(Football news) Five time World Champions Brazil were left shocked after Croatia secured a 4-2 victory in the penalty shootouts during the quarter-finals. It was a case of being knocked out by a European team once again in the quarter-finals for Brazil, who simply would find it hard to believe that a football crazy country with a population of 210 million was eliminated by a country with 4.5 million people. Tite has been in charge of Brazil since 2016 after replacing Dunga and had already said that he will leave the role after the World Cup, irrespective of the outcome.

“As I said, my cycle is over. I said it over a year and a half ago. I keep to my word. We shouldn’t make a drama out of it as I said this one and half years ago. There are other great professionals that can replace me. There could be elements to analyse but the cycle is over.” – Tite

It was a historic landmark for Neymar Jr. who equalled Pele’s record of 77 international goals for Brazil, but it’s not a statistic that will make him very happy at the moment as he was reduced to tears after the match. Neymar was not one of the four penalty takers as Tite later said “That’s the one with the most pressure, and he would be the player with the most quality and mental preparedness to take the shot.”

“It feels like a nightmare. It’s hard to believe this is happening. Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s hard to talk about it right now. It would be too hasty to come here and say that this is it, but I can’t guarantee anything. I have to take some time to think about it. I’m not closing any doors, but I’m also not saying 100 per cent that I want to be back.”