How Brazil and Tite blew their chance at World Cup glory in 2022

Brazil were out of the World Cup, beaten on penalties Friday by a Croatia side that have now won four straight penalty shootouts. Neymar, who remained on the pitch crying in the arms of teammates, knew that while this might not be his final World Cup, at 30 years of age it was likely his last World Cup as a protagonist.

Brazil coach Tite, as is customary in these situations, regardless of whether his team won or lost, disappeared down the tunnel. And maybe he was thinking about sliding doors, about decisions not taken, about roads not travelled that would never have left the Selecao facing spotkicks against Croatia. This was likely his last shot at the World Cup — “the cycle is over” he said afterward — and he knew that in a world of second-guessers, the buck would stop with him.

To be fair, there is plenty to second-guess about Brazil in this game and plenty to question when it comes to the near-boundless faith Tite showed in his men and his system. To paraphrase Khalil Gibran’s archer, all a coach can do is aim the arrow and let it fly. If the arrow is crooked, if there is wind or rain or if the enemy’s armor is stout, it won’t find its mark. But so, too, will it fail if the archer’s hand trembles or if his aim is faulty.

On this day, even an experienced veteran like Tite, one of the best in the world in his job, saw his hand tremble.

“Sometimes we shoot straight and the ball doesn’t fly straight,” he said after the game. Except, truth be told, it didn’t feel as if he shot straight this time either.

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic correctly called it before the match when he said that Brazil might “suffer” against teams who can keep the ball, which his elegant midfield of Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic certainly can do (and did). Croatia edged the possession — adding a midfielder such as Mario Pasalic, in lieu of a winger, in his 4-3-3 also helped — which is no mean feat against Brazil, perhaps the most technically gifted side in the World Cup.

“I said it before the game and I say it again now,” Dalic said after the match. “We have the best midfield in the world and we demonstrated it again today. We controlled the game.”