The Brazilian players collapsed on the ground, each covering his face, not wanting his crying side to be exposed on camera.
Four years of effort, ruined in a 90-minute match; this is the cruelty of football.
In a knockout match, there is only one winner and only one qualifier.
Failure means losing everything, and all previous efforts and performances will be nullified.
For Brazil, this was a very painful matter.
With the added identities of Five-Star Brazil and host, their expectations for this World Cup were very high, and they also faced immense pressure.
However, they failed to achieve their goal and were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
But it cannot be said that their performance was not good enough.
At least against Croatia, they were the only team that managed to put Croatia in a state of confusion for a period of time.
It's just that, as time went on, once Croatia gradually found its form and rhythm, they started to lose control of the match.
Regardless, the match is over, and Brazil's summer and World Cup have also ended.
Although there are still two matches left in the World Cup, they no longer have much to do with them.
Kaka moved among the crowd, pulling up each teammate, patting his shoulder, holding his head, and offering words of comfort.
Even though his own heart was tearing apart, as the captain, he still had to take care of the emotions of these young players.
After this World Cup, Kaka would retire from the National Team; this was something that had been said before.
He could retire, but the Brazil still had to continue.
He hoped these young players could restore the glory that belonged to Brazil!
Of course, feelings of unwillingness, pain, and bitterness still flowed within him.
After pulling up each teammate, Kaka stood in the middle of the field with his hands on his hips, surveying every area and every corner of the stadium, as if to engrave them all in his memory.
His gaze was filled with reluctance, but even more so with helplessness.
The Brazil players at this moment paid no attention to Kaka, each leaving with his head down. Just as Kaka slightly lowered his head, a pair of hands patted his shoulder.
Kaka turned his head and saw Suker standing in front of him, looking at him.
Suker said nothing; at this moment, comfort would only feel more like mockery, so he remained silent.
But Kaka's emotions were already surging, and his eyes gradually reddened.
Leaving the National Team stage, leaving this international arena, is a very difficult decision for any athlete.
But Suker also knew that Kaka did not want to drag down the Brazil any longer.
If he was determined to keep playing, it would be truly difficult to manage. Only by voluntarily retiring could he offer the Brazil one last kindness.
However, Suker also knew how painful it was to make such a decision.
Kaka still did not cry. He took a deep breath, extended his hand, and gently bumped Suker's chest with a clenched fist.
Even without a word, Suker seemed to sense something.
'My World Cup is over. I hope you achieve your wish!'
Suker was also silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
'Watch closely!'
Watching Kaka leave, his solitary figure slowly disappeared into the dark player tunnel.
In future major international competitions, it is estimated that Kaka's figure will no longer be seen.
The once spirited young man, who chased the wind, finally succumbed to time.
"In this match, you completely broke the World Cup goal-scoring record. I think many fans want to hear your feelings at this moment!"
Facing the reporter's question, Suker pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, I don't have too many feelings. In fact, during the match, I forgot about breaking the record. I just desperately wanted to win, that's all. Of course, this achievement is enough to make me proud, but now is not the time to completely relax. The World Cup is still ongoing, and we still need to perform better!"
"Are you dissatisfied with anything in your performance in this match?"
"We've reached the semifinals again. If we don't want to lose, we can only perform better. Moreover, our future opponents are equally strong, and we cannot relax even a little!"
"Can you predict your opponents in the semifinals?"
"I cannot predict, but no matter who it is, we need to give it our all!"
After the interview, Suker returned to the locker room.
The locker room was already in a joyous uproar.
Reaching the World Cup semifinals again, everyone was incredibly excited.
And winning one more match would lead them to the World Cup final, which they had dreamed of.
Therefore, everyone was in a state of both excitement and tension.
"Hey! Gentlemen, you did great, but you absolutely cannot relax at this time. You must maintain your form. The semifinals are not your end. Believe that you can achieve even better results!"
Davor Suker was among the players, acting a bit nervous.
The more he valued the World Cup, the more nervous he was at this moment.
Although he was comforting the players, he was clearly a bit flustered, emphasizing the same thing repeatedly and talking incessantly, which made the others a bit nervous too.
"Hey! That's enough!"
Boban couldn't stand it anymore.
If he continued, the perfectly good atmosphere might become overly tense.
"Alright, alright! I won't say anymore!"
Davor Suker immediately raised his hands, indicating he wouldn't speak further, and only then did Boban let go of him.
However, Davor Suker still felt a strong desire to confide. He turned to search for a moment and finally found Suker sitting on the bench, changing his clothes.
"What?"
Seeing Davor Suker approach, Suker turned his head and asked.
The guy had a grinning expression, which didn't feel like a good sign.
Davor Suker looked at Suker with a smile, finally nodding with satisfaction.
"I am now very satisfied with my decision to return to Croatia to play football from Germany!"
"Huh?" Suker turned his head.
Davor Suker shook his head and said with emotion, "At that time, I just thought that Bešić guy had some ideas. And at that time, the National Team, after we retired, was indeed in a relatively weak state, so I agreed to Bešić's development plan. However, I didn't expect your growth rate to be so astonishing, and to reach such a height!"
Recalling those past scenes, Davor Suker felt as if he was dreaming.
Suker, Modrić, and Mandžukić, this group of players, he could say he watched them grow up.
He also provided a lot of help in their growth process.
However, at that time, Davor Suker only thought about getting more Croatia players into the Big Five Leagues to obtain a better growth environment; he never considered the height of their growth.
But these guys really pushed themselves!
Suker is now definitely the top active player, Modrić is also the strongest midfielder at this stage, and Mandžukić, as a false nine, also played a crucial role.
The rest include Vukojević, Srna, Perisic, Rakitić, and so on.
Looking at this lineup, Davor Suker was also full of confidence!
"Keep it up. Win the next match against Netherlands."
Looking at Suker, he silently thought.
'Take us to the final!'
As Croatia defeated Brazil and advanced to the semifinals, the other three teams also successively emerged victorious.
First, Germany defeated France 1-0, becoming the second team to reach the semifinals.
In this match, although there weren't many goals, Germany displayed tactical execution as effective as Croatia's, if not more so. The disciplined Germans used their most fierce offense to break through France's defense.
For 90 minutes, the match seemed intense, but beneath the surface, Germany controlled the rhythm.
The match wasn't intense enough, and the pace was somewhat slow.
But this was how Germany defeated France, and in this match, Germany seemed to not even be giving its full effort, leaving a very deep impression.
Where Germany's limit lies is a question everyone is curious about.
Netherlands and Colombia battled for 120 minutes, with no winner, but ultimately Netherlands won the match via a penalty shootout.
They ultimately won the match, but they were also severely exhausted.
Since their massacre of Spain in the group stage, Netherlands' morale had soared, but as the tournament progressed, they gradually showed signs of fatigue.
Especially in the match against Colombia, there were several defensive issues, and in terms of strong attacking points, Van Persie and Sneijder were not consistent enough; only Robben was carrying the team.
Ultimately, it was through an inside cut from the wing by Robben that they equalized the score, helping the Netherlands Team successfully stay in the game and even win the match.
It could be said that after this match, many people began to have a slight doubt about the concept of 'Netherlands is strong'.
The last team to make it to the semifinals was Argentina.
This was also the only remaining South American team.
The Argentina Team, centered around Messi, had a difficult journey in the World Cup, stumbling along the way, but their performance improved as the tournament progressed.
In the match against Belgium, they again relied on Messi's maneuvering in the midfield and his terrifying individual ability to constantly create openings, ultimately defeating Belgium and advancing to the World Cup semifinals.
Finally, the four semifinalists were determined: Croatia, Germany, Netherlands, and Argentina!
Based on the World Cup semifinal grouping rules, the semifinal matchups were:
Croatia VS Netherlands!
Germany VS Argentina!
"We're playing Netherlands!"
Looking at the matchup table, Srna frowned slightly but quickly relaxed.
Compared to the other two teams, Netherlands was the best opponent.
It's not that Netherlands isn't strong; it's just that their form has started to fluctuate.
Moreover, Netherlands' offensive style relies heavily on counterattacks, mostly depending on Robben's performance, while the rest of the players' performances are not stable enough. And since Croatia is very good at freezing one player, it was the best answer.
"It should be the optimal solution. If we play Argentina, we'd have to figure out how to freeze Messi. If it's Germany, then we'd have to prepare for a tough fight!"
Rakitić shook his head and said, "So, I feel Netherlands isn't bad."
Suker also nodded. Compared to other teams, Netherlands was indeed easier to play against, and on a tactical level, Netherlands' tactics were somewhat rigid, making them easier to counter.
Of course, Netherlands should not be underestimated, especially their counterattack.
If they are contained, it's fine, but if not, Netherlands' counterattacks are still very sharp.
"Alright, we should go."
Watching the players leave the room one by one, Srna also picked up his luggage and said.
They were to move today, heading to São Paulo.
Their semifinal stage would be held in São Paulo.
While Croatia was moving, the Netherlands Team was also on the move.
The Head Coach of the Netherlands Team, Van Gaal, was constantly scratching his head on the plane, looking at the tactics board in his hand with a pained expression.
The tactics board was filled with crisscrossing lines, like a ghost's scribble; presumably, no one but Van Gaal could understand it.
For Van Gaal, each line on it represented a different tactical deduction.
But no matter how he deduced, he just couldn't find the best solution.
The reason was simple!
In the upper left corner of the tactics board was a continuously scribbled asterisk. This 'star' was the key; no matter how he deduced, this bastard simply couldn't be contained.
If too many forces were allocated, the defense in other positions would be empty.
Were Mandžukić, Rakitić, and Modrić easy to deal with?
Perisic's form was slightly off, but he was still not to be underestimated.
But if he didn't do this, then the 'asterisk' representing Suker would disrupt the entire game.
"I finally understand why he's called a century-long problem!"
After a moment, Van Gaal suddenly looked up and let out a long sigh of frustration.
The Assistant Coach next to him also grimaced: "If you allocate too much defense, other positions can't be held, but if you don't, you can't contain Suker!"
At this point, the Assistant Coach shook his head; "So, when will this guy's form decline!"
Van Gaal also grimaced and remained silent.
In fact, there had been many speculations before.
Many people believed that with Suker's high-intensity match performance and pressure, his form would suddenly drop one day, and once this problem occurred, it would be irreversible.
Many professional football commentators and sports experts had said that since 2007, Suker had maintained this peak form. Although there were some slight fluctuations during this period, they were not significant.
And this state must consume a lot of energy and physical endurance.
Therefore, they asserted that Suker's form would not last long.
In 2007, they said two years.
By 2009, Suker was still the same, and they said he would definitely decline in another two years.
In 2011, Suker produced a terrifying 50 goals in a single season!
This made these experts' faces slap loudly!
Until 2013, Suker indeed had some minor issues; muscle mass and flexibility could not coexist, and one had to be sacrificed.
At this time, these guys jumped out again to say that Suker's form was finally going to decline.
Then, Suker transformed!
This transformation turned Suker from a No. 7 player into a No. 10 player!
And they found that Suker as a No. 10 seemed even more difficult to deal with.
Even now, this problem is a hurdle that plagues the minds of many Head Coaches.
After all, apart from team form issues or internal strife, they really haven't found a way to limit Suker.
Or rather, like the alien back then, this guy is also unsolvable.
They can only rely on time to wear him down, to wear away his peak!
But the problem is, how long was Ronaldo's peak?
How long can this guy Suker's peak last?
This is not the same concept at all!
Van Gaal turned his head to look out the window. The plane circled in the sky, offering a view of the city of São Paulo.
At the same time, he also saw the outline of the Corinthians Arena.
This would be their World Cup semifinal stage, and also the venue for the upcoming match against a strong opponent.
Croatia and the Netherlands Team arrived here one after another.
Compared to before, the enthusiasm had slightly diminished.
After all, after the Brazil's elimination, many Brazil fans could not accept the shock and had no heart to pay attention to the World Cup anymore.
Of course, this was just a side note of the World Cup; there were still many fans following this World Cup.
Especially as they reached the semifinals, with the appearance of the four strong teams, the fans' enthusiasm became even higher.
Croatia and Netherlands arriving in São Paulo signaled the imminent start of the World Cup semifinals.
The media had interviewed the main players of both sides, but neither side revealed much information, nor did they have much desire to share.
Moreover, from their attitudes, it was clear that these players were very impatient.
Evidently, facing the upcoming match, they also felt great pressure.
After arriving at the hotel, Bešić led the entire Croatia team to the training ground for training.
He could feel a solemn atmosphere; many players were no longer talking, and the atmosphere was not as cheerful as before.
Clearly, having reached the semifinals, these players also felt the pressure, and this pressure was constantly accumulating.
At this time, they needed to vent pressure through exercise, or constantly touch the ball, consolidating their belief and form repeatedly.
Bang! Swish!
Bang! Swish!
Bang! Swish!
Suker was undergoing shooting training. With each shot, the ball formed a beautiful arc, repeatedly entering the Goalkeeper's net at absolute dead angles.
No matter how hard Subašić tried to save, he just couldn't block it.
"Stop for a moment, if you keep shooting like this, you'll ruin Subašić's form!"
Srna ran over to stop Suker.
Subašić immediately gave him a grateful look.
When Suker said, 'You be my Goalkeeper,' Subašić didn't even have the courage to refuse.
But being abused like this was also very difficult for him.
Suker nodded, turned his head and said, "You come over!"
The substitute Goalkeeper, Kalinić, immediately widened his eyes, pointing to himself.
Suker said impatiently, "Come over!"
Kalinić put on his gloves with a mournful face, preparing to receive Suker's discipline.
"So slow, you don't know how to cherish it. Do you really think I just give extra training to anyone?"
Subašić was silent.
What Suker said was not wrong; such an opportunity for Suker to give a Goalkeeper extra training was rare.
However, not being able to save a single shot was really messing with his mindset.
If this happened too often, he might not even be able to maintain his form and would lose confidence in saving shots.