Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic has been lauded by Italian media for his performance in Croatia’s shootout win over Brazil in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar.
The 30-year-old Nerazzurri player was given a score of 7/10 in the player ratings for the match published in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews.
Brozovic was not able to play for the entirety of normal time and then extra time as he had done in Croatia’s shootout win over Japan in the round of sixteen.
However, until the Inter midfielder was substituted off from exhaustion late in extra time, he was a vital presence in the midfield battle against Brazil.
The 30-year-old formed an effective trio with Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Chelsea’s Matteo Kovacic to starve the Selecao of possession at times.
Moreover, Brozovic’s endless running was important in the defensive phase as well as in making himself an option in possession, even if it meant that he ran out of energy late in the lengthy contest.