Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic has been lauded by Italian media for his metronomic performance in the Croatian national team’s penalty shootout win over Brazil in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

The 30-year-old Nerazzurri midfielder received a score of 7/10 for his display in the player ratings for the match published in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who note that he hardly put a foot wrong.

Brozovic started at the base of Croatia’s midfield against Brazil as he had done all of their previous matches in Qatar.

The 30-year-old was unable to see out all of extra time as he had done in their shootout victory over Japan in the previous round.

However, this was a testament to the amount of effort that the Nerazzurri player put in across the ninety minutes plus the bulk of stoppage time.

Brozovic was heavily involved in the Croats’ possession-heavy style as he so often is for club and country.

The 30-year-old was constantly making himself available to receive the ball when his team had possession, whilst his first touch, vision for the game, and passing range meant that he was vital at setting the tempo so that his team were never really overrun in midfield.