Brazil captain Silva admits agony of World Cup exit

AL-RAYYAN — Brazil captain Thiago Silva said that his team's World Cup exit to Croatia on penalties was painful and that he was coming to terms with the fact he would never win the trophy.

The five-time champions lost Friday's quarter-final 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time in Qatar.

Neymar had given them the lead in extra time but Bruno Petkovic levelled in the dying minutes of the match.

"It is difficult," Silva said. "I have been through some disappointments in my life and when we lose something important that we have as an objective it hurts quite a lot.

"But we have to try to lift our heads and carry on. There is no other alternative."

The Brazil captain said that his side had switched off for Croatia's goal.

"I think all of a sudden we lost our concentration," Silva added.

"We are not used to being hit on the break like that. We became a little disorganised and that is where the goal came from."

The Chelsea centre-back, 38, has likely played his final World Cup match.

"Sadly, as a player, I am not going to get to lift this trophy," he said. "Who knows if in future I will get the chance in another role."

CROATIA, THE SHOOTOUT MASTERS 

Croatia stunned Brazil in a dramatic penalty shootout on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup after Marquinhos slammed the decisive kick against the post.

Neymar looked to have kept Brazil's hopes of a sixth World Cup title alive by starting and finishing a brilliant effort in extra time that equalled Pele's international scoring record of 77 goals.

But he was left distraught and sobbing after Brazil lost a shootout that was triggered when Bruno Petkovic popped up to make it 1-1 at the end of extra time.

Neymar's individual flash of brilliance had lit up a tense and often niggly game that finished goalless in normal time, Croatia's man-of-the-match goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic pulling off a series of stunning blocks to keep the Brazilians at bay.

But as the minutes of extra time ticked down at the Education City Stadium, Petkovic popped up to connect with a cross and his deflected shot found its way into the net past the outstretched arm of Brazil's goalkeeper Alisson.

If Brazil were rocked by the late equaliser, worse was to come in a series of nerve-shredding spot kicks.

The tone was set when Nikola Vlasic slammed the opening penalty down the middle and into the net, before Livakovic tipped away Rodrygo's first effort for Brazil.

In the end it came down to Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Marquinhos who strode up confidently, but saw his kick rebound off the post to give Croatia a 4-2 win in the shootout and a place in the last four for the second World Cup in a row.

As the Croatian players sprinted across the turf in joy, Marquinhos sank to his knees and Neymar was soon in tears, being consoled by veteran teammate Dani Alves.

Livakovic, who again played a huge role after his heroics against Japan, said: "We're raised as fighters. We spare no effort — we're always giving our best and that's our recipe for success."

The Croatian team coached by Zlatko Dalic followed up their win over Japan on penalties in the last round with this victory, which might well go down as their greatest ever triumph.

Brazil will have to wait at least another four years for that sixth title — by 2026 it will be 24 years since they last won it.

Instead of a blockbuster South American semi-final between Brazil and Argentina, it is Croatia who will face the winners of the clash later Friday between Lionel Messi's side and the Netherlands. AFP