The intense cheers drowned the stadium like a series of tsunamis.
None of the tens of thousands of Croatian fans in the stadium could remain calm; they were all cheering and screaming hysterically.
They raised their hands, constantly waving their arms. They didn't know exactly what to shout, but driven by their inner urges and the most primitive energy, violent roars erupted from their throats.
The moment they saw that goal, they couldn't stay calm.
This goal might not have been the most beautiful, nor Suker's most spectacular, but it could take them to the World Cup semifinals.
Reaching the semifinals in two consecutive World Cups—what kind of achievement was that?
But these things could not satisfy them!
Yes!
Their ambitions were greater!
They hoped for more!
Whoosh!!!!!!!!!!!!—
Amidst the fervent cheers, Suker, looking emotional, ran towards the corner flag. He performed three consecutive celebration gestures, showing how excited he was.
The other Croatian players quickly followed suit.
Mandžukić was the first to tackle Suker, and the rest swarmed him, forming a pile-up.
"Goal! Goal! Goal! Semifinals!!"
"Hahahaha!! We scored! We scored!"
"Fantastic! This is absolutely fantastic!"
"Buddy, you're always like this, you always score like this!"
One by one, the Croatian players also could not remain calm.
The World Cup carried too many expectations for Croatia!
In their football history, their era wasn't ancient, but their results were quite good.
However, compared to the top World Cup powerhouses, they lacked the most solid foundation—a World Cup trophy!
Because of this, no matter how well Croatia played, there was always a feeling that they couldn't break through their ceiling, as they lacked this ultimate honor.
In the VIP box, Davor Suker immediately jumped up the moment the goal was scored, but he didn't cheer and shout as usual. Instead, he gently clapped his hands, his eyes filled with a complex emotion.
Though watching these children challenge for that exciting crown was enough to be thrilling.
It was still most exhilarating to achieve it oneself.
However, he would no longer have such an opportunity.
Others, such as Boban, Štimac, and others, had similar expressions.
For their generation, regret was an eternal, unhealing scar.
But watching these young people pursue their past dreams was a feeling that was both exciting and envious.
Because they no longer had the chance.
"Well done! Truly well done!"
Krauchivich clapped repeatedly, exclaiming with emotion.
This match was indeed very tough; Brazil was truly strong, but Croatia still stabilized the situation and continuously displayed their characteristics. From falling behind to reversing the score, this resilient Croatia National Team filled his heart with pride.
Of course, the match was not over yet, and nothing could be certain.
Now, they must continue to stabilize the situation.
"Pranjic! Šimunić! Get ready to come on!"
After celebrating, Bešić turned and shouted to the two.
Šimunić and Pranjic immediately stood up.
They didn't even need to warm up; they were already fully prepared and could enter the match at any moment.
"Your task is simple: hold the score and win this match!" Bešić's tone was solemn: "Let's go to the semifinals together!"
Šimunić and Pranjic felt a current spread through their bodies.
Semifinals!
After the semifinals, it was the final!
That was the stage they had dreamed of!
"Understood!"
The two responded decisively.
After Croatia scored, both teams made substitutions simultaneously!
Brazil immediately brought on attacking power, with Gustavo replacing Kaka.
Kaka was indeed running out of gas; in such an intense match, his stamina had declined even more severely.
Although Kaka was unwilling, he also knew that if he continued, he would only drag down the team.
Croatia's reaction was more sensitive; they used both substitution slots to strengthen their defense.
When the match resumed, the Brazil clearly became agitated.
They wanted to attack, they wanted to score.
They desperately wanted to break this damned situation.
But Croatia's response in defense was very stable, giving the Brazil no chance to threaten, and even playing better than before.
Croatia was a slow-starting team; their performance would be even better in the second half.
And now, the Brazil had to face precisely this situation.
Neymar was still constantly breaking through. He knew that he was the team's hope now; if they couldn't make effective breakthroughs and get scoring opportunities, Brazil might really fall in the quarter-finals.
But time and again, his breakthroughs were met with Croatia's firm defense.
After several consecutive frustrated breakthroughs, Neymar could only crouch on the ground, gasping for breath.
On camera, Neymar's expression was full of confusion, completely unsure how it had come to this.
This was a significant departure from their pre-match plan; having taken the lead, it shouldn't have been like this!
However, no one could answer his question; at least, at this stage, the Brazil players were all in a state of bewilderment.
Although their offense seemed fierce, it also revealed a sense of confusion.
At Maracanã Stadium, over a hundred thousand Brazil fans had also fallen completely silent.
Although they were only one goal down, they felt so powerless inside.
They understood the game, or rather, even a football novice could understand this match.
Neymar's repeated breakthroughs had no support around him; his seemingly fierce breakthroughs felt like a lone battle.
The other Brazil players weren't unwilling to help, but the passing lanes were completely cut off by Croatia.
Often, Neymar would carry the ball and then be isolated, surrounded by Croatia, and eventually lose possession.
On Croatia's side, their strategy was very clear: seek victory through stability, with no intention of rushing to counter-attack.
Unless they had sufficient certainty, they would not easily lose possession, but rather stabilize the midfield tempo step by step until the Brazil completely surrendered.
"No chances! Croatia is giving no chances at all!"
The Sky Sports commentator from England spoke with a tone of helplessness.
They had experienced this feeling in the European Cup qualifiers and even the main tournament.
When Croatia gained an advantage, their overall performance was very high-level, and most terrifyingly, they were chillingly calm.
Sometimes, one or two moments of hot-headedness could be tolerated, as players weren't robots and couldn't perfectly perceive the flow of the game. In team sports, the most unpredictable thing was the sudden individual unexpectedness.
But Croatia had none of that; they seemed to be a single, frighteningly stable entity!
Bang!
After seeing Perisic ahead, Modrić still passed the ball horizontally to Suker.
Although Perisic's position was good, there was also a subtle threat around him, so a safer passing option was chosen.
After receiving the ball, Suker did not rush forward to attack. Instead, he stopped the ball and began to observe.
Brazil did not dare to press forward rashly, so Suker did not pass the ball.
Both sides seemed to be in a stalemate.
But as time passed, the Brazil players couldn't take it anymore.
They rushed towards Suker all at once. The next second, Suker lightly passed the ball back.
Bang!
Casemiro collided with Suker, and there was a hint of exasperated anger in this collision.
Suker showed no reaction to this; even in his view, their playing style was quite annoying.
But this was also the easiest way to win the match.
"Push up! Push up!"
Thiago Silva suddenly shouted anxiously.
The Brazil players turned their heads in confusion, and he roared; "It's almost added time!"
Hearing this, the Brazil players suddenly startled awake.
So fast?
They felt like only a few minutes had passed; how could it be so quick?
Indeed, on the sidelines, the fourth official held up an electronic board. After adjusting it, he slowly raised it.
The number "3" was clearly displayed.
Three minutes of added time!
At this moment, the Brazil players' pupils contracted sharply. For the first time in this match, they felt defeat was so close to them.
Only three minutes left!
"Substitution!"
The Brazil Head Coach suddenly raised his hand.
Brazil made a substitution.
They used their last substitution slot to replace Alves with Maicon.
This was Brazil's final decision.
Of course, they would have preferred to bring on an attacking player, but there were no players on the bench who could turn the game around.
Pato and Kaka had already been substituted.
Pato covered his head with a towel, looking furious, clearly upset about being taken off.
Kaka's expression conveyed a sense of helplessness.
Although the match was not over, from the current situation, scoring a goal seemed truly difficult.
With the final substitution made, the match resumed.
Croatia continued to maintain sufficient stability, repelling Brazil's attacks again and again.
Brazil, on the other hand, pushed forward with their entire line; they knew very well that it was either success or death, as losing by one goal was no different from losing by two or even three.
At this point, they had to fight for it!
Bang!
As Brazil pushed forward with their entire line, the ball, after a header, was powerfully headed forward by Šimunić.
Modrić jumped up; although he was not tall, he did not need to control the ball on this play.
Modrić, with his back to the attacking player, suddenly leaned back the moment his forehead touched the ball, turning himself into a springboard and heading the ball deeper into Brazil's half.
At the same time, Suker also suddenly started his run on the left.
At this moment, Suker's position was parallel to Mandžukić, which was the closest to the defensive line.
As Suker started his run, the entire defensive line also quickly retreated.
But their start could not catch up to Suker, and they could only watch helplessly as Suker overtook them on the outside.
"Suker!! Suker!! Suker!!!—"
Krauchivich shouted repeatedly; he watched Suker gradually pass the defensive line until he was at the very front, and he became incredibly excited.
"Suker is going to kill the game!"
Thiago Silva yelled, "Goalkeeper!"
At this point, they could only hope that their Goalkeeper could stop Suker.
The Brazil Goalkeeper also quickly ran out of the small box and charged forward.
From a distance perspective, he was closer to the landing spot, but Suker's acceleration was faster.
The two almost arrived at the landing spot at the same time, just as the ball was descending.
The Goalkeeper dove sideways to increase his defensive area, and at the very least, he could grab Suker's ankle to prevent him from breaking through.
But Suker seemed to have anticipated this situation; he slightly raised his thigh and directly thrust out his knee.
He did not control the ball at all, but rather let the descending ball hit his knee, using a somewhat awkward posture to kick the ball towards the goal.
In the end, Suker was still tripped by the Goalkeeper, and both fell directly to the ground.
But when Suker looked up again, the ball had already rolled into the net.
A smile began to appear on Suker's face; he did not get up but lay on his back on the grass, raising his hands.
"Damn it! It's over!!—"
Ah~~~~!!!!!!!!!!—
Mandžukić ran over wildly and pounced on Suker.
Other Croatian players also rushed over with excited expressions.
The game is over!
It's truly over.
There might not be a minute left in the game, but Croatia was leading by two goals.
The game was completely over.
"The game is now over!"
The Sky Sports commentator shook his head and said, "It's likely that Brazil will ultimately lose 1:3 to Croatia, losing the match! The host will be eliminated in the quarterfinals!"
They had not expected Brazil to be eliminated so quickly.
But if the opponent was Croatia, then it made perfect sense.
"Suker scored the crucial goal at the end, completely killing the game, and at the same time, he brought his World Cup goal tally to 17 goals, not only breaking Ronaldo's goal record but also setting a brand new record.
If Croatia can win this World Cup, I think we will witness the birth of a new football king!"
A football king is usually a title bestowed posthumously after retirement.
For example, Pelé was such, and Maradona was also such.
But now, looking at Suker's achievements and the records he has set, as long as he wins the World Cup, he truly deserves the title of a current football king.
Or, he might even receive a unique title like Beckenbauer.
With Suker's goal, Brazil fans also seemed to see the outcome.
Their eyes were filled with tears; after four years of anticipating the World Cup, Brazil's journey ended early.
Did Brazil play poorly?
No!
They played very well, even taking the lead.
But the problem was, Croatia's resilience was too strong; they not only equalized the score but also took the lead and even completely killed the game.
One can only say that Croatia played too well.
And in this match, other teams also saw Croatia's resilience, and they felt incredibly troubled by it.
Is Brazil really easy to play against?
No!
This is impossible!
But in this match, Brazil indeed failed to play the rhythm they wanted; one cannot say they were suppressed, but they just played somewhat inexplicably.
Undoubtedly, something happened, but they couldn't figure out how Croatia did it.
Perhaps, if they could understand, their own strength would improve further.
Beep beep beep!
Three whistles sounded, and Maracanã Stadium became a carnival ground for Croatians.
Tens of thousands of Croatian fans cheered and shouted passionately.
They had once again reached the semifinals!
Initially, they would feel proud and honored about this.
But now, besides happiness, all they had was a stronger ambition.
"Including this time, Croatia has reached the World Cup semifinals three consecutive times.
Four years ago in South Africa, they did the same, only losing to Spain in the end, but at that time, some also predicted that Croatia would deliver a performance that would amaze everyone four years later, at the Brazil World Cup!"
"It seems that this is indeed the case; so far, I truly haven't seen that feeling of Croatia being exhausted and struggling."
"Whether playing against other teams or Brazil, they are always methodical, as if everything is under their control.
This sense of stability was maintained for a full 90 minutes, and it was also the key to completely killing the game!"
"I think if any team wants to defeat this Croatia, they should think of some bolder tactics to fundamentally shake Croatia's stable rhythm."
The Brazil commentator evaluated with pain.
Although Brazil lost, he still acknowledged Croatia's performance.
In this World Cup, Germany played the best in terms of offensive and defensive transitions; whether in attack or defense, Germany always showed that mechanical efficiency.
But Croatia was different.
Croatia was stable!
This stability was so profound that even Brazil could not break it.
Throughout the 90-minute match, several times it seemed that Brazil had completely broken Croatia's rhythm, but Croatia would consolidate the scattered pieces, leading to fierce attacks again and again, ultimately turning the game around.
The Brazil commentator even believed that if Croatia could not be completely killed in the first half, gaining a 3 or 4 goal lead, then Croatia's stability could not be broken, and the delayed game would ultimately give Croatia time to equalize or even take the lead.
Of course, he also felt this was a bit exaggerated, but this Croatia simply gave him that feeling.
In 2010, Croatia gave the world a sense of amazement!
A young team from a small Eastern Europe country!
But four years later, at the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the Croatia National Team was somewhat terrifying.
They possessed Croatia's traditional resilience, capable of running and defending, with unwavering determination.
They also had Europe's efficient offensive and defensive transitions, and even a passing and control template.
And then there was Suker, a superstar who repeatedly delivered brilliant performances at critical moments.
It seemed that Croatia met all the conditions for winning the championship; perhaps, in this World Cup, the world will witness the birth of a brand new World Cup champion!
At the same time, they might also witness the moment Suker completely cemented his place in football history!
Thinking of this, the Brazil commentator couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation.