When Neymar finally managed to pry open the Croatian defence, he displayed all his most brilliant footballing qualities. The 30-year-old striker weaved his way through the red and white checkered wall with two quick wall plays and was then as slick as an eel as he slipped past both Luka Modric and goalkeeper Dominik Livavovic before sending the ball into the roof of the net.
With that, Neymar moved up to 77 goals scored for Brazil, eclipsing Pelé’s official national team record (although the Brazilian Football Association claims Pelé scored 95 goals for the national team).
With just over a quarter of extra time left to play, it looked like it would be a dream finish to the World Cup quarter-finals.
He did not contribute
Instead, the night ended with a devastated Neymar, sobbing and in tears. Veterans like Thiago Silva and Dani Alves did what they could to console their teammate, but it was probably Friday’s most impossible task.
For Croatia, they got up, equalized in the 117th minute and then took home the penalty shootout on sheer momentum.
Neymar? He didn’t even have time to contribute. The Paris Saint-Germain pro should perhaps, with hindsight, have taken one of the opening penalties for Brazil. Now the plan was probably for him to hit the fifth and decisive – but it never went that far. Rodrygo missed the first and Marquinhos sent Brazil’s fourth into the post, and with that the World Cup of Champions was mostly over.
Neymar’s last?
Thus, the World Cup also seems to be the great sadness of Neymar’s career. Undoubtedly, he is one of the best footballers of the last decade, but in the World Cup he has never succeeded.
And unlike the aforementioned Pelé, who is alone in the history of football with three titles, there is a great risk that Neymar stops at zero World Cup gold and a fourth place (2014) as the best result.
Before the championship in Qatar, he admitted to the newspaper O Globo:
— I play as if it is the last (World Cup). I play every game like it’s my last, because you never know what can happen tomorrow.