Brazil came into the 2022 World Cup as the favorite to take home the trophy. After a stunning loss on penalties to Croatia, they are now out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. On one hand, there is no shame in going out to Luka Modric and company. The Croatian side went to the World Cup Finals in 2018 and is one of the most frustrating teams in the world to play. However, don’t tell that to a Brazilian. After five World Cup victories (but none in 20 years), Brazilians believe the Jules Rimet Trophy is their birthright. So, with Neymar and his compatriots out after a shocking Brazil-Croatia match, here are the four Brazil players most to blame for the World Cup Quarterfinal loss to Croatia.

4. Rodrygo

Before we start assigning blame to Brazilians, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the fact that Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic was incredible today. The Dynamo Zagreb net-minder made 11 saves today, per ESPN, and that was the true difference in this game.

That said, when you get a penalty saved in a World Cup shootout — like Rodrygo did in the quarterfinal Brazil-Croatia match — you have to take some blame. The Real Madrid forward hit it too low and too close to the middle, making it (relatively) easy for Livakovic to save.

The 21-year-old came on in the 64th minute for his Real Madrid teammate, Vinicius Junior, and while he had a few nice moments, he didn’t provide the same danger Vini Jr. did. You have to wonder if his more heralded, slightly older (22) teammate would have been a better choice to keep in and put in the huge penalty spot.

3. Alisson

Most goalkeepers would tell you it’s easier in some ways to play the position for a bad team than a great one. When you’re peppered with shots all game, like Livakovic was, you can get into a rhythm. When you face just one on-target shot, like Brazil keeper Alisson did against Croatia, staying sharp for 120 minutes is an incredibly difficult task.

However, that is Alisson’s job. He is the keeper for Liverpool n the Premier League, so he should be used to his team dominating at times. The Croatia goal was a deflected shot (more on that below) from Bruno Petkovic, so it would have been a difficult save, but that’s exactly what Brazil needed from Alisson to move on in the World Cup, and they just didn’t get it.

2. Marquinhos

The player who made the most blunders in the Brazil-Croatia match was Paris Saint-Germaine defender Marquinhos. The late Croatian goal deflected off his leg, as he lazily stuck it out to stop the shot instead of truly closing down Petkovic.

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Then, in the penalty shootout, it was Marquinhos who hit the post — with Livakovic diving in the opposite direction — to end the game, and the World Cup, for his team.

There are plenty of excuses you can site to let Marquinhos off the hook to a certain extent. He’d been playing for 117 minutes when the goal happened, and his midfield and full-backs didn’t do him any favors on the Croatia break. And as for the penalty, why does Brazil coach Tite have a defender taking that crucial fourth penalty instead of Antony, Fred, or maybe Neymar?

Whether you blame others for Marquinhos’ failures or not, the fact remains he’s the one who failed which is why he is almost the most to blame for the Brazilian loss.

1. Neymar

If not for Neymar, Brazil may not have even reached penalties. His brilliant double-give-and-go to score Brazil’s goal was absolutely incredible.

Despite the heroics, Neymar is Brazil’s superstar, and as such, he gets the most blame when his team goes out of the World Cup. It will happen with Lionel Messi if Argentina goes out, Kylian Mbappe if France goes out, and Cristiano Ronaldo if Portugal goes out, even if he doesn’t play.

Those are the trials and tribulations of a soccer superstar, and why Neymar gets the blame here. He should have been more aggressive attacking the next earlier in the game, so it didn’t get to extra time. And when Tite was putting together the penalty lineup, he should have demanded to go first to set the tone.

Those seem like nit-picky criticisms, but when you are one of the top-five players in the world, it is the nitpicks that make the difference.

At the end of the day, when Brazil lost in the quarterfinals, that failure ultimately falls on Neymar, who, at 30, is now officially running out of time to win the world’s most coveted title for his home country.