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Santiago Leon & Francisco Flores recap the NED-ARG and HRV-BRA matches.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Franscisco Flores – @franciscobcp
NED 2 (3) ARG 2 (4)
It’s all over, and Argentina squeeze their way home as they progress to the last four! The Oranje’s late comeback, and the two goals from Wout Weghorst right at the very end looked to have swung momentum in their favour, but couldn’t find another in the half-hour of extra time. Penalties inevitably came, and two wonderful Emi Martinez saves gave his side the advantage, with the Albiceleste edging a 4-3 victory in the shoot-out to set up a semi-final showdown with Croatia.
Molina 35’
Messi 73’
Weghorst 83’, 90’
HRV 1 (4) BRA 1 (2)
Croatia are through to the World Cup semi-finals for the second tournament in a row courtesy of a 4-2 victory over Brazil on penalties after their quarter-final clash finished 1-1. Neymar looked to have put the Selecao on the path to the last four with a brilliant goal to break the deadlock in stoppage time in the first half of extra time. However, Bruno Petkovic equalised with a deflected effort to keep Croatia alive in the second half of extra time. Dominik Livakovic then performed his magic again to deny Rodrygo Silva from the penalty spot, while Zlatko Dalic’s men were perfect piling the pressure on Marquinhos to score. The defender struck the post with a vital kick, sending Croatia through and Brazil home yet again at the quarter-final stage.
GOALS
BRA – Neymar 105’
HRV – Petkovic 117’
50%-50% Ball Possession
TOTAL SHOTS
HRV – 9
BRA – 21
PREDICTIONS
MAR-POR
FF: POR
ENG-FRA
FF: ENG
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.