Brazil head coach Tite has left his role after their shock exit from the World Cup at the hands of Croatia. As the hot tournament favorites fell out after the game finished in a 1-1 draw, they shocked the five-time world champions with a stunning 4-2 penalty shootout victory at the Education City Stadium to secure a place in the World Cup semifinals. As Brazil’s Marquinhos and Rodrygo failed to convert, Croatia, who needed two shootouts and an extra-time victory to advance to the final in 2018, maintained their composure. Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, Luka Modric, and Mislav Orsic completed a flawless set of penalty kicks to ensure Croatia’s advancement to the tournament’s last four.
Tite, who took over as president in 2016 after Dunga stepped down, had already stated in February that it had always been his desire to retire after this competition. When he gave his team the lead in extra time, Neymar equaled Pele for the most goals scored by a man in Brazil history with 77. While the Croatians cheered, he was not one of the four Brazil players to take a penalty in the shootout and instead broke down in tears on the field at Education City Stadium.
“As I stated, my cycle is over. I mentioned it more than 15 months ago. I honor my promises. As I mentioned one and a half years ago, we shouldn’t make a drama out of it. There are excellent specialists that can take my place. Although there may be factors to consider, the cycle has ended,” Brazil head coach Tite said.
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