Despite himself, Marquinhos is one of the faces of Brazil’s elimination in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against Croatia (1-1, 4 shots on goal to 2), Friday, December 9. The defender deflected the shot that led to the Croatian equalizer before missing the decisive shot on goal. Two terrible failures for a Seleçao executive.
From joy to despair, there is sometimes only one step. Or a few minutes. The border can be very fine, as Marquinhos will testify. The pictures of quarter-final Croatia-Brazil already do. The scenario of this match was cruel for the PSG player.
We played the 105+1st minute of play at the Education City stadium in Al Rayyan when Neymar delivered the Seleçao, which had hitherto stumbled on the Croatian wall. The striker combined with Rodrygo and Lucas Paqueta before obliterating goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic and scoring the 1-0 goal. Marquinhos, his teammate and friend from PSG, was the first present to exult with him. So much for the happy image… but fleeting.
All it takes is one knee…
In the second half of extra time, the player found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could say. Or almost. How can you blame a defender for wanting to block an opposing shot? In the 117th minute, Mislav Orsic crossed towards Bruno Petkovic, present in the penalty area. The Croatian’s snap shot changed course as it hit Marquinhos’ knee.
Alisson Becker might have been able to step in if the leather hadn’t been deflected. But the goalkeeper was deceived by this change in trajectory. And Marquinhos, for the first time, took his head in his hands, knees on the ground, while the ball shook the nets. Luck was not with him. Wanting to prevent the equalizer, he contributed to it, a handful of seconds before the penalty shootout.
Cursed pole
From the start of this stressful exercise, Rodrygo’s failure set the tone. The skill and composure of the Croats confirmed that this session would be trying for the Seleçao. When Auriverde’s fourth marksman Marquinhos showed up against Dominik Livakovic, the pressure was already overwhelming. The Brazilian had no right to fail.
But the post returned his strike, sealing the elimination of his country. Marquinhos then collapsed, hands behind his head, face in the grass, while the Croatian selection capsized in euphoria. New cliché cruel and so representative of the hard law of football. No matter the talent, the predictions or the impression of domination: there can only be one winner in the end. And on Friday, at Al Rayyan, Brazil were the losers.
A frame on the ground
Fate has it that Marquinhos is one of the symbols of the new failure of the Seleçao, unable to beat a European nation in a World Cup match since the 2002 final, won against Germany in Yokohama, Japan (2 -0). After France in the quarter-finals in 2006, the Netherlands in the quarter-finals in 2010, Germany in the famous semi-final of 2014 and Belgium in the quarter-finals in 2018, it is the turn of the Croats to scalp the Auriverdes.
It remains to be seen how Marquinhos will digest this new failure. At 28, his international career, which began in 2013, is probably not over. But things will change for him. Thiago Silva, 38, with whom he formed the central hinge for seven years at PSG and for many years in selection, probably played his last World Cup. Tite having announced his departure, the next coach will make certain choices. As a manager and vice-captain, Marquinhos should still have a role to play. In any case, he will have an affront to erase.