World Cup Round-Up (Day 16) – Brazil Thrash South Korea and Croatia Beat Japan on Penalties

07/12/22 840

Day 16 of the 2022 World Cup dished up two thrilling knockout clashes, with Croatia eliminating Japan on penalties and Brazil putting four past South Korea to march into the quarter-finals.

Following four relatively straightforward last-16 ties, we saw the first penalty shootout of the tournament on Monday. Unfortunately for the Japanese, they came out on the wrong side of the lottery.

In the late kick-off, it was all about Brazil. The five-time champions blew South Korea away with a breathtaking first-half display, reaching the quarter-finals for an eighth consecutive World Cup.

Japan’s Penalty Nightmare Sees Croatia Advance

Japan and Croatia played out a relatively boring first half at Al Janoub Stadium, and it looked as though it would remain goalless until half-time. However, on 43 minutes, Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead.

Croatia needed to produce a big response in the second half, and that’s exactly what they did. Ivan Perisic leveled the score ten minutes after the restart, handing his team the momentum.

Despite a series of chances for both sides, the game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. Neither team managed to break the deadlock in extra-time, meaning penalties were required to determine the winner.

Japan missed their first two penalties, with Takumi Minamino and Kaoru Mitoma failing from the spot. Meanwhile, Nikola Vlasic and Marcelo Brozovic put Croatia in control. Maya Yoshida missed Japan’s fourth, leaving Mario Pasalic to score the winner.

Croatia will now face Brazil in the quarter-finals on Friday. Let’s see how the Brazilians booked their spot in the last eight.

Brazil Turn on Samba Style to Crush South Korea 4-1

When Vinicius Junior put Brazil ahead inside seven minutes at Stadium 974, it was always going to be a long night for South Korea. Inevitably, Tite’s men didn’t rest on their laurels.

Neymar doubled Brazil’s lead from the penalty spot on 13 minutes, before Richarlison finished off a beautiful team move to make it 3-0. On 36 minutes, Lucas Paqueta smashed in a fourth for the tournament favourites.

The Brazilians took their foot off the gas in the second half, allowing Paik Seung-ho to score a late consolation goal for South Korea. But the damage had already been done by then.

Richarlison is now one of eight players to have scored three goals in Qatar, although France’s Kylian Mbappe leads the Golden Boot race with five goals. The Tottenham forward will fancy his chances of chasing down Mbappe during the latter stages of the tournament.