đ¨| Brazil XI vs Croatia. đ§đˇ pic.twitter.com/ch6XrOrXBS
â Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) December 9, 2022
đ¨| Croatia XI vs Brazil. đđˇ pic.twitter.com/lsceNbvezW
â Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) December 9, 2022
Al Jazeera:
Croatia is bracing itself for a âterrifyingâ Brazilian squad thatâs eyeing its sixth World Cup after convincingly thumping South Korea 4-1 in the round of 16.
âBrazil is the favourite, letâs face it,â Croatiaâs manager Zlatko Dalic told reporters in Doha on Tuesday. âBrazil is the most powerful and the best national team at the World Cup.â…
Croatia, who stunned Japan 3-1 on penalties in their first elimination match after drawing 1-1 â their third tie of the tournament, apart from steamrolling Canada 4-1 â head into Fridayâs match a colossal underdog, despite their runner-up finish at the 2018 World Cup…
phdesmond
Brasil, Brasil!
Gin & Tonic
@phdesmond: Hrvatska!!
Omnes Omnibus
Croatia is holding up well.
My TV feed is really tiled and patchy. I am wondering if this is a local issue or nationwide?
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Mine is clear, no issues.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: Thanks. Probably local then.
Paul in KY
Croatia really hanging in there. Impressed. Modric still great. Brasil needs to get the ball to their superstar forwards to win this game.
Alison Rose
On the one hand, Croatia knocked out Japan, so I want them to lose.
On the other hand, I tend to always root for whomever is playing Brazil.
Alison Rose
Look at the screen and see “Voice of Dr Joe Machnik” and I swear to God, for half a second, I thought it said Manchin and I was like THE FUCK?
eclare
Rooting for the underdog here.
Mike E
An evenly matched, “attritional” tilt…it will come down to an errant bounce or a wonder goal (or penalties). Fox is having a sad over the low score nature of high-level world futbol, I have no doubt.
eclare
@Mike E:Â Â I ain’t got no crystal ball, but I’ve thought since about ’60 we’re going to penalties.
Paul in KY
Do not grok why Alisson is starting over Ederson. I am a MC guy, so I luvs me some Ederson.
Gin & Tonic
Those are some short shorts.
Gin & Tonic
I see Brazil brought on the diving team.
Trincha
Ref is so uneven itâs like croatia has 12.
Alison Rose
@Gin & Tonic: Secret weapon
Alison Rose
JFC fuck Neymar
Alison Rose
GAAAAHHHHH that was such a good opportunity!!! Killing me over here.
Alison Rose
DAMN IT
billcinsd
@Paul in KY: Both are good, but Ederson has been a little more inconsistent
Paul in KY
@billcinsd: Ederson has had some nagging injuries over last 2 years. Wonderful goal by Neymar!
eclare
Holy shit!
Alison Rose
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS BITCH!!!
Bruce K in ATH-GR
And it’s Croatia 1-1 Brazil. Croatia apparently aten’t dead yet. To quote the old philosopher, it ain’t over ’til it’s over.
billcinsd
@Paul in KY: yeah Neymar is kind of the anti-Mattias Sindelar.
Nice goal by Croatia
Alison Rose
“As the Brazilian player reached around”
phrasing, LD!! :P
eclare
@Alison Rose:Â Â Oh my!
eclare
Here we go…
Alison Rose
Oh boy. I would NOT want to be the one defending against Brazil’s PKs…or Croatia’s, TBH.
Paul in KY
Think Croatia has momentum right now. Also their GK is more limbered up.
Kent
Brazil isn’t famous for its goalkeepers. Most of the world’s top goalkeepers are European.
All bets are off at this point.
Gin & Tonic
Livakovic is outstanding
billcinsd
Livakovic is earning himself and Dinamo Zagreb quite a bit of money
billcinsd
CROATIA!!11!1
eclare
HOLY!!!!!
billcinsd
The fascist cries tonite
Alison Rose
Oooooooooh man. WOW.
Gin & Tonic
This was fucking insane.
phdesmond
oof. brasil loses.
Alison Rose
I was mad at Croatia for knocking out Japan, but now I’m happy. Also, Brazilian fans crying, gimme a break. Y’all got five WCs, calm down.
Although gotta say…I feel a bit bad for Marquinhos.
The tiniest bit.
YY_Sima Qian
What a match!!!
YY_Sima Qian
@Alison Rose:
Ha! Same.
Paul in KY
Great comeback for Croatia! They will be hard to get out by anybody.
Alison Rose
CRY MORE, NEYMAR, YOU RIGHT WING ASSHOLE.
Kent
Well this world cup just got more interesting.
I’m now predicting an Argentina v. England final
But honestly, it is completely wide open.
Alison Rose
@Kent: I’m hoping for Argentina v Morocco, because it would be cool to have a no-Europe final. From what I can tell, that hasn’t happened since 1950.
TheronWare
Oh no Brazil, damn.
Dadadadadadada
@Kent: I don’t see England getting past France. And I’d be a little surprised if Argentina beat Netherlands.
JML
Anyone more mentally tough than Croatia?
Kent
@Dadadadadadada: Yeah, it’s pretty wide open now that Brazil is gone. I’m just tossing out a wild-assed guess.
I could see any of the remaining 7 teams winning it.  Morocco would be the biggest underdog, but isn’t inconceivable. But they have to get past both Portugal and the winner of England-France just to make it into the final. That seems the toughest path.
PeteS
@Kent: Argentina v. England has promise as a 9-on-9 (for fistfights) and penalty shootout game. The team with Messi presumably wins.
SixStringFanatic
Croatia vs Morocco in the final.
Some people just want to watch the world burn.