in his career, scoring 73 with an 82.5 percent conversion rate. There are many who will believe he should have stepped up sooner to avoid not doing so at all, though others may point to the spot shot that he won the Olympics on home soil in 2016.
Brazil boss Tite announced he would step down after the World Cup.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic knew it. “When it comes to penalties, Croatia wins,” he said. And they did. Here the dance of the quarterfinals would not be repeated. Distraught, Neymar, who will be 34 next time, can now only contemplate one last tango in Paris (Saint-Germain).
For Tite, this turned out to be his last dance, as he had promised before the tournament.
“The cycle ended and I said it a year and a half ago and I keep my word,” he said. ‘We can’t make a drama. There are other great professionals who can replace me. The cycle is over.
Regrets? He may have some. But it was not to report here.
“We need to be ready to share our joy and willing to share our sadness,” he said.
‘There is a new generation of players who will bring strength in adversity. I understand that I am the most responsible. I will not be hypocritical but we are all responsible.
Marquinhos missed what turned out to be the final penalty, as Croatia advanced to the semi-finals
It’s not about heroes or villains, there is no such thing in sports. That’s soccer. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes a great performance. Sometimes he kicks at goal and the ball deflects. I respect the result.
At Thursday’s press conference, one of the Brazilian journalists had declared that he and his friends were here to work, not cheer, to a round of applause. The questions kept coming. Why were they disorganized? You’re sad? Indignant?
“I understand the pain and I understand the criticism,” Tite responded.
Dalic had previously complained about the lack of applause when he arrived at the news conference. It would have been his only complaint of the night.
“We are a small country and we beat the big favourites,” he said. ‘I congratulate my players, they are great fighters. We have the strength to carry on and now we are in the semifinals.
It will be a second consecutive World Cup semifinal for the team, which was runners-up in 2018.
‘We showed what it means to not give up. We show what Croatia is. We are in the semifinals and we are a small country. They are great fighters, only Croatians can do that.’
Dalic, who praised the ‘incredible’ Luka Modric, 37, doubled down on his earlier comments about Brazil’s dance moves. “Yesterday I said in the press conference that I would not want my players to dance,” he said deadpan, before speaking about the forms thrown by his own men on the pitch.
In fact, Dalic was left speechless only once, when asked by Sportsmail if he was surprised that Neymar was the last to take a penalty.
Instead of answering, he shrugged, then smiled. She said it all.