Brazil have had their last dance. This felt more like a slow waltz to the brink for almost two hours but a tense, enervating quarter-final erupted thrillingly in extra-time.
It finished with Neymar sinking to the floor in tears, the majority of a partisan crowd stunned into near-silence, and Croatia’s entire squad giddily giving chase to their man for any penalty shootout occasion. Dominik Livakovic had saved three of Japan’s spot-kicks in the previous round; as soon as he repelled Rodrygo’s effort the writing was on the wall and it is another stunning tournament victory for a team that does not understand the meaning of defeat.
