Croatia and Argentina advanced to the semi-finals of the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Friday evening.
Both teams advanced to the next round of the FIFA World Cup after eliminating Brazil and the Netherlands in thrilling penalty shootouts.
WITHIN NIGERIA, Argentina narrowly defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 tie to advance to the World Cup semi-finals.
Late goals from Dutch substitute Wout Weghorst brought the game back to 2-2 with the Argentines, who had led 2-0 after goals from Nahuel Molina and Lionel Messi’s penalty.
Argentina’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, deserves credit for saving two penalty kicks as the team won the penalty shootout 4-3.
Meanwhile, Brazil was cruelly eliminated from the World Cup earlier this week after losing on penalties.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that the Selecao lost 4-2 to Croatia in a penalty shoot-out after their last-16 tie ended in a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. It was all joy for the Brazil team after striker Neymar put them ahead with a 105+ minute goal.
However, Tite‘s side was stunned by an equalizer from Croatia star Bruno Petkovic in the 117 minutes of the match.
The development result in Tite’s resignation as the head coach for the Brazil team. In a post-match interview, the 61-year-old former player said, “It was the end of my cycle”.
WITHIN NIGERIA understands that Tite took charge of the Brazilian national side in 2016 when he replaced Dunga.
The ex-Corinthians boss managed 81 matches, winning 60 of those contests.
Brazil is now looking to regroup ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will be a 48-team extravaganza to be held in North America.
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