Mental imbalance and order of penalty takers explain Brazil’s fall, says Klinsmann

Brazil’s World Cup quarter-final defeat in Qatar on penalties came as a huge shock after the tournament favorites were knocked out by Croatia, but the South American team lost because their best takers didn’t score first in the penalty shootout, former German striker and current coach Jürgen Klinsmann said this Monday (12).

Croatia, the 2018 runners-up, stunned Brazil 4-2 on penalties after Marquinhos and Rodrygo failed to convert.

Brazil’s all-time top scorer Neymar – who was fifth in line in the penalty shootout – was not even given the opportunity to take his penalty after his teammates missed.

“We were going crazy, it was real drama. We tried to discuss the difference between the drama of the Brazil game compared to the Argentina-Netherlands game and we came up with some ideas,” Klinsmann told a FIFA Technical Study Group meeting.

“After conceding an equalizer in the 117th minute, Brazil had no time to change gears. From the disappointment of conceding a last-minute goal to the penalty shoot-out, there was no time to settle down and take the penalty shootout positively.”

“For Brazil they should put their best taker first, set the tone with the best penalty taker you have and then move down the rankings.”

That was not the case for their South American rivals Argentina, however, who recovered from the shock of conceding a last-gasp equalizer in normal time to the Netherlands before winning 4-3 on penalties.

Lionel Messi was the first to score for Argentina and converted his penalty with aplomb, immediately putting the Dutch under pressure when Emiliano Martínez saved the first two Dutch penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis.

“With Argentina they had extra time to play, even with the shock of Weghorst’s last-minute equalizer,” added Klinsmann.

“They had another 30 minutes to play. At the end of the game they were much clearer (in their heads) going into the penalty shootout.”

Klinsmann also praised England’s performance in the quarter-final against defending champions France, saying the positive approach of Gareth Southgate’s side will take them far with the young talent that is emerging.

“Overall it was very positive from England. The France v England game should have been a semi-final or a final. Unfortunately one of them had to go home,” Klinsmann said.

🇧🇷[A Inglaterra] It’s still a growing team, this is a team that can improve over the years. They have a lot of talent emerging, they are getting better and more experienced after three positive tournaments. There’s more to come from this England squad.”