Neymar in tears along with Manchester United star Antony in tears, and Rodrygo consoled by Real Madr

Neymar was left in tears as Brazil were dumped out of the World Cup on penalties by Croatia in stunning fashion.

The South Americans had been set to reach the semi-finals in Qatar but the Paris Saint-Germain hero's record-equalling goal was cancelled out by Bruno Petkovic before a devastating loss on spot-kicks.

The shoot-out got off to the worst-possible start as Real Madrid starlet Rodrygo missed from 12 yards after a fine stop from Dominik Livakovic, giving his teammates plenty to do if they were to progress.

The Europeans struck home all four of their shots before Marquinhos was handed a penalty he had to score - but he struck the post.

Brazil still have not beaten a European side in the knockout stages of a World Cup since the 2002 World Cup final - a stunning 20-year curse.

Croatian players went wild, chasing the sensational Livakovic but in the centre-circle Brazilians lay broken and in tears.

Talisman Neymar was left shocked, stunned, and staring at the turf, while later he was pictured in tears and being consoled by veteran Dani Alves.

Winger Rodrygo was upset and consoled by Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric in a fine display of sportsmanship in the aftermath of a stunning clash in Qatar.

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Meanwhile, Manchester United summer signing Antony wept, face buried in the turf.

As fans took in another World Cup shock, talkSPORT host Hugh Woozencroft believes that it's Neymar who will be made the scapegoat for Brazil's exit.

He said: “Neymar is sat in the centre-circle with tears flowing from his eyes.

"He actually equalled Pele’s record to be all-time joint-top goalscorer for Brazil’s men and it won’t mean a thing to him.

“He will, I’m sure, be the scapegoat who will have the finger pointed at him. He’s such a huge figure in Brazilian football and this is what they’ll describe as another mammoth failure for Brazil.

“It’s now 20 years and it will be at least 24 since they last won the World Cup.”

The Brazilians, though, only had themselves to blame, according to Dean Ashton, who couldn't believe their dismal defending for Croatia's late equaliser.

"They switched off Brazil, totally switched off," he moaned on talkSPORT.

"How can you be 4 vs 4 against a team looking to score deep into injury time? It's not good enough!"It takes a wicked deflection, but do they care? No way! They're the masters of it, Croatia, they're the masters of comebacks in big competitions!

"It was ridiculous from Brazil, so naive! It's simply not good enough at this level!"

talkSPORT World Cup 2022 Coverage

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